Page 50 of Suddenly Mine
Devlin clapped a hand on Christian’s shoulder. “I’m impressed. That’s some top-tier spin.”
Christian smirked. “Well, you always said I’d missed my calling in PR.”
“Just make sure she doesn’t fall for the heroic part too hard, or she’ll be devastated when she finds out the truth.”
Christian’s smile faltered for a split second. “Yeah. I know. I’m working on the timing.”
Devlin studied him for a beat, then nodded once. “You really like her, don’t you?”
Christian didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
“Be careful. If you like her as much as I think you do, this is going to get a lot harder before it gets easier. If it ever gets easier.”
Devlin gave Christian a look, then shifted his stance and glanced around at his own busy shop floor. “So, what’s really going on with Carroll’s? You any closer to finding out?”
Christian rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s a mess. Half the staff are disappearing mid-shift and from what I’ve heard, they’re being paid off.”
“Paid off? That’s bad. Any idea who’s behind it?” Devlin frowned.
“Not yet. But it’s someone with serious pull. Whatever’s happening, it’s coming from high up — too high for it to be some rogue worker.”
Devlin went quiet for a moment, tapping a finger against his watch strap. Then he nodded. “Check the accounts.”
Christian raised an eyebrow. “The accounts?”
“Payroll, discretionary budgets, supplier invoices — whatever you can get your hands on. Big payouts like that? They won’t be marked ‘mysterious bribe’ or ‘severance for no reason’, but the money has to come from somewhere. It’ll be hidden, but not invisible. You just have to know where to look.”
Christian blinked, then gave a slow, impressed nod. “That’s actually really good advice.”
Devlin smirked. “I have my moments. Now go play Prince Charming before she comes back and catches us being all buddy-buddy.”
Christian laughed under his breath, his tension easing for the first time in hours. “Thanks, Dev.”
“Any time. Just don’t wait too long to tell her who you are. If she’s as special as you say, then girls like her don’t come around twice.”
Chapter 23
MERRY
It really was like Christmas!
There were no other customers on the VIP floor of the store, but three beautifully dressed sales clerks stood by and welcomed Merry off the elevator with smiles.
“We’re all yours!” said one of the women, who was wearing a name badge that said Patricia. “Devlin says anything goes, anything you want.”
“This is . . . I don’t know what to say,” Merry said, and it was true, she was speechless. “This is amazing.”
“Our formal dresses are over here,” said Patricia. “The winter range has been very popular this year.”
She led Merry across the room to a display of elegant, mesmerisingly beautiful dresses of all shapes and colours. Two she recognised from red carpet interviews from TV, and one, she was sure, had been modelled by the First Lady during the last State of the Union address. None of them had a price tag, which wasn’t surprising, but she knew from the limited range of Devlin Storm dresses they had at Carroll’s that they retailed at thousands apiece. Sometimes tens of thousands.
“I really shouldn’t.” She bit her lip. “They’re not really meant for somebody like me.”
The soft chime of the elevator interrupted her and she turned to see Christian step out, his hands in his coat pockets, looking way more comfortable surrounded by thousands of dollars’ worth of clothes than she felt.
“Merry.” He grinned mischievously, his dark eyes shining. “Devlin owed me a favour and told me to pick whatever I wanted. But, let’s be honest, none of these dresses are going to suit me, are they?”
He swept a hand towards the glittering rail and Merry giggled at the thought of Christian wrapped in a sequin number.