He wasn’t surprised that Cortez had figured out that he loved her. “Yes, but what good did it do me? All I got is another woman who doesn’t trust me. Hell, Tez, we spent those two weeks together.”
“Yes, but two weeks isn’t a long period of time, when you think about it. I bet she has trust issues, too, probably because of that bastard of a father of hers. There’s no way she wasn’t affected by it. Maybe even worse than Hansen, Pratt and Monica.”
“Why would you say that?”
“They didn’t live with the man. She did, for the first twelve years of her life. She probably saw how manipulative he could be, pretending he loved her mother, all the while cheating on her with other women. That had to have been hard on her.”
“Stop trying to come up with excuses for Kelly, Tez.”
“Just wanted to give you something to think about.”
Colton didn’t want anything to think about regarding Kelly. He figured now was a good time to change the subject. “Have you heard from the Brothers Four?”
“Yes, they arrived in Philly, met with the judge and everything is done. Quinn now has full custody of Hayes. Don’t forget the family Zoom call on Sunday night.”
“I won’t. But in the meantime, I have to get back to my packing.”
CHAPTER 19
On Monday, Kelly spent most of the day closing out her Masters Unlimited files and briefing her team. She’d told everyone what a great job they’d done; especially their research on the vacant lots in Harlem. All of them would be getting a bonus in their next paycheck.
She had purposely kept herself busy so as not to think about Colton, but she did so anyway. He had consumed her every thought since she’d returned to Atlanta. She figured he was in Savannah now, and she was probably the last person on his mind.
Hansen and Pratt didn’t make things easy on her this weekend. Hansen had come to town as he’d said he would and had stayed at her place the entire time. The brother who claimed her apartment gave him claustrophobia had sacrificed comfort to harass her. Well, he hadn’t really harassed her, but had made her see how wrong she was for not giving Colton a chance to defend himself against her accusations.
Then yesterday, after they’d finished their meeting about Mr. Perkins, all three of her siblings had given her more food for thought. Thanks to her mother, she had grown up to be a pretty well-adjusted kid, but that didn’t mean her father’s behavior hadn’t affected her. He’d left scars on all four of his kids in some kind of way, and for her to pretend he hadn’t… Well, she was being delusional and dishonest with herself.
All through the night, she had dwelled on all the ‘food for thought’ that Hansen, Pratt and Monica had given her, andconcluded they had been right. She did have trust issues where men were concerned and more than anything, she wanted to talk to Colton about it. She had tried calling him several times last night but hadn’t been able to reach him. And she’d tried calling him a number of times this morning. She shouldn’t be surprised that he was not taking her calls.
She was about to pick up her cell phone to try reaching out to Colton again when the buzzer on her desk sounded. “Yes, Tanya?”
“There is someone here to see you, Ms. Perkins. A Sherelle Telfair.”
Kelly lifted a brow. Sherelle was here? While in the fitness center that day, she had told the woman to look her up if she ever came to Atlanta. She wondered what had brought her to town.
She stood when Tanya escorted the woman into her office. She came from around her desk. “Sherelle, this is a pleasant surprise. Are you in town on business?”
Sherelle shook her head. “No. I came to Atlanta specifically to see you, Kelly. I owe you an apology.”
**
“Mr. Venters, Attorney Attworth is on the line.”
“Please put him through, Dorian.”
When the phone clicked over, Eric leaned back in his chair and asked, “Sam, what has you calling on a beautiful Monday?”
“Trying to keep you from losing your company. Have you lost your damn mind, Eric? What’s this nonsense about you trying to cause trouble for Masters Unlimited?”
Eric quickly sat up in his chair. “What are you talking about?”
“You tell me. Cortez Masters, a known hot-shot attorney in LA who represents his family’s company, Masters Unlimited, copied me on a cease-and-desist letter that will be delivered to you sometime today.”
“Why?” Eric’s head began spinning. Nobody knew what he had done to Masters Unlimited but Sherelle. And she wouldn’t dare say anything and risk losing her job.
“The letter states that you hired an organization, known for spreading lies and instigating scandals, to do that at Masters Unlimited. I’m not sure how they discovered what you were doing, or the group you hired to do it, but evidently Cortez Masters has ways of digging deep and finding out anything he wants to know.”
“Damn!” Eric said, slamming his fist on the table and ignoring the pain. “Nobody was supposed to know I was behind it.”
