“I’ve seen so many movies in the last two weeks, it’s not funny. I’m getting invites to press junkets now. Did I tell you I saw Paul Rudd last week? He’s even more handsome in person than he is on screen.”
“Oh, I love him!”
“So do I. David wasn’t that happy for me though. I think he was a bit upset that I spent most of our date gushing about Paul.”
“You can’t talk about a hot guy to your boyfriend. Especially not to your boyfriend who’s not getting any. He must be going crazy out of his mind with blue balls.”
“Blue balls is a myth,” I muttered.
“Well, obviously their balls don’t go blue unless they’re dead, but you know he must be horny as hell and it doesn’t seem like you’re doing much to help.”
“I’m not going to go down on him, if that’s what you’re saying.” I cringed at the thought. Though, it wasn’t like we hadn’t come close. Every night we spent together we came closer and closer to being fully intimate, but it was a line I knew I couldn’t cross. The boundaries were already blurry, I couldn’t afford for them to disappear altogether.
“Do you even like this guy, Bianca?” Rosie sounded thoughtful. “I just don’t understand why you’re dating him.”
“I’ve got to go, Rosie. I’ll try and set up dinner for Wednesday night. I’ll ask David to invite Mattias as well. See if we can make it a foursome,” I said, changing the subject. I didn’t know how to explain how I felt as I was confused myself. David was such a handsome, funny guy that it was easy to forget why I was with him. It was easy to get caught up in his kisses, easy to touch him and be touched by him, but there was a side to him that I didn’t fully understand. And that had nothing to do with my father either. There was something about David that was almost too good to be true, a side that was too intense for me. A side that hinted at danger, though I wasn’t really sure why I thought that, as he’d never done anything to make me think he was a bad boy—aside from being Jeremiah Bradley’s son.
“That sounds great. Love you.”
“Love you too,” I said quickly and then hung up. I jumped off my bed and walked into my living room to stare at the papers on my coffee table. I’d been trying to piece together the information in them before Rosie had called.
Notes
Some point in the past—Dad, Jeremiah Bradley, and Arnold Maxwell form Bradley, London & Maxwell. They were all school friends?
From what I can tell—Jeremiah had the financial backing, Dad had the inventions, and Arnold had the charisma (still need to find out more about Arnold).
Creations and Patents—Dad created the self-painter, the mosquito zapper, the battery operated fridge, and 75 other products that are now sold all over the world.
Dissolution of company—Dad had a contract drafted to dissolve the company and take his patents with him.
Mother’s death—Car accident occurred one week after Dad had paperwork drawn up.
Bradley Inc.—Formed one year after Mother’s death.
Other facts I know—Dad was an employee of Bradley Inc., he never mentioned ever being more than that to me, he never had much money, he never talked about Bradley or Maxwell. However, there are a few old photographs of my parents with me as a child and some other couples. Why did my dad stay at Bradley Inc. if Jeremiah had stolen his patents? And why stay if he thought Jeremiah had something to do with my mother’s death?
My deduction—Jeremiah Bradley had my mother killed because he wanted to stop my father from taking his patents from the company and essentially all of the money. Only it doesn’t make perfect sense. Once again I am left with the question as to why my father had stayed at Bradley Inc. if Jeremiah had done something shady.
Proof—None
Proof Needed—paperwork showing the financial makeup of the company, how Bradley Inc. was formed, what happened to Arnold Maxwell, my father’s role in Bradley Inc. Who owns the patents?
I read through my list a couple of times and sighed. I was no closer to getting any of the information that I needed. And my deductions were based on intuition rather than any real facts. I grabbed my father’s letter again and reread it for the thousandth time. Why, oh, why couldn’t he have provided me with more in-depth information as to what he thought had happened? It would have made this so much easier. If I at least knew I was on the right track, I’d have a better idea of what to look for.
I picked up my phone and called David to ask him to dinner on Wednesday. I was glad that Rosie had suggested a group dinner. This way it wasn’t just me bringing up his brother again. Every time I thought I was going to get to meet Mattias, something came up. It was as if fate didn’t want us to meet.
“Hello.” David’s voice was bored as he answered the phone. It was a far cry from his eager tone when we had first met.