All but dragging Paige up the path, Julie rounded the corner. On the main road, a limousine twice the size of the one Paige had arrived in was waiting for them. The back seat had two benches that faced each other. Paige sat across from Julie, whose back was to the driver.
Once they were on the Tollway, Julie opened a small cooler to her left. “What do you want to drink?”
“Water’s fine.”
Julie handed her an expensive type of bottled water and grabbed a wine cooler for herself. Kicking off her shoes, she sat back and took a long swig. “Paige, what are you doing here?”
Not sure how much she should disclose, Paige took a sip of her water and thought about it. “I’m helping Sterling.”
Sitting forward, Julie put her drink down. “Helping him do what?”
All of his breakfast strategies came to mind. “Helping him get what he wants, maybe?”
“What about what you want?” Julie’s dark eyes met hers without flinching. “He doesn’t have your back, I swear it. Sterling Keller only cares about number one.”
“Didn’t you hear Kiyo?” Paige wouldn’t believe it. “He can’t expand without more capital, and what he’s doing is important. I think this is a great opportunity for both of them.”
“Yeah, an opportunity to get screwed.” Julie leaned back. “The computer geek needs a loan, that’s it. He’s already got a full customer base and a working model. Sterling will talk that little boy into selling most of his equity when he’s got nothing to offer in return, and the geek is stupid enough to let him.”
Paige was expecting to balk at anything out of the girl’s mouth, but Julie was making sense. “Then why don’t we go back and warn Kiyo. This isn’t right.” She peered out the rear window of the limo, but they were already on the Tollway.
“Because I’m more worried about you,” Julie said. “You’ve got yourself tangled up with some pretty nasty people right now.”
Clarity dawned on Paige for the first time since she sat in Elaine’s office. Her eyes shot to the time readout on the radio. She’d been gone less than twenty-four hours. Would the goats already be gone? At least Austin was there, but the thought of him dealing with everything alone filled her with guilt. She knew from experience that carrying burdens single handedly sucked. She should be home, helping him. Besides, even if everything Elaine told her was true, the only thing she was learning from this trip that might benefit her in the long run was that she was too trusting, and she should have learned that from Blanche.
Paige huffed in frustration. “I’d leave right now, but I don’t have a ticket.”
Julie yanked her phone out of her purse. “Done.” After making a quick call, Julie dropped her phone on the seat beside her, so she could give Paige her full attention. “You leave in less than an hour. Do you need anything from the hotel before you go?”
“No.” Paige felt the ground shaking beneath her and not simply because she was in a car. It had all seemed like a fairytale, the beautiful clothes, the handsome prince, but the magic was wearing off, and what was left behind felt ugly.
“Did you really think Sterling was your friend, Paige?” Julie stretched her arms across the back of the seat and folded her legs. “Elaine paid him to convince you she was on your side. Looks like he did it, too. The reason she whisked you away was so she could steal your formula and make a mint. That’s why I came.”
“You’re wrong.” Paige felt like someone had just sucker punched her in the stomach.
“Am I?” She lifted her brows ever so slightly and paused for emphasis. “Neither one of us cares about Earth Tech. You’ve always been the prize.”
Reviewing the strange circumstances of how she met Sterling, Paige began to wonder if there wasn’t some validity to what Julie was saying. That sort of manipulation certainly fell in line with what Sterling had taught her. Heck, he had all but confessed to it during breakfast. Another thing that had never really sat right with her was Elaine being so overgenerous. All that money in her bank account had blinded her. That, and Sterling’s muscled chest.
Her head was hurting, and she felt like a conspiracy nut. Whatever Sterling and Elaine were up to, she’d get to the bottom of it, but it would be a lot easier if she didn’t have Sterling distracting her. “Can you keep Sterling here for the next day or so? At least until I can get this figured out.”
“Sure thing.” Lifting her frost covered bottle as if in a toast, Julie said, “It’s all under control.”
At the airport, Paige hugged Julie. “You didn’t have to do this, but I’m so grateful you did. I never realized what a great person you were.”