“Did you mean what you just said?” I asked.
In the dark kitchen, CJ was pressed against me, his arms on either side, pinning me next to the counter. It was impossible not to react to the heat from his touch or the hardness of his body as his hips pressed against mine. I wanted to reach up, frame his scruffy cheeks, and pull his lips to mine. The only thing stopping me was the voice in my head.
“What did I say?” His questioning response was deep and measured, his words vibrating through his body to mine.
“About the money. That you don’t care.”
“Lena, I don’t give a fuck about money. This is the first time I’ve ever had it, but it doesn’t change who I am. My brother is afraid…” He took a little step back, relieving the growing pressure building within me. “…He said Adam thinks I kidnapped you, took you against your will.”
“I just read the same thing.”
“From?”
“Adam. It’s ridiculous. Kelsey was there.”
“Did he tell you that?” I asked.
“I haven’t called; instead, I started reading his text messages. He’s saying they found out more information about you.” I took a deep breath and stared up at CJ. “Adam thinks you went to Cancún to meet me.”
“He’s a fucking liar. You know why I was there. I was upset about selling Architech.”
“And what better revenge than to seduce and expose the person responsible for the sale.”
CJ took a step back and ran his fingers through his hair. In the moonlight shining through the windows, I saw his clenched jaw and his bulged bicep as he turned a complete circle. When CJ stopped, his volume was raised. “I was responsible for the sale. Colton and me. We agreed to sell. I had seller’s remorse, but revenge…that’s not who I am. What the fuck was I supposed to expose?”
I reached for my phone from the counter and brought it to life. The screenshot I showed was from his twitter feed. CJ took the phone from my hands and stared at the screen.
When he looked up, his expression was one of shock. “Lena, that’s my Twitter account, but fuck, I rarely post. I didn’t post that. Hell, no one follows me.”
“They do now. If not you, who?”
The tweet tagged me, saying CJ knew the secret to my success, knew it firsthand, and he should have held out for more negotiation. The pic was of us together in the cabana in Cancún. It was too far away to see what was happening, but it didn’t take a wild imagination to figure it out.
“Fuck if I know,” he said in exasperation. “I’m in the cabana. I obviously didn’t take the picture.”
“Who did you pay?” I asked. “One of the waitresses or waiters? How much did you pay them?”
“Stop, Lena.” CJ gripped my shoulders. “I. Didn’t. Do. That.”
“I can’t stay here.”
“Did you tell Adam where we are?”
“No. I don’t know where we are. I texted saying I’d talk to you and get him the location. It was clear in his messages that he’s upset about the watch. He asked why I took it off and asked if it was your idea.”
“And you told him it was me.”
I shook my head. “I haven’t responded, but it made me think. It was you. It was your idea.”
CJ inhaled as he paced back and forth like a caged animal. “Someone close to you is involved. According to you, that watch was connected to an untold number of security employees. Yes, it was my idea.”
I looked down at my feet, unsure what or who to believe.
“Lena,” CJ said, “Adam’s jealous.”
I snapped my face up. “What?”
“He’s jealous of me. He has been since you invited me to your suite in Cancún.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re not the first man I’ve been with since Adam’s worked for me.”
“That’s none of my business,” CJ said. His face tilted. “Do you see the way he looks at you?”
“No. There’s nothing like that between us.”
“Between you. That doesn’t mean it isn’t one-sided.”
I walked over to the breakfast bar and sat, lowering my forehead to the counter. When I looked up, CJ was across from me. Even in the moonlight I felt his stare, his presence. Just like this afternoon near the podium, I knew he was there before he spoke. It was like hearing his voice on the phone earlier today; it steadied me.
Had I let my body overrule my better judgment?
“Talk to me, Lena. Don’t overthink. Go with your gut. It’s gotten you to where you are now.”
“Adam doesn’t think you’re the stalker. He thinks you took advantage of the knowledge I shared and tried to scare me.”
“How? I didn’t know you were in Austin until after the plane landed.”
“The fish were believed to have been put in the cargo hold while I was at Architech. You could have hired someone.”
“So the fuck could he.”
I sat taller. “Adam wouldn’t do that.”
“The list of possibilities is limitless.” CJ reached across the counter and covered my hand with his. “I wouldn’t do that, with the fish. You know in your heart. You wouldn’t have texted me to help you if you didn’t trust me. Lena, I would rather die than scare you.”
With his hand holding mine, CJ came around the counter and tugged me from the chair. In one fell swoop, he lifted me from the ground, cradling me against his chest. “You’re as light as a feather.”
“Hardly.” I squirmed. “Put me down.”
“No.”
I blinked my eyes at his refusal. “Excuse me.”
“I didn’t take you against your will. You know that.”
“The watch…”
“It was for your safety.”
“Did you tell Colton that we’re at his new house?”
CJ shook his head. “No. You and I, we’re taking the rest of the night off from real life. You texted Adam, and you spoke to Kelsey earlier.”
I nodded.
“I didn’t tweet, Lena. I’ll delete it right now.”
Leaning my head against his chest, I sighed. “I hate publicity. Even good publicity turns bad. This started bad, meaning it will only get worse. You can delete it, but screenshots last forever.”
CJ sat me on the counter and reached for his phone. I watched as the phone came to life, and he swiped the screens. Finally, he handed me the phone. “I don’t even have Twitter on my phone. Look.”
I took the phone from his hand and read through each app and edge widget. No Twitter. No Facebook. “But it is your account?”
“Yes. I made it years ago. When was the tweet posted?”
Tilting my head toward the other side of the kitchen, I answered, “I don’t know. Let me look at the screenshot again.”
CJ brought my phone to me. I pulled up the text message. “It says five hours ago.”
“I was with you five hours ago with no other access to the internet than my phone.”
I tried to reason. “It was five hours ago when Adam got the screenshot. I don’t know when that was. It could have been yesterday or weeks ago while we were in Cancún.”
“And no one thought to notify you sooner?”
A new thought came to me. “What if the stalker was there? What if he saw us?”
CJ took the phone from my grasp, hit the button on the side. “We’ll turn both phones off and save battery. Lena, you need a break from all of this. Hell, after only part of a day, I need a break.” He grinned, offering me his hand. “Come with me. Trust me. And let me take your mind off real life.”
“You should run.”
His eyes opened wide. “From you?”
I nodded. “Like I said, I’m trouble.”
“What is the saying…something about women making history?”
“Well-behaved women seldom make history. It’s a quote from Professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, written in an article about Puritan funeral services. It’s been misinterpreted. She meant that well-behaved women should make history, not to encourage women to be rebels or less well-behaved.”
CJ grinned. “I like the misinterpretation.”
“I’m rarely well-behaved.”
“Good.” Again, he extended his hand. “Show me what you’ve got.”
“You’ve seen it.” I placed my hand in his and jumped down from the counter.
He tugged my hand toward the bedroom. “Show me again.”