Story time

Bella rolled her eyes knowing that he doesn’t mean all the threats. “If you had just complied and let me spy on you in peace then it won’t come to this”
She took a muffin herself and nibbled on it. “But you shouldn’t have tied me up, either. You’re not a butcher in your past life right?”
Miguel was really tired of her jaunts. “You surely have a very sharp mouth and I hate that so much”
“I love that you hate it” She laughed, but damn! Miguel wasn’t in the mood for this.
He faced the food and slurp it down like it was the last supper. And now that his stomach was nearly satisfied, there were questions he wanted answered. “Cut to the chase, blondie. I want to know who you are, who you really are, and I want to know who sent you here.”
With a sigh Bella got up and retrieved two cans of soda from the refrigerator. She handed him one, then popped the top of her own and sat back down. “My name really is Valerie Jarett just like my driver’s license stated. But I’m not naturally blondie, I have”
“Urhgh, what do I do with you?” Miguel sounds frustated Bella knew this wasn’t what he wanted to hear. But what life story did she have to cook up when her entire life revolved around only Liverpool and Immortal?
‘I can do this. I won’t let this jerk suspect anything’ She thought and put on a fake smile. “I moved to Philadelphia from Liverpool five years ago. I did this and that gig just to earn enough money for —”
“Plastic Surgery” Miguel popped the lid of his soda, took a swig. “Looking at you up close, its very easy to get that you had a plastic surgery in the past”
She nodded, but couldn’t help wondering when did Miguel whose life only revolve around guns and gangs could spot plastic surgery that easily. “That’s right.I later got a job at a security agency, tracking down addresses of people who’d filed questionable claims. It was boring, tedious work, but I was good at it”
Miguel’s legs were long, and it was impossible not to bump knees with him under the small table. He didn’t seem to notice, but the repeated contact was making her edgy. The more she told herself to ignore him, the more aware of him, of his size and his closeness, she became.
“Are you going to get to the point sometime soon?” Miguel asked, pushing his empty bowl aside. “Or do I have to time this story with a calendar?” He had now got rid of his suspicions. He knew Bella was a lousy spy.
Bella pressed her lips tightly together, but refused to let Miguel’s impatience sway her. “Fourteen months ago, a multimillion-dollar accounting firm in Philadelphia, M&K, hired the security agenty that I works for to quietly flush out an embezzler. For obvious reasons it was important that the investigation be kept quiet. After two months, the field agents hadn’t found a thing. The firm’s owner,Carol….” Bella hesitated for a while. “Carol Rodriguez, had turned over company management to her nephew, Harper Muller, three years earlier, and he became increasingly angry with the investigation and its lack of progress.”
Miguel rolled his eyes. “And how on earth was I connected to all these?”
Ignoring him, Bella took a bite of chili and intentionally chewed slowly before she went on. “Without authorization, I followed up on the banking and spending habits of the employees who weren’t suspect. I dug deeper, followed every possible lead, and some not so possible.”
“And you found your man,” Miguel said, pointing his can of soda at her. “Or woman, let’s say, just to keep the story equal opportunity.”
“It was a man. Turned out he was Harper Muller’s secretary. He’d been with the company for over twenty years, a quiet, hard-working man no one would have ever suspected. Myself included, but the evidence was overwhelming.”
She shook her head and sighed. “Unfortunately, when we got too close, the man ended his own life. None of the money was recovered.”
“So you saved the day and were rewarded justly,” Miguel said dryly.
“I was fired for not following procedure.”
He lifted a brow. “That so?”
“I was packing up my things in my cubicle,” Bella went on smoothly, “when the most elegant, sophisticated silverhair woman appeared at my desk.”
She paused again. Looked at Miguel. Wondering why on earth wasn’t he asking her about why Carol has thesame surname as him.
In spite of her exasperation, Bella couldn’t help but smile. “It was Carol Rodriguez herself. She’d come by to personally thank me. And damn, she was so nice this and that before asking to take me out for lunch, then made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
“He was asking you to marry her cousin or wanted you to be her right had woman?" Miguel brushed the crumbs off his hands and looked at her blandly. “And even more important, if you're not gonna tell me anything useful after all these childhood stories.... then I won't assure not tying you up again"
"Hey!" She yapped. "Can you ever be patient?"
He pressed his lips together and leaned close—close enough she could smell his masculine scent, a scent that she never thought she would get to perceive again.
She snatched up their empty bowls and moved to the sink, poured soap on a sponge, then turned on the water. Just something to distract her from thinking about his body frame.
'Concentrate Bella!' she used Camila's scolding to snap herself back to reality before continuing the story, “Carol offered me the money to start a security company of my own, no strings attached,”
Miguel smirked. "How nice"
“I turned her down, but at her persistence, finally told her that I would accept a loan, but only on one condition, that she become my partner. She refused at first, but I was just as persistent as she was.”
Miguel gave a snort of laughter. “You’re trying to tell me that this woman, the owner of a multimillion-dollar company, answers your business phone?”
“Our business phone,” Bella said over her shoulder. “She said she needed something doing to keep her busy and so I employed her"
Miguel walked up to her and whispered behind her ear, "And what about her kids?"
"Now this is where you come in...."
He frowned. "Are you saying I'm her son or what?"
"No not really. Okay this is what really happened... Her only daughter has been dead for... for twenty seven years.” Bella rinsed the bowls, then set them on the dish. “Her nephew, Harper Muller, dotes on her, but he’s busy running the company"
Bella glanced over her shoulder, watched as Miguel rose and stepped toward the sink. Toward her. Bella turned off the water and was reaching for a towel when he moved behind her and placed his long arms on either side of her, effectively pinning her against the counter.
She felt his chest against her back, the press of his thighs against her own. She turned slowly and faced him, realized her mistake immediately when her breasts brushed against his chest. Since she was wearing only the thin cotton shirt, the contact was electrifying. Heart pounding, she leaned back, forced herself to look into his eyes.
He stared down at her. She felt weak and hot and ridiculously aroused. When he pressed in closer, she gasped, realized that he was aroused, as well.
This wasn’t going at all the way she’d planned.
"Story time is over,” he said harshly. “I want the bottom line now. Why the hell were you watching me?”