The Billionaire Scoop by Rose Francis

Author:Rose Francis [Francis, Rose]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Poison Arrow Publishing

Chapter 9

Maribel

Lucy was even prettier than she’d imagined, and Maribel’s cheeks burned a little with jealousy.

Lucy’s wide blue eyes studied her too, examining her from head to torso.

“Who is this?” the blonde said with a false smile and casual tone as she sat down.

She rested her purse on the table, then, after a quick glance at Maribel, apparently thought better of it and moved the bag out of sight, dropping it next to her feet on the opposite side of Maribel, as if making sure she couldn’t reach it.

Maribel recognized the behavior and fought not to roll her eyes.

To some degree, she didn’t blame Lucy for being wary of a stranger, but she knew that wasn’t all there was to it—not by a mile.

She had learned that no matter how she was dressed, how obviously normal and unthreatening, distrust was buried so deep in some people, they’d never see her as a regular person worthy of the benefit of the doubt.

But even before the typical behavior, the appraisal Lucy had initially given her as she took in her features sent a clear message in woman-speak—Lucy was threatened by her beyond pretending she might be some petty criminal at heart.

This was not going to go well.

“Jim, this is awkward enough without…”

“She’s with the company,” Jim said. “She’s just here to report back to my dad.”

Maribel fought to keep a straight face.

She hadn’t even known Jim that long, but he was a terrible liar.

If Lucy didn’t see through his fib, she really hadn’t bothered to know him well at all.

After a final once-over, Lucy turned her complete attention to Jim.

“Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was for me?”

“I don’t know the extent of it, no; I figure it’s quite deep and there’s no way I can possibly make it up to you. But I want to begin with my sincerest apologies, Lucy; I’m truly sorry for what I did to you.”

His voice sounded genuine, and Maribel believed him, but Lucy let out a dry chuckle.

“Not a bad beginning, I suppose. But you do know there’s an easy way to make it up to me, don’t you? Look, we’ll say you found yourself suddenly ill so the wedding’s been postponed, but as long as things end up as planned…”

She smiled, reaching for his hand.

Jim’s hand quickly disappeared from the table, successfully avoiding any physical contact with hers.

Maribel tried not to look at either of them in the aftermath, but she still caught the look of raw hurt on Lucy’s face at the not-so-subtle rejection.

If Maribel was uncomfortable before, she wanted to hide under the table now; she definitely felt like an intruder at the moment.

Lucy fixed her gaze on her, and Maribel felt it burning through her as she kept her eyes averted.

“I’m sorry, what did you say she does again?” Lucy said in a different voice—casual, but in a higher pitch. “I don’t remember seeing her around before. Is she new?”

“Well, you can’t possibly know all of the company’s faces. Like I said, she’s helping me sort things out.

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