Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Then don’t give him a chance to.
My cell phone rings. I look around and find it on the nightstand charging. Brodi must have put it there. I’ve been so out of touch with the world.
I go to answer, but I don’t know the number. I think for a few seconds on whether or not I want to pick up. Ally comes to mind, causing me to swipe and place the phone to my ear.
“Hello.”
“Is this Ms. Sinclair?”
“Yes, it is,” I say cautiously.
“I was instructed to contact you by Mr. Hennessy. Your accounts have been released, but your million dollars is pending delivery. I’ve set up a trust to provide you access to the funds as early as tomorrow,” he says.
My heart sinks. So I can’t trust Brodi. He has given up already. I wasn’t supposed to get that money until the end of the six months.
Coward.
He couldn’t even face me this time. Having someone else call to do his dirty work. Fuck him. I don’t need him or his money.
“You can tell Mr. Hennessy to—”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Brodi’s sleep-roughened voice booms.
I turn to find him in the doorway with two mugs in his hands. His chiseled chest on display. A pair of pajama pants are hanging on to his hips for dear life. He looks good for his age.
Not worth it, Chloe.
“Thank you for the call,” I say into the phone and hang up.
“What were you going to tell me?” he asks, lifting a brow.
“I thought… nothing,” I mumble.
“Yes, you were supposed to receive the money at the end of the contract. But as I promised last night. I’ll do my best to let you go. If that’s what you want,” he says, walking over to hand me a mug.
I narrow my eyes at him. This is still Brodi. He doesn’t play this fair. There’s a catch. I know there is.
I take a sip of what I thought to be coffee. A smile tugs at my lips when the taste of hot chocolate bursts in my mouth. Oh, he’s here to play hard.
Okay, Brodi. I see you.
If he’s trying to prove how much he knows me, he’s getting there. I hope he remembers I know him too. At least… enough to know he’s up to something.
“So if I want to leave in the morning, you’re going to be okay with that?”
“No,” he says like something sour just hit his tongue. “I’m not okay with that, but if it’s what you want…What if I offer you another million?”
“What?”
I look at him like he’s crazy. Placing my mug down, I fold my arms over my chest. This should be good. I think he’s lost his damn mind.
“A million to stay. A million to see the slate clean, because we can’t wipe away our past. It’s too important to me… to us. But… I’m not trying to buy your forgiveness or put a value on our child.
“I want you to stay. Allow me to show you the man I am. I’ll never walk away from you again. Let me show you I’ll never hurt you again,” he says.
The way he says our child stirs all types of shit inside me. I’ll admit, a part of me has been wanting to leave the district. It’s not the same without Sid. I lost my love for that place a long time ago.
Two million dollars could do so much for me. I can help Ally reach her dreams and still pursue my own. The wheels are in full gear.
“Do you still paint?”
I jerk my head up. I can’t believe he remembers that. I haven’t dreamed of being an artist since I was a teenage girl, when I first met him.
My heart races as I think of the thrill I used to get from sketching and painting. I’ve painted some over the years, but I haven’t thought about doing it for a living in so long.
On Sundays, I’d sketch and get lost as therapy. Ally would sit playing her flute and I would paint for hours. Actually, I stopped when my sister went to college. It just wasn’t the same when she wasn’t there.
“I haven’t in a while,” I answer.
“Never too late to go after your dreams,” he says, winking at me.
I look away. I refuse to get caught up in those eyes. They’re one of my weaknesses when it comes to him.
“How long do I have to stay?”
“The six months. Fulfill the original contract with me. Help me keep my father from forcing me into a marriage of his choosing and losing everything my brothers and I have built. Someone’s still out there trying to expose us and ruin our lives.
“That threat is real. I can still help you and you can help me. I’m only asking that you allow me to try to mend what I’ve broken in the process,” he replies.