A Collateral Attraction (7 page)

He pulls something from his backpack underneath the table and barely missing our coffee cups, tosses something carelessly onto the table top.

“Now talk,” Heath says coldly as my eyes land on my clutch and its contents spilling on the table top, Blythe’s smiling face on her driver’s license staring back at me.

My heart hammers against my chest as a deafening roar fills my head. Heath’s words, coupled with the simple act of tossing my clutch on the table, is like a slap in the face — even a kick in the gut. Fear tells me to do as he says — speak on command, just like a dog — but I’m not scared of him. Not anymore. I feel more insulted than anything — and angry as hell.

His disdain for Blythe scares me, and as much as I’m better off returning home even if I have to empty my entire bank account to do so, I can’t. Not when Heath feels the way he does about Blythe.

A part of me wants to scream at him, but I’m afraid that if I do, I’d completely lose control and I won’t make any sense at all. I’d be a hysterical mess, which is probably how he wants me to end up, just some blubbering mess proving him right — that I’m the fraud.

I wish I could channel Bitchy Blythe, the sister who came to my aid at the playground when the other kids would make fun of me for not being like her, so graceful and demure, so unlike me who was more comfortable talking with my fists even when it always earned me a trip to the principal’s office instead. But even as I try as hard as I can, Bitchy Blythe doesn’t surface.

“No,” I say, my voice firm.

“No?  You won’t even explain yourself? Not even when I find this on you?” He picks up Blythe’s driver’s license and holds it up. “You dropped this by the way. I don’t make it a habit to rummage through women’s purses, not even when they’re sprawled on my bed.”

“I told you-”

“I know what you told me, Not-Blythe, but put yourself in my shoes and tell me, given this,” he drops Blythe’s driver’s license on the table, “what am I supposed to believe?”

“The truth, for starters, if you only listened to a word I’ve been saying,” I reply, “But I can see now that there’s nothing I can do or say to make you believe that I’m Billie.
Nothing.
Not even if I told you that before you ran into me last night, the same time Jackson told you that you were a fraud, Blythe and I had accidentally switched clutches inside the bathroom.”

He almost scoffs, but a frown replaces his features instead.

“God, even Jackson could tell I wasn’t Blythe. Took him a few seconds, but he was smart enough to know I wasn’t her before he bailed the hell out of there with the right woman,” I say, picking up Blythe’s driver’s license and waving at him.

“Do you think I’m happy being stuck with this?  After a lifetime being compared to my sister, do you honestly believe I’d do a happy dance and enjoy being mistaken for her everywhere I go? Do you think I enjoyed signing her name on some cab receipt just to get back to the penthouse that night, or pretend to be her just so I could book a flight back home when I could have just called my shop and had them wire me money — in her name because this was all I had? I didn’t even know where she was till you showed me her Instagram!”

I set the driver’s license down on the table. “At least back home, I don’t get told again and again that just because I look like Blythe, therefore I must be Blythe. Do you know just how frustrating that feels, to always live under your twin sister’s shadow because she’s everything you’re not?”

I sigh, suddenly feeling tired.  All I want to do now is get away from Heath before the adrenaline wears off and I’d be reduced to a blubbering mess in front of him. I don’t even care if I have to sit on the toilet seat for the rest of the flight, but I am not spending another minute sharing the same space with this man.

“I may be drunk, Heath, but I’m not stupid, and I’m not playing this game with you anymore,” I say. “Do what you need to do. If you want to arrest Blythe, then arrest her.  And since you think that I’m in cahoots with her, then arrest me, too. Who knows? Maybe that’s the plan Blythe and I hatched after all — that you take me in so she gets a new start. I mean, it’s not exactly brilliant on my end, but pretty good on her end, don’t you think?”

I walk away from him but stop and turn to face him again.  “And you know what? I may just be a little shop owner selling ten dollar souvenirs at some little mining town whose name no one remembers, but at least no one can steal even ten dollars from me without me knowing, much more a thousand dollars. So as to the millions that you claim Blythe embezzled from your company in a span of four months? I don’t know. Clearly I know nothing about big business to even dare ask you where were your red flags and how come no one noticed it?”

Heath just watches me, still not saying a word.

“But then, I’m not the smart one here, Heath,” I continue. “You’re the one with the masters from Harvard. I may not have finished college, but at least I know more than just how to balance a check book and look pretty.  Oh, and if you want us to work together, you need to respect me for who I am and not who you think I am. Whatever game you’re playing — one moment you believe me and the next moment you don’t — it ends now. Because until you can promise me that you will start trusting me, and treat me as your equal in finding your brother and my sister, I’m leaving you the moment we land.”

“Where are you going?  You don’t know anyone in Saint Lucia.”

“I know Blythe, and when I find her, I will tell her of all the things you’re accusing her of, and that, innocent or not, you’re on your way to catch her. Because that’s just the kind of man you are. And I don’t care if I’ll end up begging on street corners in Saint Lucia, but I won’t leave that island until I find her and bring her home myself.”

“You’re not begging on any street corners, Billie, not if I can help it.”

“Oh, please! I would rather do that than spend another minute with you and have you insulting me and asking me what it will take for me to have sex with you. Besides, just how bad is begging compared to this?” I gesture to my dress. “I already allowed you to buy me, Heath, which makes me just some high-class beggar. What’s one more step down?”

I don’t wait for Heath to say anything. I hurry to the rear lavatory and lock the door, relieved to be alone for once so I can think of what to do next, the calls I need to make to both Mick and Norah at the shop, and the credit union to check just how much money I have left in the store account. I’m still shaking that I have to sit down on the floor. But the fact that I just stood up to Heath surprises me, even if I have to admit that I did get a tad melodramatic at one point.

I don’t think Heath and I can say anything else from here on, at least nothing that can undo the damage that’s already been done. Whatever trust we had had for each other, no matter how tenuous or brief, that’s all shattered now for good, not even if he agrees to my terms and actually believes me.

And that’s only because there’s no trusting Heath Kheiron, not when he can’t trust anyone — not even himself.

I’m sitting on the floor with my back against the door when the soft knock comes, one that doesn’t startle me, though I say nothing. I’m not giving Heath the satisfaction of hearing my voice anymore. I’m tired of talking to a man who refuses to hear a thing I say, and I’ve also run out of things to say to him.

I miss being outdoors, breathing clean fresh air and feeling the ground beneath my feet. I remember how the manicurist had to pull out some Dremmel sanding tool to work on the calluses on my heels, telling me to stop walking barefoot outdoors if I want to have soft feminine-looking feet like Blythe. But I don’t care. As soon as we land, I plan to stick my bare feet on anything that’s not man-made — preferably sand, earth, sea, even mud. I need to ground myself after all this nonsense.

I hear him moving about outside the door, but the knock doesn’t come again. If anyone wants to use the bathroom, I’m sure there must be another one at the front of the plane, and if not, someone’s bound to let me know that they have to use the facilities. But until then, I straighten my legs in front of me and close my eyes.

“I apologize for the things I said — about you and your sister,” Heath says, his voice sounding muffled. “In the very few times that I’ve met her, maybe three or four times, she was nothing but civil. She never liked me, but I can’t blame her. I am dour compared to my brother, and everything I said about her was meant only to get it through to Ethan that I was willing to do anything in my power to get back what he stole. I was also angry. And when I first saw you at the shop, Billie, I honestly thought you were her. She never told me she had a twin, and neither did Ethan.  I mean, I knew she had a sister, but not a twin sister.  Big difference.”

Whatever.

“Besides, it’s not like I make it a habit to investigate his girlfriends just to find out if they’ve got an identical twin available for a double date or anything,” he says, chuckling though he stops and clears his throat. “Still, no woman deserves to be treated the way I’ve treated you these past two days, and by proxy, Blythe. I’ve acted in such a despicable manner towards you both, and there is no excuse to justify such a behavior. I really am very sorry for letting my anger get the best of me, even when I knew full well that it wouldn’t achieve anything but hurt you. And even after all signs pointing to Blythe being in Saint Lucia, I just couldn’t help but wonder if there was something I wasn’t seeing, that despite your honesty, it was just a way to get my guard down, distract me from what was really happening.”

I don’t open my eyes, or even dare move a muscle. Instead, I tell myself that Heath Kheiron doesn’t deserve my forgiveness, no matter how pained he sounds. He can talk my ear off for all I care, but I’ll never forgive him for the things he said about me or Blythe. So I recite a mantra again and again, like it’s a shield against his words.

I’m not forgiving Heath Kheiron I’m not forgiving Heath Kheiron I’m not-

“But I didn’t lie about Ethan adding Blythe in as an employee, nor about the embezzlement of four million dollars, or the accounts with her name on them,” he continues, though he pauses for a few moments, as if he’s debating just how much he’s going to tell me — or at least blabber on. Why he’s suddenly so talkative, I’m sure, is just another one of his tactics to get me to drop my guard.

“Funny thing is, my father used to lose that amount in a day, even more, all because of bad investment choices,” he says. “Last year he used majority of his shares as collateral in a series of bad investments that resulted in a margin call, prompting him to sell 2 million shares. No surprise there, but it caused company stock to drop.”

I am not forgiving Heath Kheiron.

“After he stepped down, Ethan took over, but that was only for three months. Ethan means well, but he’s a polo player, not a businessman,” Heath continues. “When stock cratered twice during his tenure as President, along with Jackson, who was surprisingly the VP, that’s when the board forced them both to step down, and they appointed me and Tyler Crow to head the company.”

I don’t even know why he’s telling me all this, but I do remember him talking to someone named Tyler yesterday. Still, it’s not like I’m about to forgive him, no matter what he says.

“So all the money that’s sitting in Swiss accounts with Blythe’s name on them — four million dollars — is honestly just a drop in the bucket as far as the company is concerned,” Heath continues. “But it doesn’t change the fact that I have a responsibility to the board, Billie, which means that even though it’s a negligible loss for a company that’s worth five billion, it’s still a drop in a bucket that if left unattended will only get bigger. And its perpetrators will only grow bolder.”

I am not forgiving Heath-

“While my brother may have added your sister as his employee so she has access to things already available to him like the penthouse or the company plane, I doubt he’s involved in stealing money from a company he owns millions of shares of,” he says, “which means he’s not going to risk everything for four million — not when his personal net worth is about a 100 million, give or take.”

“Last week, Ethan told me he was going to ask Blythe to marry him,” Heath says and my heart skips a beat. “He visited our mother in upstate New York to tell her the news, and while he was there, he took documents that belonged to her — documents that if exposed, could shame her — and depending on how people interpret it, label me as a fraud.”

“And there you have it!” I exclaim, startling even myself as my voice echoes in the bathroom. “That’s what all this is really about! You’re not really concerned about the money being embezzled, or about Blythe or Ethan. It’s really those papers — because if exposed, the world will know that you’re a fraud! Now that’s really original — coming from the man who couldn’t stop labeling me and my sister frauds, thieves, even wind-up dolls for the past two days.”

“But isn’t that what we are, Billie, just labels? People boxed and labeled because it’s easier to see ourselves and each other that way? I’m a president of a company, the chairman of the board — or depending who you talk to, a fraud, a bastard, whatever people want to say. Ethan’s a polo player, you’re a shop owner,” he pauses, his voice softening, “and Blythe is going to be my sister-in-law.”

My throat tightens when I hear the last words he says about Blythe. There’s a softness to his voice now, and the mantra that I’ve been saying again and again inside my head is slowly fading away. But then this is also the same man who asked me earlier what it would take for me to have sex with him.

“Labels, my ass,” I scoff. “Tell yourself that enough times, and you’ll actually believe it, Heath. No, you’re too rattled by what Ethan took from your mother that you’ll say anything to get it back. None of this is about me, Blythe, or that four million dollars that you just now admitted is a drop in a four billion dollar bucket!”

“Five.”

“Four…five! Does it matter if I’m off by a billion? On second thought, don’t answer me,” I say quickly. “This whole thing is really all about that piece of paper that will expose you as some fraud. This whole thing, this whole act, is all about you.”

“Billie, please open the door,” he says. “We need talk face to face.”

“So you can insult me again? You’re actually nicer when there’s a barrier between us so this arrangement right now is just fine, thank you very much.”

“Look, believe what you want to believe, Billie, but this isn’t all about me. You’re right about the red flags,” he says. “We have protocols in place that alert us of fraud, allowing us to document everything as much as we can. That’s why we didn’t do anything for months. And as a corporation, we did everything we’re supposed to do, except one thing simply because it involved someone Ethan loved.  I didn’t want the Feds or the IRS  involved right away, not until I was sure I had enough proof.  And all that time, keeping her alleged crime from my own board members!”

“So did you get enough proof now? Since you had all these theories you threw at me earlier? Accusations that I’m working with Blythe, that I’ve been sent here to distract you while she runs off with the money or starts a new life while I go to jail? What new theory do you have now? And come to think of it, how do I even know that you don’t have those authorities waiting to arrest me and Blythe at Saint Lucia?”

He doesn’t answer me right away, and I hear movement behind the door. It almost seems like he’s getting up from the floor, and I get up, too, wondering what he’s going to do next.

“And what if I do have people waiting for you, Billie? Because they are, just like they already have Blythe in custody,” he says.

I don’t even wait for my mind to process what he just said. Rage overtakes every inch of me as I yank the bathroom door open and rush out. Heath steps back just as I charge at him, all my decorum gone and I’m back at the playground and the children are taunting me, and Bitchy Blythe is nowhere in sight to cut them down with her words.  Instead, there’s Boxing Billie, and the fists that always got me sent to detention. Only there is no principal waiting to send me to detention, just the authorities ready to arrest me and Blythe.

A right hook hits his cheek.  My left fist is already in motion, but Heath is ready. He grabs both my wrists and swiftly whips me around like I’m a rag doll. He spins me around and slams me roughly against the wall, pushing his body against mine.  The sudden closeness catches me by surprise as he grabs my wrists and brings my arms up above my head, pinning my wrists against the wall.

He’s breathing hard, his nostrils flaring, and I can smell the scent of his cologne.  It unnerves me that my body recognizes the notes faster than my brain can process it, citrusy with a hint of spice. That and the feel of him so close — too close — to me, makes my belly tighten and my knees grow weak. My body betrays me even as courage deserts me, but I force myself to glare at him, meeting his blue-gray eyes without shame for what I’d just done, though I am angry for losing my cool in the end. How could I let my emotions get the best of me when I’d been doing so well? I haven’t punched anyone in three years, not since Andrew.

“You can add assault to the rest of the charges, I don’t care,” I tell him, my words emerging between gasps. “But I’m not apologizing to you.”

“And I don’t want you to.”  His expression softens but as I try to push him off me, it’s no use for he’s much stronger. Heath pins me even harder against the wall, my breasts pressing against his broad chest.

“Is this what turns you on?” I ask. “Is this part of your plan? Insult them, lie to them, corner them, just so you can seduce them?”

“No,” Heath says, his chest rising and falling with each breath he takes. “I’m usually much smoother than this, but if you consider this as foreplay, maybe I should file it for later.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I whisper, though my face is burning for it was exactly what I meant. My feelings are in turmoil, my mind filled with images of the things I want him to do to me, but I push them away as quickly as they come. Not with Heath, my mind screams — anyone but him. But right now, there’s only him, still holding my wrists above my head, his face so close to my own, and his body’s response pressing against my belly.

“All I really wanted, Billie, was for you to open that damn door.”

“You mean, no one’s waiting to arrest me?  And Blythe is free?”

“No to your first question, and yes to your second, so you can stop shaking now,” Heath says, releasing me abruptly. He turns away from me though I see him rubbing his jaw with his hand, hear a soft pop as he opens and closes his mouth.

“Are you okay?” I ask in a small voice, the vision of assault charges still dancing in my head. “Did I land it?“

“Not exactly, but it was still a hell of a right hook,” he mutters.

“Well, you deserved it.”

“You’re right, I did,” he says, turning to face me again as we stand in the narrow hallway. “Look, I’m sorry for insulting you and for not believing you when all you’ve ever done since I’ve met you was tell the truth.”

“That’s because I was.”

“And you’re right about me being rattled, because I am. I’m so rattled that I’m willing to travel with the only person I know who isn’t affiliated in any way, shape or form, with Kheiron Industries, even if you’re someone I barely know,” he says. “And because of circumstances beyond our control, it makes you the only person I’m willing to trust.”

“I wouldn’t trust you any further than I could throw you.”

He chuckles drily, studying my face. “I wouldn’t be too quick to say that, Billie, because right now, your options are just as limited as mine — and not just in the trust department. Which means we either have to work together.  A truce, maybe? Or we go our separate ways, like you said. You have your plan B after all, with you finding Blythe on your own and taking her home with you, though I wouldn’t count on it.  You don’t even know where to start to look for her in Saint Lucia.”

As I stare at Heath, I know he’s right, for even if I do manage to find Blythe, there’s no guarantee that she’s even going to believe me.  Even I can hardly believe everything that’s happening myself.

“But just because I’m willing to trust you doesn’t mean I need you with me to get to my brother,” Heath continues. “Whether those documents get leaked or not, I can weather the consequences, Billie. Your sister, on the other hand-”

“-is expendable, I get it.”

“What do you think will happen once whoever is behind the embezzlement realizes that the corporation already knows and will make their move on Blythe? We’ve already limited her access to company property and funds, though we’ve yet to freeze her accounts in Geneva.  But as far as the people behind it, do you think they’d waste their time to get their hands on that money?”

I turn away from his gaze. It’s not like we haven’t talked about this already, but I can sense the urgency in his voice, and maybe, even concern for Blythe.

“If Blythe is as smart as you are, what do you think will happen once she realizes that she’s being set up? How fast do you think your sister can run, Billie?”