The Naked Truth (2 page)

“Nothing that I know of. It’s personal. A lost love,
I suppose you could say. I want to know why her life took a turn for the
worse.”

“Name?”

“Abigail Reese.” Josh didn’t think she was married.
Nah, she couldn’t be. She was smart enough not to marry a deadbeat—he hoped.
“She’s currently living in a small town in North Carolina.”

“Do you know if she has ever been in trouble?”

Abigail had said her life was good and she was doing
well. “Not that I know of. Just a basic check on her. I don’t need her followed
twenty-four seven or anything like that. I just want to know her story and how
she got to the life she has now.”

“You got it.” Nate yawned. “I’m going back to bed. I
should have something to you tomorrow.”

“All right. Thanks. Call me as soon as you have
something.” Josh pressed the
end
button on his phone and then set it
back on the nightstand. Hopefully he could get some rest now that he knew he’d
have his answers soon.

* * * *

The next day, late in the afternoon, Josh had the
answers he’d asked for. Nate called to tell him he hadn’t found much, but was
sending over what he had. The printer spit out several sheets of paper. Once it
was finished, Josh removed them and took them over to his bed.

As he’d suspected, Abigail hadn’t been in trouble.
She lived in a small apartment downtown and had been working at the strip joint
for over a year. Before that she had done some bartending and retail work. As
far as her schooling, she’d dropped out, according to records, two months after
their one night together. How odd.

So far he wasn’t learning much, but that changed
when he picked up the last sheet of paper. She had a child. A four-year-old
girl to be exact. The child’s name was Hailey and she attended a private
pre-school. He stared at the face of the little girl and then his mother came
to mind, whose name also happened to be Hailey. What a strange coincidence—or
was it? Was it at all possible this child was his? He thought back to their
evening and the year. He did the math. He wasn’t sure exactly, but there was a
chance, he supposed. But if he was the father, why would Abigail do this alone?
He was rich and there was no reason for her to be struggling the way she was. Besides,
after all these years she would have contacted him at some point and told him.
It wasn’t like he was some sort of monster.

One thing he was sure about was that the child was
the reason Abigail had quit school. She must have gotten pregnant around the
same time they were together, but whoever the child’s father was, he must have abandoned
her. That a man could be so cruel disgusted him.

He picked up his phone and called Nate. “Hey, Nate,
it’s Josh again. Did you find out anything about this kid’s father?”

“Everything I found, you have. It wasn’t much.”

Josh gazed at the picture. “I see that. I didn’t
expect much. Is there any way you can get into the child’s school records and
get a name of the father?”

“That’s illegal.”

Josh laughed. “Has that ever stopped you before?”

Nate also chuckled. “You’ve got a point. I’ll get
back in touch soon.”

After the call was disconnected, Josh looked back
through the papers for anything he’d missed. But it was pretty cut-and-dry. The
only thing missing was information about the little girl’s father. It made him
sick though to know what Abigail was doing for a living and it had to be
because she was a single mother. He’d never had kids. Always wanted them, but
hadn’t found the right woman to settle down with. Years ago he thought that
woman might have been Abigail, but she’d just vanished into thin air, until
now.

He rubbed his chin and decided he wasn’t going to
let her slip through his fingers again. The woman needed him and he wanted her.
Abigail deserved to return to school and finish her degree so she could give
her daughter the best life. He intended to be there to help. And the first thing
he had to do was convince her to stop stripping.

Grabbing his keys, wallet, and phone from the
nightstand, he prepared to head to the strip joint to take care of that right then.

* * * *

Abigail kissed her daughter goodbye and thanked the
babysitter as she did every night. This was the longest sitter that Hailey had
had since she’d started this job. It was harder than she thought it would be to
get someone to stay so late into the night—or early morning. But she paid the
sitter well. There was no way she could afford the schooling her daughter was receiving
or the babysitter if it wasn’t for stripping. She hated the job, but nowhere
else could she make the money she did without a degree.

One day she would return to school. She’d become the
lawyer she always dreamed of being and she would always help the little people.
Now that she was what people considered a bottom-feeder, she knew how hard it
was for them.

She didn’t live far from work. It only took her
about ten minutes to get there. She parked in the back as she usually did and
went in through the side door. When she entered the dressing room, her
co-workers stopped talking and looked at her. She wiped her face and wondered
if she had food smeared on it. At her station, she glanced in the mirror, but she
looked fine.

Jenna approached her, crossing her arms. “What are
you doing here?”

“What do you mean? I’m scheduled tonight, aren’t I?”
Crap. Had she looked at the schedule wrong?

“You were, but you no longer work here.”

“What do you mean?” Had she been fired? This
couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t afford to not work here. And once you got
fired from one strip joint, it was tough to get in with another.

“You better go find Mr. Regan.”

Abigail nodded and knew her friend was right. She
needed answers. Worse, she was prepared to grovel for her job back if she had
to. As she made her way through the front, she looked around for Mr. Regan.
Typically if he wasn’t out chatting, then he was in his office. His door was
cracked and she could hear him talking with someone. She tapped on the door
lightly.

“Come in,” Mr. Regan called.

Pushing the door open, she entered. Across from Mr.
Regan sat Josh. What was he doing here again?

“I can come back when you’re free.” She started to
leave.

“Nonsense. I’ve been waiting on you. Have a seat.”
He pointed to the empty chair next to Josh. “I’m assuming the girls told you that
you no longer work here. They love to gossip.”

“Yeah.” Discussing her job in front of Josh was
awkward and embarrassing. Why was Mr. Regan doing this? “Why have I been let
go?”

With a smirk on his face, Mr. Regan said, “I don’t
want you to go personally. You’re one of my best acts here. However, Mr. Carter
here has demanded that I let you go or he’ll close this place down. So, as much
as I love you and your act, I’ve got to let you go.”

Had she heard him right? Josh was the reason she was
being fired? Tears built up in her eyes and anger flared. “How could you do
this? I have a child to feed and bills to pay. Who the hell are you to come in
here and demand for him to fire me?”

“We can discuss this in private.” His tone was calm.

Abigail stood. “No, we won’t. I want nothing to do
with you, so stay away from me and butt out of my life.” She marched out of the
room and didn’t stop until she was safely back in the dressing room. Grabbing
her things, she left without a word to anyone.

She tossed her bag onto the passenger seat of her
car and put the keys into the ignition. She turned the key...nothing happened.
Turned again…same results, nothing. This was
not
the time for her car to
die. Taking in a deep breath, she tried again.

“Damn it!” she cried out as she hit the steering
wheel. She’d lost her job and now something was wrong with her car. What had
she done to deserve this?

Abigail took a few moments to compose herself and
get her anger under control before she climbed out. Maybe someone from the club
could give her a ride home or maybe Mr. Regan could call her a cab. She walked
around to the front of the building and went through the front doors. It had
been awhile since she’d come in this way.

“Abigail, you’re still here.” Josh rounded the
corner and approached her. “I’m glad you came back. Let’s talk.”

She held her hand up to him. “If you’ll excuse me, I
just need a phone book.” She pushed by him, but he reached out and grabbed her
arm.

“What’s wrong?”

She huffed. “Since you seem to care about me so
much, it just so happens my car won’t start. And now that I’m jobless, I hope I
can afford to have it fixed.”

“Let me have a look.”

Crossing her arms, she glared at him. “Do you know
anything about cars?”

“I grew up in an automotive garage, so I know a
thing or two.”

As much as she hated the idea of being anywhere near
Josh right now, she supposed she could use his help. After all, he was the one
who had ruined her evening. “Okay, follow me.”

As they made it around the building, he stayed
close. She tried to walk well in front of him, but he stuck to her like glue.
“What’s going on with the vehicle?”

“Like I said, it won’t start.”

“Is it making any noise when you turn it?”

Abigail thought back a moment but then shook her
head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Let me have your keys.”

Abigail handed them to him and stood back as he did
his thing. After his few attempts at the ignition, he popped the hood.

“Well?” She came up next to him.

Josh wiped his hands across his pressed jeans. “I
think it’s your battery.”

“That’s an easy enough fix. Let me see if I can get
one of the girls to drive me to an automotive shop.”

“Don’t be silly, I can do that.”

She didn’t want to be around him anymore than she
had to. “You’ve done enough for me…clearly. And I’m not happy with you anyway.”

“I know you’re not and I’m sorry about the job
thing. But you deserve better and so does your daughter.” He closed the space
between him and she could now smell is cologne. It was intoxicating, in a good
way.

His words then registered in her head.
Daughter?
Had he said daughter? How did he know about Hailey? How much did he know?

“I’d like to help you. Maybe I can pay her tuition
so you can work a better job with different hours.”

How did he know so much? Abigail crossed her arms
and glared at him. “What’s wrong with me being a stripper? I’m damn good at it
and I make a lot of money. After all, it is the male race that enjoys throwing
money at women just to see her tits.”

Josh grinned. “I didn’t say you weren’t good. I just
think a day job would be better. You could be more available to her when she
needs you.”

“Just because I’m here at night and have a
babysitter doesn’t mean I’m not there for her when she needs me.” She was very
active in Hailey’s school and his insinuations were a wound to her pride.

“If I pay for her schooling, will that help you?”

Abigail leaned against the car and stared at the man
who could change everything for her and Hailey. She had to tell him. He was
bound to find out. In fact, he already knew quite a bit. A man with his money
had the ability to get whatever information he wanted to. And maybe it was best
he heard it from her before someone else.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “We need to talk,
but not tonight. Let’s get my car taken care of and then I’ll call you
tomorrow. I promise.”

“Sounds good. My vehicle’s this way.” He held his
hand out to her. She stared at it and wondered if she should take it. Instead,
she held her arms tight across her chest as though she were cold and followed
him across the parking lot.

After he learned the secret she’d been hiding, she
was pretty sure he wouldn’t want anything to do with her.

Chapter Three

Josh pulled his car up to Abigail’s place the next
morning. She’d asked him to be there at ten. He was a few minutes early, but he
believed in punctuality. He decided to go ahead and knock on the door. No
reason to sit in the car. She most likely knew he was there already.

He went to apartment 2A and knocked. There was no
answer, so he knocked harder. Finally the door swung open. Abigail’s face
appeared and she didn’t look happy. “You’re early.”

“Only a little.” He took in the sight before him.
Her hair was up in a towel and she wore a small pink robe that let him see just
how long her legs were. “I figured you’d be ready by now.”

“I still had fifteen minutes. You’d be amazed how
much I can get done in that time.” She opened the door wider and stepped back
so he could come in. “Make yourself comfortable while I get dressed.”

He walked into the tiny place and watched as she
headed to the back. Was she naked under that robe? Thoughts flooded his head of
her onstage. As much as it should sicken him to know someone he cared about was
doing that, he had to admit, she had a nice body. She had long flowing blond hair
with a slight curl to it. And eyes that almost matched the color of coffee. She
had curves. Wide hips, a waist that dipped in, and then a set of medium-sized
breasts.