If she hadn’t done that, she might not have looked over and seen a car parked across the street. A car that looked very much—no, exactly like—the car that had been behind her after the missed green light. That side of the street wasn’t legal parking, so it was possible the car had just pulled over for a moment.
Somehow, Lauren didn’t think so. She got into the car and checked her mirrors to see if she could get a better look at the driver without him noticing. She felt a sense of shock when she realized it was the same guy who she’d recognized but couldn’t place at the theater the night before.
She was being followed!
Lauren still couldn’t remember where she knew the guy from, but given the timing, it was possible it had something to do with the embezzlement. Maybe the cops were watching her to make sure she wasn’t in on it?
She thought about simply walking across the street to ask the guy what he was doing, perhaps surprising him into telling her who he was working for, but wrote that off as a dangerous thing to do. Instead, Lauren decided to do a little detective work of her own.
She pulled her phone out of her purse and held it up to her ear. She shut the car off and took her foot off the brake, so he would know she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And then she made a show out of glancing in her mirror so that he would see her. She needed him to drive off so she could follow him, and she wanted him to think she was calling someone about the car sitting across from her apartment.
It took a few minutes and a bigger show of “seeing” him, but finally, the guy started his car and drove off. Lauren made sure to memorize the license plate and waited a minute. There was only one way out of her neighborhood, so she knew what direction he was headed in.
She carefully followed the car, keeping far enough back that he wouldn’t notice her. Or he wasn’t paying attention, because a couple of times she was sure she’d gotten too close. She knew the part of town they were driving in, which helped.
Actually, she was very familiar with this part of town. She hadn’t been here that often in the last few years, but often enough before than that she still knew all the roads and turns. Lauren started to get a bad feeling about who was in that car.
And ten minutes later, her fear was confirmed. She knew this building well indeed. And just as she realized where she was, she remembered who the man in the car was: her mother’s driver.
Oh, Patricia had gone too far this time.
Parking haphazardly in front of the building, Lauren stormed out of the car, slamming the door. She stopped by the other car, tapping on the window. When the window rolled down, she saw concern in the man’s eyes.
“I don’t care what my mother told you to do. Follow me again, and I’m calling the cops,” Lauren said furiously and then continued into her mother’s office building.
Not stopping at the reception desk, she hit the penthouse button in the elevator, ignoring the receptionist who was calling after her. When she got off the elevator at the top floor, she blew past her mother’s secretary and went directly into her mother’s office.
Patricia was on the phone, but the moment she saw Lauren, she hung up. She opened her mouth to speak but Lauren held a hand up, palm out.
“Are you having me followed?” Lauren spit out the question.
“No. I’m having someone keep an eye out for you, so that you don’t get into trouble.” Patricia made her voice calm, like she was talking to a small child.
“Mother, that’s the definition of being followed. I want you to stop it.”
“I don’t think so, sweetheart. You obviously need someone keeping watch over you.”
Lauren’s eyes got wide with fury. “I’m sorry, but what? I’m a grown woman, I can look out for myself.”
“Not where Hakim Khalif is concerned. Which you know, otherwise you would have told me before about what happened last week.”
“What happened is none of your concern.”
“Oh, but it is. He is using you, either to hurt me or to hurt you, and I won’t stand for it.”
“You know, if you’d been at my party, you would’ve known long before this. How did you even find out?”
“You never ask about any of my competitors, even when we talk about work. You asked very pointed questions about him, and then you admitted he had been at your party, so I did a little digging. How dare you not tell me that he bid that much money to buy you at your auction!”
“Really, Mother? Would it have been better if it had been less money?” Lauren couldn’t hide the sarcasm in her voice.
“My point exactly. He bought you! Why aren’t you mad at him? I’m doing what I need to do to keep you safe.”