"But... you... she..." Melody struggled to find the words. "Owen, what are you thinking? You loved Bella to the bone. Five years ago you nearly threw your life away to save her. And now, after only five years, you've had a change of heart?"
The one whose heart changed was never me.
I pressed my lips together, impatient. "Since when did you turn into a nosy gossip? Simple question. Do you want the shares or not?"
"Yes!"
Her answer came so fast it nearly overlapped my last word.
"I have no idea what's going on, but anything that makes Bella Simmons miserable, I'm in."
"Seventy percent. Name your price."
"Tomorrow morning, ten o'clock, my office," I said. "We'll talk in person."
"Done. I'll be waiting."
I hung up. The sound of running water in the bathroom cut off at the same moment. Perfect timing.
I knew Bella inside and out. She liked her tea at exactly the right temperature, kept her showers to a strict twenty minutes, never spent more than half an hour on a meal.
Five years. I knew every last one of her little habits by heart.
Click.
The bathroom door swung open. Bella Simmons stepped out in a robe, toweling off her hair as she glanced my way.
"Honey, who were you on the phone with just now?"