CHAPTER EIGHT

Shelby walked into her office building with Nine, Ghost, Ian, and Gaspar following her. They were the best-looking escorts she'd ever encountered. Amber was going to shit her pants when she saw these men.

When they got into the elevator, others refused to join them, most likely fearing for their lives. Of course, it wasn't often that you found four men over six-feet-three, all over two hundred pounds and tattooed to the hilt, riding an elevator in a luxury hotel. Or maybe Shelby was more sheltered than she thought.

The offices for the hotel management staff were located on the third floor. With the men in tow, she walked down the long hallway, opening the glass door with her key card.

"Shelby, welcome back," said Dolores. An employee with more than thirty years of experience, Dolores was the gatekeeper for the team. She was their gal-Friday and could do just about anything. "Are you feeling better, honey?"

"Not really, Dolores. I'll only be here a short while. Is Amber here today?" Dolores gave her a sympathetic look, nodding.

"Sure, hun, she's working on a project in the conference room. Although no telling what that project really is. She just stuck a sign on the door locking everyone else out, and she's been in there all day."

"Perfect," she said, walking toward the room. Nine reached for her arm, pulling her back slightly.

"I know you're angry, but don't go in with guns blazing, or she'll run. We need to know if she knows anything." Shelby nodded, allowing the men to take the lead, pointing the way to the massive conference room space. When they walked in, Amber looked up, grinning with a seductive smile. Then she saw Shelby.

"Sh-Shelby."

"Hello, Amber."

"Are you alright? Are you feeling better? You left here the other day, and I didn't know what was wrong. What mess did I create?"

"Amber, we're friends of Shelby's, helping her with something. We need to ask you a few questions."

"Okay." They could tell that the woman was immediately nervous. She twisted her hands, her face flush.

"How did you know about Hearts Forever?"

"Hearts Forever? The dating site? A friend of mine developed it. He asked me to recommend it to other people. Why?"

"Who is this friend?" asked Shelby.

"He's just a guy, Shelby," she said, shaking her head.

"Just a guy? You mean he's a guy you met in a bar, fucked around with and then turned his bullshit on me," she snapped.

"Hey! What the hell is this?" barked Amber, jumping out of her chair.

"You recommended that site to Shelby, and her identity was stolen, her credit cards used, even her apartment was breached," said Ghost. Amber paled, taking her seat again.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "No. He wouldn't do that."

"How well do you know him?" asked Ian. She started to open her mouth but then decided to keep quiet, shaking her head. "Amber. This is important. How well did you know this guy?"

"Not very well," she whispered. "I met him out in a bar one night with a bunch of friends. He said he was a tech guy heading up a start-up company. One of the things he was working on and very excited about was a dating website. I was just trying to help out Shelby."

"One of the things? What were the others?" asked Nine.

"I'm not sure," she said, shaking her head. "He asked me to go home with him, and I refused. I might be a slut, but I'm a careful slut."

"I didn't call you a slut," said Shelby, staring at the woman she once thought of as a friend.

"No, but you implied it," said Amber, her lip quivering. "We went to a hotel and had a nice evening. We exchanged numbers and spoke a few times, but he seemed different after the last call we had."

"When was that?" asked Gaspar.

"About two weeks ago. He said he was up to his neck with problems at the start-up and just didn't have time for a steady girlfriend. He asked if I would continue to recommend the website."

"I can't believe you recommended something to me that you knew nothing about," said Shelby.

"I didn't know this would happen, Shelby. It's not like I did it intentionally. I was just trying to help a friend."

"I was a friend. Me. We've known one another for five years, Amber. You knew this guy a matter of hours and were willing to throw me to the wolves." Amber said nothing, just looking down at the table.

"He's done this to others," said Ghost. "There was a man recently, several other women that we've found. Whoever this guy is, he's stealing thousands from the users. How many others have you recommended the site to?"

"Dozens," she muttered. "I didn't know. I put it on my social media pages, telling everyone that it was the hottest new dating app. I mean, everyone likes a good dating app, and it sounded like a good one. I really liked this guy, and I wanted him to call me back. I thought it would make him call me again."

"Do you have a photo?" asked Ian. She shook her head.

"No. I tried to take a selfie with him, but he said he didn't like photos of himself."

"Don't you think that's odd?" asked Shelby. "A man who makes his living off a site where people are encouraged to plaster photos all over the place, and he doesn't like photos of himself."

"I don't know what to tell you, Shelby. I'm sorry. I made a mistake, and I'm sorry. I can't change what happened. I'm sure the banks will reimburse you, and your credit cards will wipe out the fraudulent charges. Everything will be fine."

"Fine? You think everything will be fine?" yelled Shelby. The entire office turned, staring at the glassed-in conference room. "Everything will not be fine. My privacy has been shattered. My home was invaded. My trust is gone. Everything will not be fine, Amber. Not for a very long time."

Shelby turned to leave the room, and Nine gently held her arm.

"Don't leave the building without us," he said quietly.

"I won't. I'm going to have a conversation with human resources. I'll be taking a long-term leave of absence." Amber watched the woman leave and shook her head.

"She's pissed. I'll bet she's going to get them to fire me."

"Do you blame her?" growled Gaspar. "You claim she was a friend, but friends don't treat one another that way. Common sense would tell you to not trust a man you'd only just met.

"You know, I have daughters and dozens of women I consider my daughters. If one of them behaved like you, I'd beat the hell out of her until she saw that she was headed down a road she might never return from."

"God, you're all so fucking old," she giggled nervously. "People hook up all the time. It's not a big deal. He wears a condom. You have mace in your bag. All is well. We have sex, feel good, no ties, no commitments. It's all good."

Nine slammed his fists into the table, the young woman jumped back, staring at him. His face was filled with anger.

"All good? You put your life at risk every fucking time you go home with some strange man. You think you're safe because you've got a little can of mace in your purse that I bet is expired. If you think for one fucking minute a man my size couldn't still overtake you, even with mace in my eyes, you're delusional. It makes me sad. I'm going to see your face on the news one day. Young woman found dead in hotel room. Foul play suspected." Nine turned, leaving the room to find Shelby.

"You need to rethink your life, Amber, or you won't have one," said Ian. "What was the man's name?"

"John," she said too casually.

"John?" growled Ghost, shaking his head. "Fucking unbelievable."

She watched as the three men followed their friend, then let out a long, slow breath. Shaking, she calmed her nerves, then reached for her phone.

"Yeah."

"They know."

"What do you mean I can't have the leave?" asked Shelby.

"I mean, we're in the midst of a potential sale, Shelby. I need everyone here to complete the documentation process for us."

"Well, I can't be here, and I'm entitled to leave," she said. Nine walked into the office, standing behind her. She saw the fear in Mr. Anchorse's eyes. "He's with me. Listen, Mr. Anchorse, I've worked here for almost ten years. I've been a good employee, worked holidays, nights, weekends. I've covered for maternity leaves, family deaths, and would do it all again. But I've never asked for personal time, and I need it."

"Why?"

"I don't believe you're allowed to ask that," said Nine, "but I can always call our attorneys."

He looked at Nine, then at three new giants that were standing in the doorway.

"Give me a few moments to call the corporate headquarters," he said. They nodded, stepping outside of his office and taking a seat.

"I just can't believe this," said Shelby. "They're supposed to give me leave if I need it. I've never asked for leave before! Even during my divorce, I never asked for leave. I would go to court during my lunch hour or stay late. This pisses me off!"

"Calm down, honey. We'll figure all this out," said Ian. She shook her head, closing her eyes as a single tear slipped down her cheek.

"I'm just so tired," she said. "I'm tired of things never going my way. Never. Do you know that when I got married, I was na?ve enough to believe that I would be married forever? Forever! Isn't that a bunch of bullshit? He didn't care for the way I'd gained a few pounds, so decided he would fuck around with anyone that caught his fancy. He was pissed that I was more successful than him, so he stole my money and spent it. I was such a fool."

"No, you weren't," said Ian. "He was. Believe me, he's probably regretting his choices every damn day. And too bad. He lost you, and he won't ever have you again. You're better off without him, honey. And this? All of this bullshit is just a bump in the road toward a better life for you."

"Shelby? Will you come into my office?" She stared at the men, who all gave her a quick nod.

"No. Tell me what you have to say right here."

"The company has decided to eliminate your job. We're going to be giving you a generous package, including severance. I'll send all the details to your personal e-mail this afternoon."

"No," said Nine. "You'll send it to our attorney." He bent over the man's desk and wrote out the information.

"I'll do that. I'm sorry, Shelby." Shelby turned to leave, then looked back at him.

"No, you're not, or you would have fought for me longer than seven and a half minutes."