Penny For An Italian Thought

Part 6: Decisions And Strategies

Hi readers, from now on, the story will always be in Brianna's POV, unless I mention otherwise. Don't forget to vote!

He had CCTV footage of me sending email, but didn't that put him in the spotlight, too? The police could assume that we were working together. On the other hand, they could have thought that I was blaming my boss because I got busted. He could also just buy his way through the investigation and prove me wrong.

What do I do now?

I stared at the ceiling with his name mumbling in my mind. I had to help myself clear my name and prove that it was him who siphoned sensitive information from companies. What I was thinking was risky beyond measure. Jonathan Burke may have had a plan in mind, but which con doesn't leave a trail behind? All I needed to do was pick up that trail.

I didn't sleep, neither did my thought process. Double-crossing a powerful man is equivalent to writing your own death sentence. I was about to do just that. My first instinct nudged me to tell Alex everything about Burke, but I knew better than that. Not only would Alex kick me out of the company, but Burke would send me to prison. If I went to prison without collecting any incriminating proof against Burke, I would be stuck there and Alex's new company would drown, as it was built on fraud. If Burke couldn't have it, he was going make sure that no one does.

Why would Alex believe my word anyway? We had just met the day before and I was his employee and future business partner. He may have kissed me, but if I'd told him such a crazy thing, he would have never believed me. He had no reason to. Even if he would have believed me, what would I do then? What about all the fake evidence Burke had gathered against me? It would convince him sooner or later that I sent the emails after knowing that they were corrupt. So telling him about it was out of question.

I had to think about how Burke's mind worked; whether he would suspect that something was amiss. After all, it all depended on ability to convince him that I was selfish enough to do this. I had to have him believe that I was agreeing only to save myself and that I didn't have a hidden agenda in my mind.

I couldn't sleep, so I climbed out of bed and sat in the living room with the tv on. I just kept staring at the screen, thinking of Alex and his smile. Even if it was just pretend, I would be keeping this gigantic information from him.  He was as ruthless as they came in the business world, but atleast he was hardworking. He made money by working for it and not by fraud. Nevertheless, I had to do it. Knowing Burke, he was not going to stop before taking back his company. That cheating fraud did not deserve this empire and I wasn't going to let him take it back. I had to do it, because I needed time to prove myself innocent.

After swimming in an ocean of thoughts, I decided to make some hot chocolate to calm my nerves. The wonders chocolate can do. I was rummaging through the shelves when I heard the doorknob click. Panic was an understatement for what ran through my skin. I picked up the nearest pan, waiting in anticipation of the stranger. As I crouched behind the island, two people tiptoed their way in. I braced myself to attack them and froze as I saw a familiar face. David. He was staring at me with eyes as wide as saucers and the other person turned to face me, flicking her blond hair back. I saw her face and gasped, my other best friend Ellie! When she saw me with the pan in my hand, she glanced at David and they both burst out laughing, loudly. I didn't react at first, but when they both sat on the floor laughing, I couldn't help but start laughing too. We laughed for so long that we had tears in our eyes and our stomachs were aching.

"What the hell, Bree? What were you doing?"

David finally asked before laughing again.

"I didn't know that you guys were coming home. In my defence, its late. So naturally, when the door opened, I thought it was a burglar," I said, pressing my jaw to control my laughter.