“Don, I only met her this past September, and I just discovered she’s been tracing my steps to learn about my life today. I certainly didn’t ask her to fall on your dick. That it was available for her to fall on is your doing,” Ben said, returning the heat.
Don was quiet for a moment. “Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry, Ben. Feeling a little too sorry for myself these days.”
“I’m also sorry you got caught up in… whatever it is. I don’t have enough information on what she’s doing other than speaking to people who’ve been involved in my life. Can you recall what you told her about me?” Ben asked.
“She seemed pretty impressed that we were business partners. She might have asked about the strip club, but I was pretty drunk when she started grilling me. You should probably speak to Bryan and his crew. They spent more time with her than me. Hang on a second. Let me text Evie to see if she still keeps in touch with the girl you rescued from the club. Betty?”
“Becky,” Ben corrected.
“Ah! Right, right,” Don muttered, distracted by his tapping on the phone’s keypad. Then Ben heard a sound effect of something swooshing away.
Don put the cell to his ear again. “I’m wondering if Robin went to speak to her as well. I’ve asked Evie to confirm.”
“How is Evie doing?” Ben asked.
He could hear the smile in Don’s voice. “She’s still my friend though she’s disappointed in me. Everyone is, really. But I made sure this mess hasn’t affected the business in any way. We’re still doing really well, as seen by our sales reports. The team is still happy and busy.”
“That’s great to hear, Don. I’d like you to ensure you take care of yourself, too. Yes, people are relying on you, but you can spend some time on your well-being. If you need help with this, there are people trained to talk you through it. There’s no stigma. It’s just another health issue.”
Don was quiet again for a moment. “Thanks, Ben.”
There was a bing, and Don made a pleased sound. “Evie just got back to me, and she said Robin did speak with Becky and her mother. She must have done that after she left us. Christ, this woman is frighteningly thorough.”
“Thanks for checking up on that for me, Don. I’ll give Bryan a call and see what he recalls.”
“I’d say no worries, but it sounds like you may have some,” Don said cautiously.
Ben sighed. “I’ll look into it. Thanks again. Bye!”
After hanging up, Ben looked up Bryan’s number on his cell and dialed it on the burner. He wondered if it was too late to call the man.
“Yeah, who the fuck is this?” a voice barked into the phone. There was a fair amount of noise in the background. The gang might be out on the town again.
“It’s Ben Shepherd.”
“OH! Oh! Hey Ben! Sorry, this isn’t your usual number!” the man laughed.
Ben smiled as Bryan was as enthusiastic as usual. “Borrowed a friend’s. Listen, I need to ask you about a woman who worked at your company last year. The one who had a fling with Don.”
“A fling! Ha! You say the funniest things. They shagged, and Don got caught with a wet wick!” the man guffawed.
Ben rolled his eyes. “Right, well, I heard about it when I just spoke to him. Don mentioned she hung out with you and the team.”
There was a hesitation then Bryan came back on. “Yeah… right… I recall her joining us on a pub crawl or two. She spent most of her time with Mare, though. They were right mates until she had to piss off. Left Mare with a case of the sads.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have Mare’s number so I could speak to her?” Ben asked.
Bryan snorted. “I’ll do ya one better. MARE! Come talk to Ben!”
He heard a group of voices suddenly yell out his name, and the phone was fumbled into Mare’s hands.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Mare. It’s Ben Shepherd. Do you have a moment to talk, somewhere quiet?”
“Oh! Uh, give me a moment,” she said.
The background noise gradually diminished, and there was a sudden drop in volume as she stepped outside.
“How’s that?” Mare asked.
“Much better! First off, how are you feeling? Bryan said you were feeling a little blue earlier this year,” Ben began.
“Oh! Nah, I’m okay now. Thanks for asking,” she said, and Ben could hear the pleased smile.
“That’s good to hear. I just discovered that a woman by the name of Robin has been tracking down people I’ve associated with and has been pumping them for information on me. I’m unsure what her ultimate goal is with this information, but I understand she spent time with you. Do you recall what you spoke about with her?” Ben asked gently.
Mare made a throat-clearing sound, and there was a moment of quiet before she spoke. “Robin was a lot of fun to be around. I really felt comfortable with her, and she could make anyone smile. We talked a lot about everything. One night she asked about the girl you rescued from the strip club, and I told her everything I could remember. Evie told her about the shopping trip you sent her on the next day. That was really sweet of you, Ben.”
Ben grunted.
“Who is Robin Wood? Is that even her name?” Mare asked, and Ben could hear an echo of the hurt she’d felt when Robin left.
Ben sighed. “I don’t know who she is. This is the first time I’ve heard that last name! I met her a few months ago when she was a flight attendant on a jet service I used to fly between a few countries. I saw her a few times over a few days, and I also thought she was charming, funny, and easy to talk to. I said more about my personal life than I usually would have. Then I discovered she spent time with a good friend of mine in France before she was a flight attendant and prior to France she was working at your company. Everywhere she’s been, she’s been digging for information about me. I’m… thinking she might be planning to publish it. The problem is, she stole something from my friend in France. I need to get it back for her.”
“Shit! She stole from your friend? What’s gotten into her?” Mare asked.
Ben recalled the night in Singapore. “We talked about our childhoods; she said she’d had a humble one. I don’t know if it’s true, but she said her mother was a maid in a large manor home and her father was a taxi driver. I think she has the drive to own one of those manor homes one day.”
“With no friends to share it with her,” Mare sad sadly.
“She’s burning through a lot of trust along the way,” Ben agreed.
“If she ever calls me, and I don’t expect her to, did you want me to say anything to her?” Mare asked.
Ben thought for a second before answering. “No. When I found out she was abusing the trust of my friends, I lost all respect for her. She’s not worth our time. Thanks, Mare! Send my regards to the team.”
“Thanks, Ben. I will.”
The line went dead, and Ben lowered the phone as he stood looking out at the white snow covering the countryside. That pristine cover went all the way down into the valley and up the mountains on the other side. It looked pure, clean, and untouched, bringing him a little comfort as he enjoyed the view.
Robin Wood. If he could trust that this was her real name. For some reason, Ben thought it was.
At one time, he thought she might be a good person, someone he could rely upon.
But that wasn’t the case.
Arms wrapped around his waist, and soft breasts pressed against his back as Gabriella rested her cheek against Ben’s shoulder.
“Are you all right, Ben?” she asked.
He hugged her arms and sighed. “Yeah, just a little disappointed. Robin seemed like a good person, but she’s messing with some truly nice people and leaving wreckage in her wake. That’s not cool. She helped break up Don Blake’s marriage though he’s definitely at fault, too. She hurt the feelings of one of Don’s engineering team. She stole from Stephanie. I think she might be gathering information about me to publish a book.”
Gabriella released him and moved to face him. She looked into his eyes and saw his discomfort at the idea. “What do you want to do?”
He took a deep breath. “I want to go home and hide in my basement, away from all the prying eyes, but I won’t do that. I have so many wonderful people around me now. I want to share my days with them.” Ben touched her chin and tilted her face up gently so he could kiss her tenderly. Then he smiled at her as her eyes shone with love. “I’ll just keep your faces in my mind and heart and push all that noise aside. I’ve been through worse.”
“Are we going home tomorrow?” Gabriella asked.
Ben nodded. “With a brief stop in London. I believe Fisher mentioned we’d stop there for refueling. I need to contact Dennis to get the home address for Robin Wood. We’ll make a brief visit to retrieve Stephanie’s property.”
Gabriella gave Ben an evaluating look. “That’s all you plan to do there?”
“I’ll ask her about her plan for the information she’s gathered. I may even ask her nicely to cease and desist, but that’s all,” he admitted.
Gabriella nodded and gave him a hug. “I can’t wait to get you home,” she sighed.
Ben smiled. Home sounded so good.