Page 73 of How Not to Date a Griffin

But that was as far as they went together, because Chance had booked their rooms at opposite ends of the floor. Nolan originally thought it was so they’d have to see as little of each other as possible, but now he wondered if it was to keep Nolan from overhearing something he wasn’t supposed to.

As soon as Chance was out of sight, Nolan raced to his room, key already in hand as he swiped it against the round lock, waiting for the beep. He closed the door quietly behind him and sat at the small desk, cracking open his laptop.

His mind raced, possibilities of the worst kind revealing themselves, the pieces slowly coming together as dread filled him.

It’s just kids.

Nolan had a very damning notion that it wasn’t just kids at all, and it steadied his resolve.

He would help Reid. Any way he could, even if it meant digging up his own father’s buried secrets.

He pulled up tab after tab, creating a log of businesses the company had bought only to bulldoze over, making room for each hotel.

Small businesses. Family-owned. Making just enough profit to keep the business afloat, at least until unexpected expenses started piling up. Broken windows. Graffiti. Power outages. Poor food safety ratings, claims of bugs even amongst the thoroughly spotless kitchens.

His father was very creative, it turned out.

Nolan had never been privy to the brokering side. The deals, the contracts. He was only good for making slideshows and talking to people and looking like a happy father-son duo for the papers. Giving the company a good name.

“Oh, god,” he breathed, and sat his head in his hands. As he dug deeper, it was like the unearthed dirt piled up on his chest. He tried to breathe past it, but he felt like he was suffocating in articles and information and the realization that he, Nolan, had helped his father cheat all these people. Like Reid.

He had to tell Reid.

Packing away his laptop in his bag, he grabbed his phone and stuck a Do Not Disturb sign on the door. He texted Chance and his father, some lie about a stomach bug, and left the hotel at the impossible hour of four a.m., under the cover of the silent city.

He would not be attending the conference that day.

And Reid was keeping his damned restaurant. Nolan would make sure of it.

Reid

Despite Nolan’s best attempt, Reid had awoken when he’d left. The kiss goodbye had been far too brief, but Reid let Nolan slip away into the night without him.

And unfortunately, Reid’s mind wouldn’t let him have peace.

So that’s where he was at the god-awful hour of not-quite four a.m. In his office, poring over recent earnings and trying to figure out where he could pull money from to cover the window repair.

The night was passing him by, but he hadn’t been able to convince himself to rest. Maybe it was a kind of torture, forcing himself to clean up the desk and sit in the chair and see visions of him and Nolan in this very office until his eyes crossed.

So yes, he was desperately awake when his phone buzzed on the desk.

John. At this hour? He answered the call with a frown.

“Is everything alright?” he greeted.

“Reid! Are you awake? You won’t believe what I found.”

“No, I’m still asleep,” he drawled. “What is it?”

“Smartass.” He heard the grin in John’s voice, and his stomach dropped. “I found it. I found the dirt. The whole business – Reid, it’s collusion. Whittier has been hiring people to sabotage the businesses.”

Reid frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I spent all day reaching out to some of the businesses that were bought out by Whittier. In the months before they sold, business became increasingly hard for them. I’m talking… power outages resulting in inventory going bad, broken windows, robberies. They all have the same kind of story. Like you.”

His stomach dropped. Did Nolan know about all this? No. He couldn’t. There was no way Nolan would accept something like that.

“What good does that do?”