Reckless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 2) (12 page)

“Why wouldn’t he be happy? He knocked up one of the richest women in the world and now he’s probably going to get married to her and we’re going to be brothers. Mother fucker.”

“I thought you liked Colin? When he was on the boat, you got along okay.”

“I always figured Jean would move on at some point. She’s so new to this family and having any money. I thought Colin was her strange sort of adjustment period. An adjustment period she’d get over.”

Malia thought back to all the sweet whispers and gentle touches between Colin and Jean. They seemed like an ideal couple to her. “Are you sure you’re not just being overprotective? A bit of the caveman coming out?”

He let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. “You don’t know Colin like I do. He worked for my father for years. If Jean knew half the shit he did for that man, she’d never let him touch her.”

The blood drained from her face. “Colin... Colin worked for Walter?”

“He was his go-to guy for any job he didn’t want to get his hands dirty on. The man is the embodiment of everything people hate about my family.”

And Malia had thought he was so nice. She really didn’t know anything. “Did your father do a lot of—” She broke off as she tried to think of the right phrasing. “A lot of things you didn’t like?”

Robert hit the button for the elevator. “I don’t like talking about Walter, Malia.”

“I want to know you better. How was your relationship with your father?” She held her breath as she waited to hear his response. He had no idea how important it was that he disavow any and all relationship with the man who had ruined her life.

“Babe, I don’t want to freak you out, but Walter was murdered and there’s only one thing I regret about the way things ended.”

“What’s that?”

“That I wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger myself.”

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M
alia took a deep swig of water as she pushed away from the computer. She wasn’t built for desk work, and her eyes were tired from staring at the bright screen all day. Robert had wanted her to get started on coordinating the Hawaii fundraiser so she could stay in the offices right down the hall from where he was working all day and he could keep an eye on her.

Party planning wasn’t exactly her calling, but she had a bunch of great ideas for different tours and events that could wow the guests. And considering she’d worked for half of these companies, she might even be able to talk them into working out a deal if it was for charity. They’d love to get connections with the Farrell Hawaiian Luxury Resort, so it should be mutually beneficial.

Probably the most daunting task that Robert had given her was choosing a charity to support. He gave her a printout of all the various organizations and non-profits Farrell Enterprises had worked with in the past, as well as how much had been donated each year, going back a decade.

Some of the amounts made her eyes bulge. It seemed like so much money to her, but she supposed that a multi-billion-dollar corporation wouldn’t bat an eyelash at million-dollar donations. Maybe if they made a bigger deal out of these, there wouldn’t be so much bad talk about them everywhere.

Not that it would’ve changed Malia’s mind about them, but she was a special circumstance.

The door to the conference room opened. Malia looked up, hoping to see Robert, but instead it was Jensen, one of the concierges who’d been put in charge of answering any and all of her questions and making sure she was comfortable.

“Is there anything I can get you, Ms. Martin?” Jensen was a younger guy. He had the build and tan of a surfer under his gray button-up that was the uniform of the concierge staff.

Malia rubbed at her eyes. “I’m okay for now. Do you know if Robert is planning on coming back soon?” He neglected to tell her when he was going to be done for the day, and she wanted to at least know when she should start wrapping up.

“No, ma’am. He doesn’t share that with me. Sorry about that. Did you want me to find him?”

“No. I can call him and leave a message.” He started to leave and Malia stopped him. “Hold up, Jensen. Are you a local?”

“Huh?” It almost took him a moment to realize she was asking him a personal question. “Oh, no. I worked at the Farrell Suites in San Francisco for a few years before I requested a transfer.”

“San Francisco? I’ve heard it’s beautiful over there.”

“It is. I just went through a messy break-up and this seemed like a clean break.”

Malia could understand the need for that. She started to ask him something else, but Robert appeared in the doorway behind Jensen. “Am I interrupting something?”

Jensen jumped at the sudden appearance of his boss’s boss’s boss. “Just checking on Ms. Martin like you asked, sir.”

“Thanks. I’ll take it from here.”

The helpful concierge skittered away, and Malia crossed her arms over her chest. “You scared him.”

He rolled his eyes. “I was perfectly nice. How was your day?”

“Good. I’m laying out some plans and the hotel manager is helping me. She really knows what she’s doing, so it makes my input easy. We’re going to start getting estimates from the tour companies and maybe we can time it during the off-season to get better prices.”

“And did you hear from the fire department?”

Malia glanced down.
Ahh, yes. The part of her day she’d rather forget.
“Yep. They determined the cause of the fire. About a gallon of gasoline spread around my room.”

Robert leaned against the table right in front of her. “I stressed to the police department how important this investigation is to me.”

Malia looked up to meet his gaze. “You already knew?”

“Well, I suspected arson from the beginning. I made sure I was kept informed of the investigation. Considering what happened with Jean yesterday and the fact that they got no prints, there’s no usable surveillance, and not one fucking lead, I’ve made my opinion of their...usefulness more than known.”

“This might not be about us, you know. My roommate, who actually owned the house, might have had some enemies.”

“Do you really believe that?”

Not that she wanted someone to want Rachel dead, but she hated the idea of someone actively targeting her. “I just really wished Rachel had left her hair straightener on.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Great. Whenever someone asked permission to ask a question, it was never a good thing.
“Can I stop you?”

“Come back to New York with me.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Umm...I barely know you.”

“You barely know me but somehow in that short amount of time, I’ve put your life in danger. And I’ve come to care about your life and would hate for you to die because of me. Jean and Colin are leaving today.”

Malia picked at her nails, a nervous habit she could never seem to kick. “I agreed to help you with this fundraiser here. I can’t just get up and leave.”

“You can do everything you need to do from New York.”

She let out a laugh. “Your hotel manager could do everything I’m doing from here. We both know this was just a token job for me to feel like I’m not your charity case or your—”

“You’re not. I just want—” He sighed. “Two first-class plane tickets for tonight. You and me. I’ll take you to Broadway, the hottest clubs, the best restaurants that are booked for months in advance. Don’t say no to me.”

Malia gently shut the loaner laptop Robert had supplied her with and stood. “I’m not saying no. I’m saying yes. Yes to a wonderful week with you here, at your resort in this fancy room with an amazing man in my bed.” She rested a hand against his chest and smiled up at him, trying to convey calm and confidence. “Just take that for what it is. Now, are you going to make a thing out of this or do you want to do something fun tonight?” She’d already pushed herself so much further than she ever expected to go. He was going to have to be happy with what she was willing to give him.

“I’m sure I can come up with something to impress you tonight.”

The corner of her mouth ticked up. “I’m hard to impress, you know.”

“Trust me, I’ve realized. But I like a challenge.”

She tried to make a joke about it, but the way he looked at her as he spoke reminded her that he wasn’t joking at all. He really was going to work his ass off to try to impress her. It was a strange mix of flattering and disconcerting at the same time. But she forced herself to stop worrying about it.

There was so much to worry about, but she was finally starting to believe that Robert wasn’t all bad. He seemed to honestly care about her safety, even if he did verge on the edge of control freak half the time. So for the rest of the week, she’d keep her compulsive second thoughts and concerns focused on finding a new house and making sure she didn’t have a stalker following her.

But no more worrying about Robert. What had happened between her and the Farrells was long in the past, and Robert had made his opinion about his father clear. He was leaving in a few days, so there was no reason to dredge up the past and ruin whatever they had. Not that she knew what the hell they had, but for the next few days, she wasn’t questioning it.

“Do you want to get out of here?” She’d have to start on her long list of phone calls tomorrow, but she was at a good stopping point for the day.

“Let’s head back to the room.” Robert reached forward to take her hand.

Malia glanced down to where his skin touched hers. He was warm and solid.
Yes, this wouldn’t be the worst way to spend a few days...

The investigation into who had broken into Jean’s room had kept them out until well past midnight, and she’d fallen right back asleep. Which meant it had been almost a whole twenty-four hours since they’d been together, and that was much too long. At least that was what her hormones were telling her.

In only a few minutes, she was all packed up and they rode the elevator back to Robert’s room. He held her hand; the pad of his thumb brushed over the sensitive skin over her wrist, reminding her exactly what they were going to be doing once they got to the room.

Her heart was pounding by the time they reached their floor and she bit her lip all the way until he opened the door. Except, before she could throw her bag down and show Robert exactly all the ways she’d imagined him taking her during the day, her eyes were drawn to the manila envelope on the floor.

Robert, who’d released her when he opened the door, set his hand at the small of her back. “Why don’t you head in and I’ll meet you on the bed?”

Malia shook her head. “Do you normally get nondescript deliveries under your door?” His silence answered her. “Then I want to see what this is.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he didn’t force her to leave. He bent down, picking up the envelope, and pushed the clips open, allowing one single sheet of paper to slide into his hand.

There was one simple line of text on the paper printed in a plain, black font.

You were warned. Now the girl will pay.

Malia let out a deep breath.
Shit.
A lot of serious thoughts raced through her mind, but the only words that escaped were, “This probably means I’m not getting lucky.”

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R
obert held the door open for Malia and she tentatively stepped out of the car. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked.

“Yes. You’re going to love it. Trust me.”

After the reminder that Malia wasn’t anywhere near safe, he’d at least managed to convince her to get off the island temporarily. He’d assured her that his security team was looking over video footage. Malia was more than happy to get out of the resort if there was a chance that the crazy person who’d burned down her house was hanging around. And the one other sunset cruise she’d been on had been spectacular. It hadn’t been a tough sell when Robert had brought up the idea.

Robert took her hand. “I’m sure that it’s time for you to get out of the hotel. I’m going to spend the night pampering you until you forget everything that’s happening.”

She looked out at the harbor they’d stopped at. “Hard to say no to pampering. What’s on the agenda? You said you rented a boat?”

“I hope you’re not offended that I didn’t book you as my guide.” He smiled as he led her toward the dock. “But I thought this would be special.”