Page 91 of The Fiancé Hoax

She gasped, her hand going to her chest.

“You’re not holding up your end of the bargain,” I said angrily. “You got what you wanted from me, and now you’re flaking out on our agreement two weeks early.”

She stared at me with her mouth open in shock. Then she sprang to her feet and rushed past me. She grabbed her purse and laptop bag in the foyer and stormed out the front door, leaving it wide open.

I leaned against the wall, listening to the sound of her car starting and driving off.

Fuck. What had I done?

I shouldn't have said that she owed her success all to me. Not only was it untrue, but it was a shitty, cruel thing to say.

I felt awful for losing my temper with her. But did she really expect me to believe that she had been walking aimlessly for hours?

She was headed back to her apartment, no doubt. I was too upset to go after her or try to reach her on the phone.

Instead, I shut the front door, went upstairs, and lay in bed for hours. Felicity didn’t come home.

When sleep finally arrived, it was fitful and restless.

* * *

The next day, I parked my car in the company garage. As I walked toward my building, I looked around for that piece-of-shit PI. I'd grown used to looking for him. And though I hadn't seen him since that first day, I knew he was probably following me.

Sure enough, he appeared as I emerged onto the sidewalk. He was just a few steps behind me, not even trying to hide. It was like he wanted me to see him.

I was not in the mood for this.

I spun on my heels and faced him head on.

“You've got to be the shittiest private eye in the city. You're supposed to stay out of sight when you're tracking people. Where did Gen find you, a comic book convention?”

He smirked. “I'm doing my job just fine. You ought to worry about yourself, Cooper.”

I took a step toward him. “Is that so?”

He nodded. “That's so. I have evidence to show your engagement is a lie. You're about to lose your fake family.”

That was the last straw. I grabbed the guy and pushed him against the wall of my building. My fists were just itching to slam into his face.

He cowered in fear, but he couldn't control his tongue. “Go ahead and hit me, Cooper. I'm sure Judge Graves would love to see photographic evidence of your out-of-control anger.”

I stepped back, knowing he was right. I'd lose the case for sure if I hit him. He'd been taunting me all along.

“Get out of here before I change my mind. And stay the fuck away from my fiancée.”

He ran off and I stood there, watching him scurry away. Then I walked into my building, hoping none of my employees had witnessed the scene.

I got on the elevator, my breath still rapid. I’d come close to punching that guy, and it would’ve been a disaster.

“Good morning, Mr. Pierce.” My executive assistant, Rebecca, greeted me with a warm smile as I stepped off the elevator on the top floor.

“I need to cancel my appointments this morning,” I muttered before retreating to my office.

“Sure thing, Mr. Pierce.”

I shut the door behind me and slumped in my office chair. How had everything fallen apart so quickly?

I threw myself into my work, grateful for the distraction brought by my quarterly prospectus. But my mind kept returning to Felicity.