“So, why Philadelphia?”
“Philadelphia was one of our favorite places to visit as a family, and I thought I’d feel closer to them, being able to visit all the places we used to go. Instead, it just made me feel lonelier. I’d hoped to get a job at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but that was wishful thinking. I was lucky enough to get the receptionist job. It paid the bills, barely. I was in over my head by the time I met Adrian, and I think I was so eager for someone to take care of me that I fell all too quickly, too easily.”
As I say the words, I’m aware that I’ve done the same thing all over again. Will I ever learn? Do I even want to?
“Why the struggle? Did your parents leave you nothing?”
I shake my head, wishing I could answer that question myself. “No. There was barely enough to cover their funeral expenses. I had to take out loans to finish school and to pay my living expenses while I did.”
He frowns and cocks his head as if he’s trying to put the pieces together. “Your dad worked in the city? What’d he do?”
“He was an accountant at a high-end firm. It made no sense, and I had no inclination my parents were in any sort of financial trouble. Especially not since he’d had a Paris vacation planned. But when the attorneys for his estate showed up, that’s all that was there. So I packed what I could, and as soon as I was done with school, I moved.”
A grimace curls on his face as I tell him of the loneliness I felt after my parents’ deaths, but he lets me continue. It isn’t until I admit how easily I fell for Adrian’s charms that a strange look crosses his face, and he lets out a deep sigh. Taking my hand, he soothingly rubs his thumb along mine.
“I know that it’s only been a few weeks, but I hope you’re comfortable enough to trust that I’m not like that. We are not like that. I’m an open book, Brie, and anything you want to know about me, I’ll tell you.”
“I know,” I respond, squeezing his hand reassuringly. “I know that this is different. It feels different. In the best way possible.”
He nods, giving me a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. It’s as if he’s not sure I’m convinced, but he doesn’t voice it. “So, what happened? Because the man I saw that day in the kitchen? He doesn’t sound like the charming one you fell for. How long was it before everything changed?”
“Are you sure you want to hear this?” I ask, knowing that this is strange territory for both of us. It’s not exactly first-date subject material.
“Yes, Brie. I said everything, and I meant it. I want to know it all. The good and the bad.”
With ease, I dive right in, feeling comfortable, and it’s surprisingly therapeutic to say it all out loud. “The first year, everything was great. For the first time since my parents died, I didn’t feel alone. I craved his attention, and he lavished me with it. Looking back, I realize he was slowly but surely isolating me—not that it took much. But at the time, I didn’t see it that way. I think getting me to quit my job and come work for him—if you can call it that—was the final step for him. I had no friends to miss me, no coworkers to spend time with. It was just him and me, and I loved it. I was completely reliant on him, and now that I’ve taken my rose-colored glasses off, I can see what he was doing all along. I just don’t understand why. What was the purpose of it?”
Rafe shakes his head. “I have no idea. I hope you know, Brie, that you don’t have to work for me. Any time you want to find something else, I’ll support you. I promise.”
“I know that. You’re helping me get out of a bad situation, not putting me into another one. You’re nothing like him.”
“So, what made you decide that it was finally time to leave?” he asks.
Sighing, I take a sip of my wine before continuing. I still hate that he witnessed the end. “The panties were the final straw, but there was a multitude of things that were throwing red flags up before that. When we first met, he wouldn’t talk about his family. He just said he and his father were estranged and had been for some time. Something about not seeing eye to eye when it came to the family business.”
“Do you know who his father is, Brie?” he interrupts. His interest was piqued as soon as I mentioned the man.
“No, I have no idea.”
He studies me as if he’s not sure he believes it. “Adrian Morningstar’s the son of Theo Morningstar,” he tells me as if the name should ring a bell. It doesn’t.
“And?”
“He’s only one of the wealthiest men in the world, having made his billions through investments, which have been rumored to often be dirty dealings. Apparently, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
My brow wrinkles. “How do you know that?”
He shrugs. “I check out all of my clients. A quick Internet search told me everything I needed to know. Did you ever meet his father?”
“No, never. He told me they were estranged and that was that. Well, until about six months ago.”
“What happened six months ago?”
“That’s when everything started to change. One day, I went to take him to lunch and found him pacing in his office, looking distraught. He was on the phone and shooed me away, but once he came downstairs, he informed me that he had to go visit his father, something about a new deal they’d be working on together.”
“I thought they were estranged,” he comments.
“So did I, but I was excited about the idea of meeting his family. When I asked if I could accompany him, he forbade it. ‘Absolutely not,’ he said, and when I pushed, that’s the first time he got angry with me, telling me he had no intention of even telling his father about us. He left shortly after, and things haven’t been the same since.”
“Do you think something happened with Theo?” he asks.