He remembered Ms. Nash’s words. “I understand. So, work. I just want you to be happy. All, I’m saying is you can work doing something you enjoy.”
“Like what? I’ve never had a chance to even think about something like that.”
“Well, you’ve always wanted to go back to school. Maybe you could spend some time thinking about that while you’re getting your degree.”
“Yeah, but you would be paying for that too.”
He nuzzled her neck. The side that wasn’t bandaged. “I’d call it an investment.”
“I don’t know.”
“Ms. Nash said that she’s hiring a counselor at Serenity House. You seemed to enjoy being with the kids there.”
Her eyes lit up just a bit. “That would be incredible, but I’m sure I don’t have the qualifications for that job. And, you’d still be signing my checks.”
“No, I wouldn’t. I don’t own Serenity House. I’m one of its largest financial contributors, but it doesn’t belong to me.”
Jade nibbled her bottom lip. That was an intriguing idea. “Really?”
“Really. How about later on today, we take a drive up there and talk to Ms. Nash? I have to stop by my office first because I have a meeting at 1 PM, but I promised Millie I’d help her with her algebra.”
Jade knew he was making an excuse but loved him for the effort. “I’d better call Mario and tell him I’m taking the day off. Cole, I won’t quit until I have something else lined up.”
“Understandable.”
“You know Millie has a crush on you.”
He caressed her cheek and gazed deeply into her eyes. “Too bad my heart was taken seventeen years ago.”
*****
Cole had just finished his meeting when he got a call from Marco. He was no nonsense. “What did you find?”
“The text came from a number registered to an Elise McGhee. Do you know her? Do you want me to get more information about her?”
He had to sit down. Cole couldn’t believe that she’d really been behind all of this mess. “I know who she is. I can take it from here. Thanks.”
There was a small tap on the door and Cole looked up to find Elise standing there. They hadn’t really spoken since he’d broken things off with her. “Cole? I came to see you as soon as I heard.” She had the phony look of concern down pat. “Are you all right?”
The rage inside of him was almost overwhelming. Jade could have been killed last night. He stood. “Please, come in and shut the door behind you.”
Elise did as she was asked. “I know that we’re not together, but love doesn’t just shut off like a faucet. I needed to see with my own eyes that you were okay.”
“Why? Why did you do it?”
Fake confusion was written all over her face. “Do what? What are you talking about?”
“Kevin told me you paid him fifty thousand dollars to get Jade out of the way. I didn’t believe him at first. Not you. I knew you wouldn’t do anything like that. But my investigator called to say as far back as the first couple of weeks after Jade moved in with me, you sent her a text.”
Elise’s pretense of concern vanished. “She was manipulating you. I was only trying to look out for you from people like her! She’s still manipulating you.”
“She could have been killed last night, Elise! Killed!”
She waved him off as if his words meant nothing. “He wasn’t going to hurt her. I specifically told him not to do anything illegal. I just wanted her out of the way. She was coming between us. She did come between us. We were going to get married.”
“Why would you think that? I never told you that. Until now, marriage was never on my radar.”
“Are you kidding me? You would pick that trashy nothing of a girl over me? Can you really be that stupid? It’s one thing to screw her, it’s quite another to marry her!”
“What goes on between Jade and me, doesn’t concern you anymore.”
“Were you sleeping with her before we broke up?” Elise was getting hysterical.
“No.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe you. I know that you slept with her the same night you broke up with me. Why should I believe it wasn’t happening before? You for damn sure weren’t sleeping with me.”
Cole thought back to that morning when Jade said Elise had been inside the house. He knew that she had been on his property because he saw her drive away. Damn. He’d given her keys to set up the dinner party for Pfingston. She had been inside his home.
Cole was so angry he could literally choke her. “For your safety, it’s probably best that you leave right now! I promise you if we ever cross paths or if you in any way come within a hundred yards of Jade, I’ll have your ass brought up on stalking charges.
Her eyes went wide. “You wouldn’t dare? You don’t have any proof.”
“I’m sure there is a money trail somewhere between you and Kevin. Plus, I bet someone knows how Kevin got released early. If there isn’t any proof, I’ll go to the press. I know how you and your kind feel about bad press. I’m not going to tell you again, get the hell out of my office!”
Elise’s face went pale, she turned and walked out the door. He followed her out and stopped at his assistant’s desk. Cole pointed toward Elise’s retreating back. “I don’t want that woman anywhere near this property. If she steps one foot in this building call the police and have her arrested. Also, send someone over to my house. I need all of my locks changed.”
Chapter 26
It had been a month since Kevin Lockwood attempted to exact his revenge on Jade and Cole. Jade had quit Mario’s to work full time at Serenity
