Escorting the Billionaire #3 (The Escort Collection) by Leigh James Page B
Authors: Leigh James
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what happened to her.”
Audrey looked at me and frowned. “Don’t you think we should have more facts before we call them? All we have right now are few off-hand comments from your mother and a bad feeling,” Audrey said. “It’s been a long time since it happened, James. Let’s make sure we handle this the best way for everyone.”
She stood up and started pacing again. “I had an idea,” she said, wringing her hands together. “What if I go back to your mother and pretend to try and blackmail her? What if I tell her I’ve guessed the truth about Danielle? And that I want money to keep quiet—or in exchange for my silence, she lets me stay with you? Sort of like a blackmail quid pro quo?”
“If she wanted to kill you before, this will seal the deal,” I said.
“But now I have something on her ,” she said. “And I can tell her I’ve made arrangements for it to go public if something happens to me.”
I thought it through for a minute. “I don’t know if she’ll believe that.”
“I’ll make her believe it. In fact, I’ll do something—write a letter, something like that—and show her that I’ve already made the arrangements. I’ll tell her I’ve addressed letters to all the major Boston news outlets, and that I’ve asked friends to send them for me if something happens. And I’ll tell her the friends don’t include Jenny, so she doesn’t try to hurt her.”
“Are you going to tell my mother you’ve told me all this?” I asked.
“No—not yet. I’ll say I haven’t said a word about my suspicions to you. Let her believe that I’ve spent some time thinking about it on my own, and I’m trying to leverage this for my own gain. That way we keep the element of surprise on our side.”
“I don’t know. My mother is shrewder than I wish she was,” I said.
“Remember—I’m an escort . You do a lot of faking when you’re an escort. Trust me, I can fake something this important.” She looked at me and scowled. “You’re the one who needs to put on an act. You look enraged. And even though you have every right to be, we have to play this just right. Even if it only buys us a little more time.”
Audrey
I didn’t ever want to talk to James’s mother again, but I really didn’t want her to kill me, either. I was taking a risk with the threat of the letters. A calculated risk, I kept telling myself, but I was still petrified.
Celia Preston could do that to you.
“I’m going to the bar,” I told James. I was wearing a conservative black dress so that when she called me a whore, at least I’d be dressed like a lady. I held up an envelope. “This is what I’m going to show her. I drafted another one. It’s in the bedroom. If she strangles me, please mail it to the Tribune .” I smiled at him, trying to make light of the situation, but James glowered at me as I stuck the envelope in my pocketbook.
“It’s not funny,” he said, his jaw clenching. “I don’t want her anywhere near you.”
“You said it yourself—she’s not going to hurt me here. It’s too close. And you can come, too, but you have to stay with Todd and Cole. And no glowering, at least no more than usual. We don’t want your mother to know that I’ve told about Danielle. Okay?”
“Okay for right now,” James said. He grabbed my hand, and I noticed how very sexy he was looking in his T-shirt and a pair of faded cargo shorts with flip-flops. I loved the man in a suit, but I loved him dressed casually, too. He looked as if he were a mere mortal, not a gazillionaire.
I think the point was I loved him.
“I love you,” I said, stopping him before we went outside. I pulled him in for a deep kiss. “All this family intrigue is really messing with our sex schedule,” I said, pretending to pout and keep our moods light. “I thought we were just going to be in bed this whole trip.”
“I wish,” James growled, running his hands over me. “But we have to deal with this. I can’t have my
Audrey looked at me and frowned. “Don’t you think we should have more facts before we call them? All we have right now are few off-hand comments from your mother and a bad feeling,” Audrey said. “It’s been a long time since it happened, James. Let’s make sure we handle this the best way for everyone.”
She stood up and started pacing again. “I had an idea,” she said, wringing her hands together. “What if I go back to your mother and pretend to try and blackmail her? What if I tell her I’ve guessed the truth about Danielle? And that I want money to keep quiet—or in exchange for my silence, she lets me stay with you? Sort of like a blackmail quid pro quo?”
“If she wanted to kill you before, this will seal the deal,” I said.
“But now I have something on her ,” she said. “And I can tell her I’ve made arrangements for it to go public if something happens to me.”
I thought it through for a minute. “I don’t know if she’ll believe that.”
“I’ll make her believe it. In fact, I’ll do something—write a letter, something like that—and show her that I’ve already made the arrangements. I’ll tell her I’ve addressed letters to all the major Boston news outlets, and that I’ve asked friends to send them for me if something happens. And I’ll tell her the friends don’t include Jenny, so she doesn’t try to hurt her.”
“Are you going to tell my mother you’ve told me all this?” I asked.
“No—not yet. I’ll say I haven’t said a word about my suspicions to you. Let her believe that I’ve spent some time thinking about it on my own, and I’m trying to leverage this for my own gain. That way we keep the element of surprise on our side.”
“I don’t know. My mother is shrewder than I wish she was,” I said.
“Remember—I’m an escort . You do a lot of faking when you’re an escort. Trust me, I can fake something this important.” She looked at me and scowled. “You’re the one who needs to put on an act. You look enraged. And even though you have every right to be, we have to play this just right. Even if it only buys us a little more time.”
Audrey
I didn’t ever want to talk to James’s mother again, but I really didn’t want her to kill me, either. I was taking a risk with the threat of the letters. A calculated risk, I kept telling myself, but I was still petrified.
Celia Preston could do that to you.
“I’m going to the bar,” I told James. I was wearing a conservative black dress so that when she called me a whore, at least I’d be dressed like a lady. I held up an envelope. “This is what I’m going to show her. I drafted another one. It’s in the bedroom. If she strangles me, please mail it to the Tribune .” I smiled at him, trying to make light of the situation, but James glowered at me as I stuck the envelope in my pocketbook.
“It’s not funny,” he said, his jaw clenching. “I don’t want her anywhere near you.”
“You said it yourself—she’s not going to hurt me here. It’s too close. And you can come, too, but you have to stay with Todd and Cole. And no glowering, at least no more than usual. We don’t want your mother to know that I’ve told about Danielle. Okay?”
“Okay for right now,” James said. He grabbed my hand, and I noticed how very sexy he was looking in his T-shirt and a pair of faded cargo shorts with flip-flops. I loved the man in a suit, but I loved him dressed casually, too. He looked as if he were a mere mortal, not a gazillionaire.
I think the point was I loved him.
“I love you,” I said, stopping him before we went outside. I pulled him in for a deep kiss. “All this family intrigue is really messing with our sex schedule,” I said, pretending to pout and keep our moods light. “I thought we were just going to be in bed this whole trip.”
“I wish,” James growled, running his hands over me. “But we have to deal with this. I can’t have my
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