And then he did just that, declining to take a seat when it was offered. He stood at the counter while the obviously flustered woman hurried through a side door while the other patrons gave him curious looks. It was only a moment later when she stepped out of that doorway and addressed him.
"Isla will see you now."
"Thank you."
The woman gave him a scowl as he walked past, letting him know in no uncertain terms she found him to be a rude asshole.
She's not the first. Definitely won't be the last.
Isla's office was as opulent as her waiting room, with a large glass desk positioned in front of a picture window. There was another leather couch against the wall and a second waterfall to Ryan's left. Even the carpet seemed design to muffle any steps or noise.
"Ryan! It's so good to see you."
Isla gave him a hug, all smiles and welcome which surprised him. He'd assumed she would be angry at the way he'd butted into her office.
"It's good to finally see you too, Isla. I've been trying to talk to you for a couple of days now."
She threw up her hands and laughed. "I've been so busy lately. We're expanding to a new location and I swear I have nothing but meetings all day."
He had to tamp down the annoyance that immediately rose at her seemingly careless attitude. He needed her cooperation.
"I've been trying to talk to you about Brad," Ryan said. "I'm investigating his murder, as you know."
"I do know," she said, waving her arm toward the couch. "Let's sit down and catch up."
Ryan didn't want to catch up with Isla, he wanted answers to his questions.
"We need to talk about Brad. Why haven't you returned my calls?"
Her eyes widened and she appeared shocked at his frustrated tone. "I got your messages but I didn't think it was all that important."
Christ on a crutch, had Isla always been like this?
Yes, she had. He was now remembering how difficult she'd always been. And not for any particular reason, just because she liked to be in control and have her way.
"You didn't think a murder investigation was important? What would be important in your eyes, Isla?"
She pursed her lips and shrugged. "Brad's been gone a long time. What's a few more days?"
"Your empathy is overwhelming. I take it you didn't like Brad that much."
Hopping up from the couch, Isla shook her finger at Ryan. "I liked Brad. He was a nice guy. I liked the real him, the person you all didn't even know. But he's been gone for a long time and does it really matter how it all happened? It won't bring him back."
As usual, Isla wasn't thinking about anyone but herself.
"It matters to his family. Just because it doesn't matter to you doesn't mean that everyone thinks like you do."
"It won't bring him back," she repeated, her chin lifted. "Besides, I don't see how I can help your investigation. I don't know what happened to Brad that night. I left the bar and never saw him again."
"But you were seeing him," Ryan stated. "Everyone knows you were sleeping with Brad."
Rolling her eyes, she grabbed a water bottle from her desk and took a drink before replying. "Yes, we were sleeping together. That doesn't mean I know what happened to him that night. We weren't a couple. We were fucking."
"That means that you were spending time with Brad those last weeks before he disappeared. We know that he was in contact with multiple bookies and he was spending tens of thousands of dollars. Did you know he had a gambling problem? Was he upset or worried about anything? Did he mention anyone new? Perhaps an Aaron?"
He didn't mean to throw out all of his questions at once, but he was trying to get Isla to realize that this wasn't a social call. This was a serious murder investigation.
Her brows pinched together, she shook her head. "Brad was not addicted to gambling. Yes, he gambled but he wasn't addicted."
"The number of calls he made on a daily basis tells a different story."
She shook her head again. "It doesn't make any sense. He placed a few bets here and there but he wasn't addicted."
"You sound sure."
"I'm not completely, absolutely sure, but Brad didn't have an addictive personality," she argued, her arms crossed over her chest. "He was actually surprisingly mature once you got past all of that macho fraternity bro bullshit. He was a sensitive guy deep down, but he didn't want anyone to know. He thought it made him look weak."
"But he didn't mind showing you?"
Ryan wasn't sure Isla was being honest with him. He wouldn't have cared if Brad wasn't a hard-partying asshole.
"He knew that he could be himself with me and that I wouldn't judge him. He could just explore who he was and who he wanted to be and it would be okay."
"Sounds like you two had a hell of a three weeks together."
Isla smiled and softly laughed. "Brad and I had been sleeping together for about three years, Ryan. We didn't talk about it because it was nobody's fucking business but ours. So yes, you could say that I knew Brad well. I certainly knew him a hell of a lot better than Caroline ever did. She was in love with a fantasy. He was never going to marry her."
"Was he going to marry you?"
"I hope not. I wasn't in love with him, and I don't think he was in love with me either. We...accepted each other, for want of a better description. In fact, because we didn't love each other it made it easier for Brad to be himself."
In a weird, twisted way it made sense.
"And that included multiple partner sex?"
Giggling, she nodded. "My goodness, you have done your homework, Ryan. I'm impressed. It's true. Brad liked to explore his sexual boundaries and I was happy to help him. It's not against the law."
"And you're saying that you knew the real Brad?"
"I'm only saying that there was more to him than the facade that he let others see."
Ryan had never seen any glimmer of the person she was describing, but then he and Brad hadn't been close for a few years before his death. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that Brad had finally grown up.
"Good, then you can tell me if he was worried or concerned about anything before his disappearance. Money? Friends? School?"
"He was never worried about money or school," she replied with a shake of her head. "The only thing he ever worried about was his family. He was very concerned about them. They were kind of dysfunctional."
His family?
"What about his family had him worried?"
"His parents' marriage was bad. I guess they would argue so loudly the whole house would hear. His mother would throw things at his dad, and then his dad would drive off and not come back for days. And then the whole thing with his little brother. Brad was worried that Seb was growing up too fast. He hated that Seb was around his parents when they were fighting."
Ryan hadn't known that at all but every family had their secrets. It sounded like the Harringtons might have a few ugly ones.
"One more question. Did you ever hear the name Aaron?"
"No, should I have heard it?"