Chapter 23: Playing With Fire

Bentley stormed out on me. He was angry and disappointed.

He wanted me to stand up for myself and him because he swore he was innocent. But I couldn't make that call so soon.

He questioned why I ever slept with him if I didn't trust him, and I asked myself the same thing. I don’t know why I did it. Did I enjoy it? Very much so. But he and Rodger were right. I was playing with fire.

“What was that all about?” Marcia entered my office with concern on her face. “Things looked pretty heated between you two.”

I sighed and lowered my head.

Telling her about my night with Bentley was out of the question because I knew how much she gossiped, but somehow she pieced it together on her own.

“Is that who had you in such a good mood earlier!?” she gasped. “OMG! No way, Justine! You did not sleep with the very man you’re investigating!”

“Shh!” I hissed. “Lower your voice before someone hears you.”

Her eyes were as wide as her smile, and her thirst to know every single detail was even wider.

“Wow, you’ve really switched up your approach,” she laughed. “Well, was it worth it? Did you get any dirt on him?”

“Clean as a whistle,” I said, sounding disappointed in myself. “If he’s involved, it’s going to take more than just sleeping with him to figure it out. But I don't know, Mar. I really think there’s more than that between us. I can’t explain it, but he makes me smile. I know there’s no way in hell that he and I could ever be together for real, but the thought of it just does something to me.”

I sat there dreamingly thinking of a life with the ruthless billionaire. All the places we could go and the things we could explore together.

He and I were a lot alike in different ways. But our worlds collided in areas that were too much for me.

“What if he is innocent?” Marcia asked.

I stared at her. Hope filled my eyes and my heart. But even if he was innocent, what about all of his other crimes? What about the crimes I was sure he would commit moving forward? Even if it wasn’t murder, it was still against the law.

Instead of answering, I showed her the article he dropped off. She read the headline, and her hand immediately rose to her mouth to cover her screams.

“This is bad,” she said. “Like, extremely bad. Who would write this?”

As soon as the question fell from her lips, Rodger passed by my office.

Before I knew it, I was on my feet, charging toward my door to attack him.

“Rodger! I know it was you! You did this!” I shouted and pointed my finger straight at his nose. “How could you do something so foul? All because you’re upset that I won't be with you? That’s low and cheap. And you’re gonna regret ever crossing the line with me.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he chuckled, both his hands in the air like I was the police. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, yeah, right!” I scoffed. “I know you leaked information to the press about me. Don’t try to act clueless. You’re the only one who knows anything.”

I hated the look of innocence he gave me, as if he really didn’t know about the article. The guilt showed behind his crooked smile. It reeked behind the good smelling cologne he wore to attract women. Rodger was a snake. And I had learned to heed his warnings that very day.

“I warned you not to get too close, Justine,” he said in a low tone. “Nothing good comes from being friends with men like Bentley. Even if you haven’t done anything wrong, there will always be speculations. How does the saying go? If you roll around with dogs, you get fleas?”

I wanted to smack him across the head a few times to knock some sense into him. Then I realized two can play that game.

“You know Rodger.” I stepped closer to him so no one could hear. “I possibly saved your life today. Bentley saw that article and got very angry about what was said about me. He didn’t even care about what was said about him. He only cared about me. So as much as you want to believe he’ll someday hurt me or make me disappear, I think you’re wrong. And I'm gonna prove it. So stay out of my way, and I might just keep my guard dog from attacking you.”

“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” He glared at me through angry eyes.

“Whatever you want it to mean,” I smirked. “You wanna play with fire? Let’s play. I just hope your hands are as clean as mine are.”

I walked away from him and returned to my office with pride.

Marcia stood in my doorway, eavesdropping on my fight with Rodger, but I didn't care. I felt so empowered. Knowing that I had Bentley in my back pocket was a win for me.

I didn't only want to play him like some pawn on my chess board, though. I wanted more. A lot more.

“You think Rodger’s behind that article?” Marcia asked.

“I do.” I spoke sternly. “We went to Club Lure the other night, and he and Bentley got into some kind of stare off. Rodger randomly came onto me at my place, and ever since then, he’s been acting strange. Like he’s got a chip on his shoulder or something.”

“Be careful with him." The look in her eyes was cold and unwavering. "A friend of mine went on a date with Rodger years ago and said he was weird. She refused to see him again, and he got angry. Afterward, she said some crazy things started happening to her car and around her house. She always said she thought it was Rodger, but she had no proof.”

My heart sank in my chest, and I immediately thought about what Silvia said about Rodger.

It was then and only then that my investigation took a turn for the worst.