Conned by You Read online

  He rubbed his forehead as he released an exasperated sigh. “His karma has already bitten him in the ass! He’s lost his company to Corrine, and he’s no longer the man he used to be after the stroke. Save yourself the grief and move on.”

  Lindsey’s nostrils flared at her father’s complacent attitude. “I will never move on! I intend to make everyone with the last name Harrington pay, beginning with Chris.” She exited the library as Tom shouted after her to stay. When she neared the front door, Lindsey ran into her mother.

  “Why do I hear raised voices?” asked Elizabeth, closing the front door.

  “Don’t start, mom! I’ve heard enough from daddy.”

  Elizabeth looked past Lindsey’s shoulder. “What’s this about, Tom?”

  “I suggested to our daughter that she seek professional help. It’s time she received therapy.”

  Elizabeth moved forward and grabbed Lindsey’s hands. She gave her a sympathetic frown. “Nonsense, Tom. All she needs is a week-long getaway. Maybe a little pampering and some shopping will do the trick.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I lost my baby, not my best friend!” Lindsey tried to walk away, but her mother held on to her hands.

  “Honey, I don’t mean to be callous, but it was for the best.”

  Lindsey’s jaw dropped. “For the best,” she scoffed. “Mom, that was your grandchild.”

  “What I meant was sometimes things have a way of working out. The relationship between you and Chris was inappropriate. It wouldn’t have lasted.”

  “It should have never happened!” shouted Tom.

  “I don’t have time to listen to the many ways I’ve let you both down.” She pushed past her mother and stormed towards the front door. Her father’s footsteps echoed behind her. Lindsey stepped out onto the porch, slamming the door before they could speak another insensitive word.

  ∞∞∞

  Lindsey tossed her keys on the kitchen counter and stood in front of the open refrigerator door. Instead of searching for a quick snack, her brief relationship with Christopher Harrington played in her head. Chris had told her many times he loved and wanted to be with her. When she announced her pregnancy, he changed. He convinced her to lie and say it was Justin’s, to protect his business arrangement with her father. It was an asinine plan she knew would blow up in her face. For starters, the timing was off. She and Justin hadn’t been together in months, but Chris and his friend, Dr. Calhoun, came up with a timetable to sell to him. At first, it worked. Then all hell broke loose. Chris blamed her for the plan falling apart and her father finding out. He kicked her out of his home and said he wanted nothing to do with the baby. Weeks later, she miscarried. Alone and no one to help her through the pain.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Lindsey slammed the refrigerator door shut and turned around. A small smile etched across her face as she eyed her bare-chested house guest. Her eyes wandered up and down his body. Tall, dark brooding eyes, and a body chiseled in all the right places. “I live here, remember?”

  “I haven’t seen you in two days. I hope you were out accelerating our plans.”

  “I’m working on it, Brandon.”

  “Work harder. Time is not on my side. It’s been weeks with nothing accomplished.”

  It was a complete impulse to team up with Brandon Porter, Ava’s crazy ex-boyfriend who kidnapped Justin. After Lindsey lost the baby, her mind and body became full of rage and anger. She wanted revenge. So, she searched for the name of Brandon’s lawyer to determine the amount of his bail. She withdrew the funds from her trust fund and flew to Atlanta. According to his attorney, Brandon’s family didn’t have the eighty-thousand dollars required by a bondsman. It was tough enough for them to scrounge up the money to hire him an attorney. After his parents secured a loan against their home, to hire top-notch legal representation, they fell short of enough funds to bail him out. So, Brandon had to sit in jail to await trial.

  Because Lindsey didn’t want her name on record, she paid an acquaintance who knew how to keep their mouth shut to handle the transaction. In return for her bailing him out, he agreed to help her. No one is aware he’s in San Diego. Not his family, lawyer, and most of all Justin or Ava. No one.

  Lindsey moved closer to Brandon with her eyes transfixed on his many muscles. She hasn’t had the attention of a man since Chris and her body craved to be touched. Lindsey placed her hands on his chest and allowed them to glide towards his neck. Their eyes met as his hands locked onto her wrists. He held on to her as he backed away. “I’m not here for that, Lindsey.”

  She rolled her eyes and removed herself from his grip. “Ava?”

  He nodded his head.

  “What is it about her? I barely recognized Justin when he returned home. He became this one-woman, domesticated, homebody. Then there’s you…”

  “When do I get to see her?”

  “Soon. You’re getting restless, but I’m meeting with Justin tomorrow.”

  “How did you arrange that?”

  “I haven’t.” She shrugged. “It’s best if I blindside him.”

  “Good. Because the sooner you work on him. The sooner we can move to the next phase.”

  “Patience, Brandon. Pretty soon, we’ll both get what we want.”

  Chapter Three

  “Thanks, Rebecca. I just received your email,” Ava said into the speakerphone. She opened the message from Rebecca Shaw, President of the JTH’s East Coast division. She scanned over the numbers of the lakeside resort project in Atlanta, Georgia. “Everything looks great. At least, the site is no longer hemorrhaging money.”

  “Off topic, have you and Justin set a wedding date?” asked Rebecca.

  The apples of Ava’s cheeks grew. She couldn’t help but smile whenever anyone asked her about her upcoming wedding. “Not yet. I would like to wait until next year, but if Justin had his way, we would have already married.”

  “I’m sure you know how impatient he is.”

  She laughed. “True. Anyway, I’ll run your report over to him now and sign off on the payments to the contractors.”

  “Thanks, Ava. Talk to you soon.”

  She proceeded down the hall to Justin’s office. She noticed the closed door and stopped by his assistant’s desk first. “Hi, Paige. Is he in?” she asked the fifty-something woman.

  She greeted her with a polite smile. “He’s in a meeting with Miss Meyers.”

  Ava’s eyes narrowed. “Miss Meyers? Lindsey Meyers?”

  “Yes, Mr. Harrington agreed to see her without an appointment.”

  Ava gritted her teeth and moved towards Justin’s closed door. She placed her hand on the doorknob and burst inside. Both Justin and Lindsey turned towards her as they sat across from each other. Ava kept her eyes laser-focused on the woman who conspired to tear her relationship apart. “What are you doing here?”

  Justin stood, followed by Lindsey. “She’s here to apologize,” he said.

  “I came to make amends to you both,” added Lindsey.

  Ava moved forward towards them. “Do you recall what I said when we last saw each other?”

  Lindsey moved the strands of her blonde ringlets behind her ear. “You said you’ll never trust me again.”

  “Nothing has changed, so I don’t understand why you’re here.”

  “No disrespect Ava, but I came to see Justin, not you.”

  Her lips tightened as she moved towards Lindsey, causing Justin to jump in between them. “Okay, ladies, that’s enough.” He faced Lindsey. “Thank you for stopping by, and I’ll think about what we discussed.”

  Ava glared as Lindsey gathered her purse and headed towards the door. Before she exited, she turned around. “Ava, I apologized to Justin for the role I played in his father’s scheme. That apology also extends to you.” Her eyes moved towards Justin. “I meant every word I said. Please think about my offer.”

  Justin nodded. “I will.”

  “Offer? What offer?” asked Ava, the moment Lindsey exi
ted the door.

  “First, you need to calm down.” He reached for her hand, but she jerked it away.

  “What did she want?”

  “I was just as surprised when Paige announced her visit. Instead of sending her away, my curiosity took hold, and I agreed to see her.”

  “Don’t keep me in suspense.” Annoyed that he spoke in circles. Something he does to avoid pissing her off.

  “Her visit was twofold. First, she apologized.”

  She scrunched her nose, causing her eyes to narrow. “And how did you respond?”

  “After hearing her out, I forgave her.”

  Ava shook her head as her thoughts carried to the conversation she had with Nina. She’d warned Lindsey would come around, and she had. “I knew you would. After all the lies, how can you believe a word from her mouth?”

  He balanced himself against his desk with his arms crossed. “The same way I forgave my parents, and you forgave my father.”

  She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Justin, they’re family. That’s different.”

  “Lindsey did what my father wanted because she thought she was in love with him. We should cut her a break.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we’ve all done dumb shit in our twenties, all in the name of love.”

  “You mentioned her visit was twofold. Was the offer she mentioned the other reason she was here?”

  “After losing the baby, she took a sabbatical from life. She hid from the world and is now ready to dive back into work.”

  “What does that have to do with you?”

  “You may not know this, but Lindsey has made a name for herself in the design industry. Bella Interiors has designed the homes of several A-list celebrities.”

  “So?” asked Ava, unimpressed. She wished he killed the upsell and got to the point.

  “She explored the possibility of a collaboration.”

  “Collaboration?”

  “Yes, she would design a set number of hotels with her unique branding. I expressed an interest, per your approval.”

  “As your fiancée or CFO?”

  “Both. If we move forward, there’s a multitude of things we must consider such as the cost analysis, prime hotel locations, and so forth.”

  “Can you try to sound less enthusiastic?”

  “Put aside your dislike of Lindsey and look at the bigger picture.”

  “How can you imagine a big picture after all she’s done?”

  “I’m not suggesting we invite her to dinner.” He closed the distance between them and stroked her shoulders. “She expected your hesitation, so as a peace offering towards you, she would like to assist with furnishing the rest of our home.”

  “She knows we moved?” Her frustration grew as her eyes widen.

  “We have a small social circle.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “You must be okay with it.”

  His pleading blue eyes bore down on her. She cracked a thin smile. “Why am I always put in the position of working with your exes?”

  His brows pinched together. “What are you talking about?”

  “Rebecca and now you want me to work with Lindsey.”

  “Becky was my employee long before you and I met. I couldn’t fire her because we were together. However, Lindsey is a much more complicated story.”

  “Exactly, an added complication we don’t need in our life.”

  “Ava, this is business, not personal. You must learn to separate the two. Just speak with her and see what ideas she presents before you make your decision.”

  Ava twisted her lip and sighed. “I’ll call her and set up a time to meet. From there, I’ll decide if we should trust her. It’s not as if she killed, kidnapped, and tortured anyone like Brandon.”

  “Speaking of demented exes, I spoke with Terry, the lead prosecutor in Brandon’s case. He would like to set up a video call to go over your testimony.”

  “When?”

  “As soon as possible. They’re changing strategies to focus less on your history with Phillip. It’ll be more about Brandon’s actions once he learned of your stalking.”

  Ava nodded her head as she listened. She couldn’t wait to eradicate Brandon from her life once and for all. “I want this to be all over.”

  “And it will be. Sooner than you think.”

  “Listen, I understand you want to set a wedding date, but I can’t think of planning a wedding with an upcoming trial.”

  He cupped her face and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “To lessen your stress, I won’t pressure you for a date. We’ll revisit the topic after the trial. How does that sound?”

  “Wonderful.”

  He kissed her again. “I love you and can’t wait for you to become Mrs. Harrington.”

  “I better call Terry. Lunch?”

  His eyes studied her with concern. “Are we okay?”

  “Always.” She frowned as her eyes fell. “In a few months, I’ll come face-to-face with Brandon. I’m not sure if I can handle it.”

  He pulled her into an embrace. “You’re stronger than you believe. Don’t allow fear to win.”

  “Like when I learned he’d changed his plea, my immediate thought he would make bail.”

  “Exactly. The judge set an amount so high that no one could afford to bail him out.”

  “Knowing he’s locked away until the trial is one less thing I have to worry about.”

  “Call Terry and become the strongest witness you can. And don’t concern yourself with seeing Brandon again because when you do, you’ll have the support of me, Meg, Tess, your mother, and everyone else who loves you.”

  She nodded as she wiped a falling tear.

  Justin lifted her chin and met her eyes. “I’ll have Paige schedule an appointment at the spa. You need to shake off this stress.”

  Ava smiled. The thought of a day at the spa sounded like heaven. “Tell her to make the appointment for a couple. We both could use some pampering.”

  He kissed her lips. “It’s a date.”

  Chapter Four

  Lindsey fell back onto her bed with a smile on her face. She closed her eyes and imagine ways to make Chris pay for what he’s done. Patience was key. She had to return into Justin’s good graces, and today was the first step. A step she’d carefully planned, and as she moves forward, she cannot have a direct link to Chris. That’s what made Justin the perfect shield.

  She exited her bedroom in search of Brandon to give him a progress report. From the window in the living room, Lindsey saw him poolside with twenty-five-pound weights in each hand performing curl-ups. She chewed her lower lip as she watched him through the glass. The sweat that dripped down his bare, muscular chest caused her insides to tingle. Yes, he possessed a twisted and diabolical mind. But the more time she has spent with him, she has learned that a loss caused his break from reality. Something Lindsey could relate to. When you have a devastating loss in your life, your mind can divert to places you never known was possible.

  Lindsey slid open the patio door and stepped outside into the warm breezy air. She reached for the white towel on the table. “Hey,” she said, extending the plush towel towards him.

  He placed the weights on the ground. “Thanks.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “How did it go?”

  “Good.” Her eyes followed as he brushed the towel back and forth across his chest. Her mind played a scene of them two in her bed.

  “Did you see Ava?”

  Lindsey rolled her eyes. “Yeah.” She walked away and sat in a chair.

  “Enough of the one-word answers. What happened?” Brandon sat across from her.

  “I apologized to Justin for being an awful friend and told him I was ready to get back to work. He seemed interested in my proposal.”

  “Do you think he bought it?”

  “I’ve never taken an acting class, but I deserved an Emmy. I had him willing to put the past behind us, that was until Ava’s interruption.”

  Br
andon’s eyes lit up.

  “She doesn’t trust me, but she’ll do whatever Justin wants,” she continued.

  “How do you know?” he asked.

  “Because he’s a persuasive guy. Trust me, it’ll work out.”

  He fell back into the chair, offering a better view of his physique. “I need a car,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “Surveillance.”

  She straightened her posture, almost jumping out of her chair. “Brandon, you must remain out of sight!”

  “I need to learn their whereabouts and using your car is out of the question.”

  Lindsey shook her head. “Bad idea. Someone can see you.”

  His eyes darted towards his ringing phone.

  “Who’s that?” she asked.

  “Lawyer.” He frowned. “I gave him my new number. He thinks I’m locked away in my house, but I’m running out of excuses for dodging him. We need to hurry this along. So, will you get me a car or not?”

  “And you promise to remain out of sight?”

  “Lindsey, I’m a detective. I know how to hide in plain sight.”

  “You’re an ex-detective. My parents have a spare car. I’ll tell them mine needs work.”

  “How soon can you get it?”

  “Next week.”

  After dinner, Lindsey prepared for bed. She checked her phone’s battery life before placing it on her bedside table. Knowing Justin, the way she did, she expected to hear from him no later than tomorrow. She snuggled under the covers to watch a movie on the television. Midway through, her phone chimed. She lifted it from the nightstand and read her notification of an incoming text.

  Ava: If you’re sincere about working together, we should clear the air first. Let’s meet tomorrow at your office.

  Lindsey: What time works for you?

  Ava: Ten

  Lindsey: See you then.

  ∞∞∞

  Lindsey turned into the parking lot of the small office park. The two-story building included several medical services, a law firm, and her office space on the bottom floor. Three cars occupied the parking lot. Out of the three, a black Mercedes coupe sat parked in front of her office. Ava. Lindsey whipped her Porsche into the parking spot beside hers. She exited the car and waved. Moments later, Ava emerged from her vehicle.