The Heiress

15- Are you nuts?

"I know it's none of my business. But I'm only curious as to who won the girl's heart, who I wish was still in my life," Noah said, sounding bummed.

"Shut up, will you?" She snapped as she stared at the screen. Ignoring what he said and not caring to hear any more of what he had to say, she asked, "You know who my brother is, right?"

"Yes. Of course, I do. Why?"

"Were you working here at the hotel the last couple of days?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Because the nickname that Bentley's friends have called him since we were in grade school is in the guest log. Sir Ben Kennington. You didn't see him?"

He waved his head, looking confused. "No. Not at all. Why? Should he have been here?"

Hmm, she hummed, tapping her fingers on the desk. "No, not that I know of. But now it has me thinking."

"Sir Ben Kennington? How in the hell did he get a nickname like that?"

"Our ancestors are from England... long story." Not wanting to discuss her family's history, she groaned, "Nevermind about that. I've got work to do. Show me the video surveillance of this past weekend, please."

Noah stood, then waved his hand for her to get up and follow. Once they got in the security room, he closed the door, and without her seeing, he locked the door as she headed for the chair. He didn't know why he locked it, as he knew nothing would happen between them. But felt by him locking the door, it gave him better control of getting her to talk to him.

She rolled the chair forward, turned on the monitors, then her eyes closed the instant Noah leaned over her, and he typed in his password into the computer system. "You could have asked me to move over," she hissed. "I would have moved."

"Sorry," he quietly said, then sighed. "God, you smell so damn good. I've missed your scent so much."

She turned around and shoved him. "Don't you have somewhere to be? Like far away from me, like you have the last six months, or maybe even doing your job and deal with guests and employees? I don't need you in here while I search the surveillance. If I need you, I'll call."

"Peter is out there. They all knew you were coming," he happily informed, sitting on the chair beside her. "I made sure to have Peter on so I could help you figure out what to do and so we can fix this mess."

"Well, I don't need your help. I'm quite capable of working by myself. I haven't needed you these last six months, and I still don't need you. So, go away..."

He slid the chair away from her, leaned back in his chair then; crossed his arms. "Do what you got to do. I'm not leaving. Besides, sometimes you need an extra pair of eyes to find what you're looking for. You never know. Maybe I did see who we're looking for."

She knew he was right about the extra pair of eyes. And she also didn't exactly know how to use their surveillance system. But that was something she wasn't about to let him know about, and she figured to do what she does best, and that's to figure things out by herself.

Noah sat back and smiled, knowing she'd soon be asking for his help. He kept quiet as he watched her navigate through the system. Occasionally Noah would chuckle after seeing her struggle, trying to figure out how to use the system. Another chuckle quietly escaped his mouth when he heard her groaning. She turned around and gave him a scowled look. "Is something funny?"

He waved his head while trying to hide his smile. "No, not at all. Don't mind me. Just keep doing what you're doing."

She turned back to the screen and continued clicking on buttons. When she finally found how to get to the day she was looking for, Mercedes let out a breath of relief as she was seconds away from asking for his help. She scrolled through the date and times, and when she got to the time she was looking for, Mercedes clicked on it; then, while staring at the screen, she finally quietly said, "You broke my heart. I felt so used. You used me, Noah."