Fake-Married to My Billionaire Boss

Chapter 50 : Trust

"Tell you what," he says. "How about we finish this another time?"

I narrow my eyes. "You don't think I'm going to set up my own board at home so I could practice enough to beat you when we pick this up again, do you?"

"You already have one. It's in the game room." He went off to pull his darts from the board.

I sigh. Of course, we did. Sometimes I forget the reason the damn brownstone was so big was so Raul could have everything he could possibly want within reach.

"You know I picked this place so we could have some time to relax," he says, handing the darts to another patron.

"You picked this bar because there's hardly any others open this late on a Wednesday night." And so we could be seen. Together.

I shiver, suddenly feeling a cold sliver of anxiety crawl up my spine. The thought of being watched suddenly felt very real.

"You're safe, Kate," Marcus says. "I'm right here. You have a bodyguard two tables away. We won't let anything happen to you."

If I didn't know him so well, I'd think he was reading my mind. But he's always just been good at reading people's body language. "I know," I say, wrinkling my nose. "But you're assuming I'm not worried about you too."

"I can take of myself."

Something about the way he says the words bothers me. It takes a second for it to register. "Marcus, are you carrying a gun?"

"It's perfectly legal. I keep my LTC up to date."

I look away. "Jesus."

"We're doing what we have to do. So is Raul."

"I know." Raul texted me earlier to let me know where he'd be spending the night. "It's fine."

"You have to trust him."

"I do." I press my lips together. "I just don't know if I ..." My words trail off. There are a lot of things I don't know. I'm not sure if we have time to go over every one of them.

"You don't know if you can forgive him," Marcus finishes for me.

I shrug. "Among other things."

Marcus takes a thoughtful swig of beer, swallowing slowly. "He cares about you, Kate. You know he does."

How do I tell him, this man who is my husband's best friend, that it's exactly Raul caring about me that's the problem? Maybe if he and I hadn't been friends, this marriage would be exactly the kind he needed. Our relationship wouldn't be this complicated if he had picked me from a pile of resumes during a casting call for someone to play his wife.

Things would be much more simple and less dangerous for the both of us if I weren't in love with him.

This isn't something I've ever told Marcus, but then, he's always been good at reading body language.

"He doesn't want to hurt you," he says. "Not deliberately, at least."

"Yeah. I know."

***

Raul

"I think you've had enough wine tonight," I say.

Olivia giggles as I pry the glass from her hand. "If you say so," she says.

I set her glass down on the coffee table, careful to put it down right beside the wine bottle. It's only nine in the evening, but I'm starting to notice a slight slurring in her speech. "Sorry, I have to be at work early tomorrow. But you can stay up as long as you want."

"Hmmm." She wraps her arms around my neck. "It's a school night. Maybe we should both go to bed now."

I stare down at her face. This is not at all in character with Olivia. Since Monday, she's been playing the coy, frightened damsel in distress. In the past hour, she's begun to lose more and more of her inhibitions. Despite what I told her about how much wine she's had, she hasn't actually drunk that much. This is something else.

Has she decided that all this pretense wasn't getting her anywhere? The past two nights with her have been all seduction and no payoff. Meaningful looks. Suggestive hints in conversations. Accidental and not-so-accidental touches that could always be brushed off as innocent intimacy between friends.

Tonight, it seems, all cards are on the table.

"If that's what you want," I say.

"Do you mind if I join you? I've been so lonely, Raul. " Her fingers move up and down the back of my neck. "I know you've been lonely too."

"I don't mind." I smile. "It's a big bed. We can keep each other company tonight." I brush a kiss over her forehead. "But only as friends, all right?"

Her smile is happier now, all pretense is gone. "Whatever you say, Mr. Marin." The way she says my name leaves me no doubt she understands what kind of company she'll be getting tonight.

"I need a couple of minutes to check in with my wife. Go wait for me in my room."

I watch her walk across the living room. For a moment I wonder if I'm imagining things, but then I notice the way she walks. I've seen her slightly tipsy at the party in Raleigh and I'm sure there's something off with the way she's moving now.

I pick up my phone and dial a number. I don't call Kate. She knows where I am. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't give a damn about any woman I've invited to my bedroom.

After the call, I make my way to Olivia's bedroom. Inside, I find it's been well-kept. Everything is tidy. The suit she wore this morning when I took her to give her statement to the police is hanging on a clothes rack by the wardrobe. I expect I only have a couple of minutes to do this, so I move as quickly as I can without disturbing any of her things.

The closet doesn't turn up anything. I don't find anything in her purse either. Then I check the place I should really have started with: her bed, under her pillow.

I turn over the object I just found in my hand. It's a phone, but it doesn't look like her personal phone. A burner, probably. It's turned off.

My watch tells me it's eight minutes past nine. One minute, I tell myself. Taking a deep breath, I switch on the phone.

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