Chapter 101

“And so, you just shook on it? Easy as that?” Andrew asked me as I told him the tale that night in bed. He lay on his side facing me, one of his arms cushioning my head, while I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling.

“Easy as that,” I replied. “I don’t think that Luna wanted to take advantage of an elderly couple any more than they wanted to be taken advantage of. Besides, the agreement benefited her, too.”

Andrew leaned over and kissed me on the neck.

“That’s my little she-wolf, taking the reins and getting things done,” he said as he nuzzled the arc of my neck.

I giggled and pretended to squirm away from him.

“Stop it, Andrew! That tickles! Knock it off!”

I settled back into his arms as he buried his face in my hair.

“Anyway,” I continued, “that’s what happens when you let me take care of my own problems, at least every now and then.”

Andrew nodded against my hair but otherwise ignored my comment. He inhaled deeply and wrapped his arm around my waist.

“You smell delicious,” he growled.

He moved his lips down to my ear and nibbled on my lobe. I moaned quietly.

“Maybe you can help me with a problem I’m having,” he whispered, grinding his erect member into my hip.

I bit my bottom lip to suppress another moan. I wrapped my hand around the outline of his member in his pajama bottoms and squeezed tightly, causing him to yelp in a mixture of pleasure and pain.

“Yeah,” I panted, “I think I can help with that.”

I rolled over and pushed Andrew onto his back. Unbuttoning his pajama top, I slowly made my way down to the V of his hips. I grabbed the band of his pajama bottoms and underwear and yanked them both down in one swift move, his member bouncing proudly against his torso.

I held his member in my hand, squeezing and rubbing it gently, and was about to place it in my mouth when I heard my cell phone ring. Seeing Andrew’s pained, desperate expression, I considered ignoring the call. Then I recognized the ringtone as Noah’s.

“I’m sorry,” I said, releasing Andrew’s member.

As Andrew groaned in frustration, I leapt off the bed, grabbed my phone, and took it to the hallway outside of Andrew’s private quarters.

“Hello?” I answered, avoiding saying Noah’s name in case Andrew could hear me.

“Hi, Crystal,” Noah replied. “Did I wake you?”

“Not exactly…”

“Oh, I see,” he said, his tone tainted with disgust. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. What did you need?”

“Well, I needed to tell you that the lead I had on the accountant was a dead-end.”

I deflated. Of course, it wasn’t good news.

“I see. Well, at least you tried.”

“It’s not all for nothing, though,” Noah said in a rush. “I do have solid evidence of Bob’s asset transfer. If we can find the accountant, then you’ll have a winning case.”

“Really?” I perked up. “But how can we find him if you said that your lead was a dead-end?”

“That’s the problem. I’m going to need to pursue other avenues in searching for him, and we might have to find outside sources to help us.”

“Outside sources?”

“Like a private detective.”

I closed my eyes and rubbed the bridge of my nose.

“I can’t afford that.”

“I know. I’ll try and find other ways to find him, but that might be our best bet.”

I sighed.

“All right. Thanks for telling me.”

“Don’t give up hope. I think we have a really strong case here, if we can just get his testimony.”

I smile bitterly to myself.

“Yeah, if only.”

“Well, I better let you get back to…good night, Crystal.”

“Good night, Noah.”

It wasn’t until I hung up and heard a throat clearing behind me that I realized my mistake. I turned around to see Andrew standing right behind me, his arms crossed over his chest. His jaw clenched, and his eyes darkened.

“Why were you talking to Noah?” he asked, his voice low.

I paled. For a moment, I considered trying to lie to Andrew and telling him that I wasn’t talking to Noah or that I was talking to a different Noah. Seeing the tension in his shoulders, though, I realized that it wouldn’t make matters any better.

“I never fired Noah,” I said quietly. “I’m sorry. I never meant to lie to you.”

Andrew’s nostrils flared, and his hands curled into fists.

“But you did lie to me. How am I supposed to believe that you aren’t sleeping with him now?”

I grabbed his fists and brought them to my lips, kissing the knuckles gently.

“Because I would never sleep around on you, Andrew. You have to believe me. This is only about the case against Bob.”

He tried to rip his hands away from mine, but I wouldn’t let him. I stepped closer to Andrew and kissed him on the lips. When he did not return the kiss, I knew that I was in trouble.

“This case is really important to me, Andrew,” I continued. “We’re so close to catching him, too. We just need to find this accountant that went missing…or into hiding…I’m not sure which.”

Andrew’s fists clenched tighter.

“And why does it have to be Noah?”

“He knows the case, inside and out. He has evidence that, when combined with this accountant’s testimony, could nail Bob.”

Andrew blew air out of his nostrils.

“I don’t know why I’m even considering this. Bob is my future son-in-law.”

“I’m not asking you to get involved or anything. I just want you to understand that nothing with Noah is about sex or love or any sort of relationship. I only need his help with this case.”

“So, if you find this accountant and get him to help you with your case, then you’ll be done with Noah? For good?”

I hesitated. Then I stared into Andrew’s eyes and nodded.

“Yes, as soon as this case is done, I’ll be done with Noah, for good.”

Andrew ground his teeth. After a moment, he relaxed his jaw and fists.

“Fine. Then I’ll help,” he said.

I tilted my head at him.

“What do you mean, you’ll help?”

“I mean, I’ll let you use my connections to find the accountant that you’re looking for.”

My eyes widened.

“Really? Even though my case is against Bob?”

Andrew nodded.

“If it will help you get closure, yes.”

I threw my arms around the back of his neck and kissed Andrew hard on the lips. This time, he returned my kiss with as much gusto. When we pulled away, I was breathless.

“Thank you, Andrew,” I panted. “You don’t know what this means to me.”

“Well, you might be able to help me understand a little…”

He tilted his hips forward, pushing his once more erect member into me. I grinned mischievously and stroked him over his pajama bottoms.

“Yes, I think I can.”

I took him by the hand and led him back into the bedroom, ready to pick up where

we had left off. Hopefully, it would be enough to get Andrew’s mind off more stressful matters.