Underneath It All Read online

  He shook his head and spoke softly. “Nicole, this is so much simpler than you’re making it.”

  Darting out of the bedroom, she moved to the front entryway and reached for her sweater and purse then turned to face him as he followed. “I’m sorry, Devon. What I need is to stop dragging my feet and deal with things like I’d planned. I need to back off from this relationship,” she said, her throat closing with every word. “Maybe once I get past this, if you’re still interested in spending time with me, we can come back around and do this thing right.”

  “We aren’t doing it wrong.”

  “Yes, we are. I’m not ready for this.” Turning, she opened the door and offered the only thing she could as she walked away for good.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I PUSHED TOO HARD too soon,” Devon said, drowning his anger in a beer. Next to him, his sister, Grace, sipped on a marguerita. He didn’t usually stop in bars after work, nor ask his sister to join him, but since the break-up with Nicole last night, he needed a beer and a woman’s opinion.

  “Of course, you did. It’s what you do.”

  He frowned. “You know, some people complain that I move too slowly.”

  “Not when you decide you want something. Then it’s full speed ahead and be damned with everyone else.”

  His frown deepened. That wasn’t true at all. Case in point being the fact that he’d decided he wanted out of the family business but he was still hanging on. He had the patience to wait until the timing was right.

  Okay, so maybe he blurted his intentions to his father sooner than he’d planned, but—“I brought you here for advice, not a free personality analysis.”

  “And that’s what I’m giving you. She told you she needs time, that she needs to sort through her problems on her own, and you asked me what to do. I’m saying—here’s a thought—how about doing what she asked?”

  Grace crossed her long legs and sipped her drink, those blue eyes filled with a smirky sisterly arrogance.

  “Because she needs me. I’m telling you, she’s making this whole adoption issue way bigger than it needs to be.”

  “Really? I didn’t know you were an expert on adoption.”

  “I’m not. I’m an expert on Nicole.”

  “In three weeks?”

  “Four.”

  “Well,” Grace huffed. “You must be in some sort of expedited learning program. Brad and I have been married three years and he still hasn’t figured me out.”

  “No one ever will,” Devon teased, prompting Grace to elbow him.

  She sighed and smiled warmly. “Seriously, Devon, I like Nicole. I like her a lot. And heaven knows I’d love to have another woman in the family. I believe you probably could help her, but the bottom line is she’s not ready to accept your help. Until she’s ready to listen, there’s nothing you can do.” She patted his thigh. “You want to give the answers to her and it’s just not going to work that way.”

  He drained his beer glass then eyed the bartender and motioned for another. “It’s frustrating dealing with Nicole when this is all so simple.”

  “Maybe it’s not simple. How do you know?”

  “Remember Leeanne, the woman I dated a couple years ago? You liked her. I liked her. She and I got along great and when we broke up, you asked me what went wrong.”

  “I remember.”

  “I told you nothing went wrong per se, but that she wasn’t the one.”

  “So what does that have to do with Nicole being simple?”

  “Because Nicole is the one. I knew it the moment I saw her. And I knew her the moment I saw her. I couldn’t explain what went wrong when it came to Leeanne, and I can’t explain what’s right about Nicole. It’s just that feeling. And as much as I feel I know her, I know I can help her.” Clinking his beer to her glass, he added, “And you’re supposed to be telling me how to do that.”

  Grace took on a look of concentration and he hoped that meant she was going to give him an answer he could work with. Nicole had been stagnating here in Atlanta for nine months not making any progress. Another nine months probably wouldn’t change things.

  Grace sighed sympathetically. “I don’t know, Devon. I wish I knew what else to say. Maybe give her a week or two to absorb what you’d already said then see her again. I just keep thinking the quiet persuasion is better than full frontal force.”

  It was the last thing he cared to do, but he doubted he had a choice. Grace was right. He’d played too many cards too fast and now he was stuck trying to backtrack.

  “In the meantime,” she said, “you can tell me about you leaving the firm.”

  “That didn’t take any time at all,” he grumbled.

  Was there nothing private in this family?

  “Mom’s worried. She says dad’s been stressed for weeks but she’s evasive when I ask why. Then yesterday, she tells me you want to quit the firm.”

  “I haven’t officially quit the firm. I said I wasn’t sure it was the job or the future I wanted.”

  Grace smiled. “You wouldn’t have said that if you hadn’t already opted out.”

  “No, I suppose not.”

  “What the hell’s going on?”

  He sucked in a breath and sighed. “There’s the question of the week. All I know is we had some discrepancies with our annual audit, Dad’s all but taken his old job back and he’s not saying a thing to any of us.”

  He pulled a dish of mixed nuts toward them and tossed one in his mouth. “Dad pulled our draft authority at the office. He’s the only one in the company who can approve checks. Personally, that pissed me off, but when I asked Bryce and Todd what they thought about it, they shrugged it off.” He shook his head and added, “Something’s not right with that.”

  “I wouldn’t read much into that. The rest of us are already accustomed to living on the sidelines. You’re only now getting a taste of what life’s like when you’re not the Golden Child.”

  “I’m hardly the Golden Child. And besides, that’s rather ironic coming from the family princess.”

  “Speaking of which, are you going to take me home in your carriage so I can finish this marguerita? It’s going to my head.”

  “Drink up,” he said.

  “I’m serious about giving Nicole some space.”

  “I heard you.”

  “Yeah, and I also know how much you like following my advice when it contradicts what you want to do.”

  “That’s only when it comes to your unsolicited advice. This time I asked, remember?”

  “Yeah, and I can already see the wheels turning in your head. I told you to back off, but you aren’t going to do that, are you?”

  “I’m taking all your advice to heart.”

  “And then tomorrow, you’ll do exactly what you want.”

  Instead of answering, he simply raised his glass in a toast. “To all the women in my life who know me but love me anyway.”

  Grace raised a brow. “That would be me and mom.”

  He smiled and tapped his glass to hers. “I’ve got to start somewhere.”

  11

  DEVON STRODE DOWN THE hall of CATL-TV on his way to Nicole’s office. He’d done as Grace suggested, giving Nicole some time—if three days counted—then decided to see if she’d accept an impromptu lunch. He’d considered calling, but decided he’d rather offer the invite in person. If she said no, he wanted to at least read the expression on her face and feel the vibes in the room to better determine his options.

  Because despite the way she’d left things, he still believed he had options.

  So he’d made one crap move admitting he was falling for her. It was hardly reversible. But he could slow things down to whatever pace she needed. And when it came to her issues about her adoption, well, she was right, he wasn’t a psychiatrist. Who was he to say what was simple and what wasn’t?

  All he knew was that she didn’t have to go through it alone. He could help her if she’d let him.

  Waiting in the lob
by, Penny came through the door to escort him in. In her arms was a large plastic bag filled with lime green feathers. He didn’t ask. He’d dropped by the station enough times to realize on a show like this, you never knew what you’d see in the halls and it was typically best not to pry. The explanations he got were sometimes scary.

  “Is Nicole here?” he asked.

  Penny nodded. “She’s interviewing a couple who’ve been married and divorced four times—to each other.”

  “That’s taking on-again-off-again to the extreme.”

  “Tell me about it.” She looked at her watch. “I don’t think she’ll be much longer, though. If you want, you can wait in her office. I can slip her a note and let her know you’re here.”

  “I’ll wait, but don’t bother with the note. I’d rather surprise her.”

  He followed her through the station and took a seat in one of the chairs at Nicole’s desk then pulled his cell from his suit jacket to check the time on tonight’s Braves game. As he flipped open the phone something on Nicole’s desk caught his eye. A dark brown folder had his name on it, and he wondered if it had to do with the show on charity bachelor auctions. Though he’d discussed it with Nicole on more than one occasion, he hadn’t expected to be part of the segment. They’d booked a number of other men who did the auctions on a more regular basis, so Devon had opted out.

  Picking up the folder, he opened it and what he saw threw him completely. It wasn’t notes on bachelor auctions but what looked like a background check. Pages and pages of details including his address history, a criminal check detailing the speeding ticket he’d gotten last summer, a listing of possible relatives, a property report—it went on and on.

  What the hell was this?

  He tried to wrap his mind around why Nicole would have pulled together so much information on him. Was she worried he may be keeping something from her?

  And if she had, what did he think of that?

  Before he had a chance to go down that road, his thoughts were sideswiped by his credit report. Included with his credit cards were personal loans totaling upwards of three hundred thousand dollars, none of which he’d applied for. His first thought was identity theft. The credit had been approved several weeks ago and money had been distributed on one of the loans. Payments had been made, which meant statements must have been sent, but where?

  Then something else hit him, causing him to turn back to the address history he’d glanced at before.

  His eyes scanned the page a second time until he found it. His name was listed under Todd’s downtown apartment. Why would his name be listed at Todd’s address? He and Todd never shared a place, not since living at home with their parents.

  He tried to think of a rational explanation but too many questions were coming at him at once. Why did Nicole have this on her desk? How could loans this large have been granted under his name without his knowledge? And then the most sinking feeling of all—was Todd behind this?

  Bits and pieces of information came flooding back to him. The audit at work. Suspicious payments wreaking havoc with everyone at the firm—except Todd. There’d been a number of occasions when Todd had been questioned, and he’d brushed them off every time. Everyone had been expressing concern, but Todd continually said it was nothing. Except it wasn’t nothing. They all saw what this mess was doing to their father. It had been aging the man. He’d been riddled with concern. It’s what frustrated Devon the most; that his father wouldn’t let him help, wouldn’t let him shoulder some of the burden.

  Devon hadn’t understood, but if Todd were behind this it would all make sense. Even his father’s subtle comments on why he was being so evasive about the audit.

  He looked back over the dates when these loans were made and noticed they coincided with when questions had started being raised about the missing money at work. These two situations had to be linked.

  Which meant his brother was pulling something foul and their father probably knew about it. No other scenario seemed plausible. In fact, this was the only thing that made all the events of the last couple of months fit with one another.

  But what was it exactly?

  His head spinning with questions, he rose from the chair and backed away from the desk. Several people had some explaining to do, starting with Todd, but as he moved to leave the office, Nicole met him at the door.

  “Devon,” she said, her eyes wide with surprise.

  He stopped in his tracks, still clutching the folder in his hands. “What is this?” he asked.

  She glanced at the file then back to him. “It’s a background check. I’m researching a segment.”

  “A segment on what?”

  Her brow furrowed when she realized he was distressed. “It’s a segment about knowing who you’re getting involved with.”

  “By running their credit history?”

  Glancing behind her, she stepped into her office and closed the door. “That and a number of other services offered to prospective couples.”

  “Prospective couples?”

  She moved to her desk and set down the file she’d been holding. “Devon, this isn’t personal. I haven’t even looked at the information. I’d been interviewing a man who offered these services for people who want to check up on who they’re sleeping with. He’d offered it as part of the interview. I hadn’t even thought twice about it.”

  “Do you?”

  “Do I what?”

  “Want to check up on your lover.”

  She made a face he didn’t like, the kind of face that said he had no right to be put off by any of this.

  “This isn’t about us. This is about truth. And yes, I do think people have a right to know who they’re getting involved with. Why would anyone object unless they had something to hide?”

  Something to hide? Wasn’t that one big mountain of irony? Someone was obviously trying to scam him, and how did he find that out? Because his girlfriend ran a background check on him.

  How was he supposed to turn all this into something rational?

  “I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of it,” she said. “These are just samples of services available to couples.” Shuffling through the files on her desk, she brought out another folder. “I ordered one on me, too. I haven’t opened either of them.”

  He snorted. “Well, you might want to take a look. You never know what people have been doing behind your back.”

  “That’s exactly the point. I’d think you’d understand why I might have a personal bias on this issue. Don’t you think people have the right to the truth?”

  Devon didn’t know what he thought. He was still too busy trying to sort out the things he’d found, trying to place some logical explanation around it in a way that didn’t involve being betrayed by his brother, lied to by his father and investigated by his girlfriend. All he knew was that his life had just gotten complicated, and maybe this was Fate’s way of showing him that Nicole had been correct all along. Maybe he had moved too far too fast, pushing her to a level of intimacy she wasn’t ready for. If this was the kind of thing she needed in order to feel secure with him, maybe her problems went deeper than he could handle.

  He tossed the file on her desk. “Here you go. Have all the truth you want.”

  She huffed. “Why do you look so angry? It’s a simple background check.”

  “Because I happen to believe in such a thing as trust.” He pointed a finger to the file. “So your folks lied to you. I won’t dismiss that. But is this the life they’ve left you with? Background checks and private eyes? You got screwed once so you’ll never trust the human race again?”

  She opened her mouth then shut it, apparently sidetracked by the question, and when she did speak, the tone lacked her prior resolve.

  “Not everyone tells the truth.”

  “No, I suppose they don’t,” he said, recalling the information in his file and the questions churning his thoughts. “And worse, when we do uncover the truth, we don’t always
like what we find.”

  NICOLE STARED AT THE doorway as Devon walked out, still in a daze over what had happened. Sure, not everyone agreed with the idea of background checks. That was part of the controversy of their upcoming show. But she’d thought Devon, of all people, would recognize her side of it.

  For a brief moment, she fought the urge to catch up with him, but decided it was best to let him go. More than once over the last few days she’d caught herself wondering whether or not he’d call. He’d said he was falling in love with her, a sentiment that scared her witless. And worse, though she wasn’t anywhere near ready for love and marriage, she had to admit to a sense of loss she’d been trying to deny.

  She stared at the doorway wondering for a second time if she should chase him down, but what message would that send? She’d told him she needed to back off and she’d meant it. They obviously didn’t see eye-to-eye when it came to issues of trust, and his anger about the file confirmed it. If he loved her as he’d said, he would have been more understanding.

  Right?

  Moving to her desk, she plopped down and sighed, not totally sure of anything. She didn’t know what he saw in that file of his, but her gut told her he’d been angry about more than that. Was there something in there he hadn’t expected? And if so, was it really any of her business to find out for herself?

  “How did your interview go?”

  She looked up to see Eve standing in her doorway and she put on a casual smile. “Taping over already?”

  “Fridays are easy, remember? We don’t have a lot of prep work for audience participation day.” Eve stepped into the office and took a seat.

  “That’s right,” Nicole said. She picked up the file associated with the meeting she’d just had. “Craig and Donna Wells are a bust. In fact, that whole segment idea on couples reuniting probably isn’t going to work. At least not with the people we slated for the show.”