Crash - Part Four Read Online Free Page B

falling on my ass; that would really top off this fantastic day.
    The receptionist in Carter’s building didn’t say anything, but did give me a sympathetic look indicating that she knew she was looking at a woman who had been stood up. If I hadn’t been angry before, I soon became mad as hell as I stood in the elevator, shivering and shaking with the cold. With everything that was going on right now, the last thing I needed was a cold or flu to deal with.
    As soon as the elevator doors opened, I started pulling off my wet clothes, making my way to the bathroom to get changed. I hadn’t expected Carter to be at home. I assumed whatever weak excuse he had for not showing up for our date was related to work. Instead, I opened the bedroom door and found him sat on the end of the bed with his head down.
    “What the hell, Carter?!” I yelled, throwing my wet shirt down on the floor. “You’ve been here all this time?”
    Carter looked up at me, and I could see from the redness around his face that he had been crying.
    “What’s happened?” I asked, rushing to his side.
    “I probably shouldn’t talk to you about it.”
    “Don’t be silly. It’s obvious something that has upset you.”
    “I’m okay,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I’m in a state of shock more than anything. Just not too sure how to react.”
    “We have to talk. What happened?”
    “I just got a call from Kerry. Bella passed away today.”

Chapter Six
    The next morning, John and I had our big meeting with Scott to finalize our plans for the lawsuit. We met in an impressive—and ludicrously expensive—reception area where we waited for him to finish up another meeting.
    “You’re surprisingly quiet this morning, considering you spent the night at Carter’s,” John remarked. “Usually you are all bubbly and annoyingly chipper.”
    “How do you even know I stayed at Carter’s?” I asked. “Don’t tell me you slept at my place last night?”
    “No, I’m actually getting used to staying at my place now. The clothes were the giveaway. I’ve not seen them before, which means they must be the ones you bought to leave at Carter’s.”
    Touché , I thought. “I did stay at Carter’s, but we didn’t have sex.”
    “Oh, is it… you know…?”
    “No, it’s not my time of the month.”
    I told John about Bella passing away and how Carter and I spent the night in bed together, but he just held me in his arms as we both drifted off to sleep.
    “How do you feel about all this?” John asked. “I know it sounds a bit heartless, but this must be difficult for you, what with the whole ‘she was married to your boyfriend’ thing.”
    “Honestly, I have no idea how I feel. On the one hand, she was partly responsible for killing my brother and obviously shouldn’t have been drinking and driving, but on the other hand, that drug by PharmaTech messed her up, so they have to share the blame.”
    “What about Carter’s reaction to it all? You aren’t mad at him for missing dinner and for being so upset?”
    I shook my head. “Not at all. Given how important she once was to him, I think he’s handling it remarkably well. And he’s not reacting like he is still in love with her. I believe him more than ever about that. I know he loved her once, but I don’t think he has for quite some time.”
    “This is just going to make Kerry even more determined to get her revenge on PharmaTech.”
    “I know. We’re going to have to make sure we retain control of all this. In fact, I’m going to ask Carter to have her back off a little bit. She can be involved when she needs to be, but for the most part, he should be the one to pass information on to her. That way, she won’t to be able to put pressure on us.”
    “Good idea.” Something behind me caught John’s attention. “My God, is that him? I hope it’s him.”
    I turned around and looked at the man walking our way. Carter had spoiled me, so other men did not easily impress me