Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 89592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“So, I agree to be your companion and you’ll fix my problems and give me a million dollars?” I say skeptically. I’m not buying this bullshit one bit.
He frowns. “Are you not going to read it?” He grunts when I budge no more than to fold my arms across my chest. “You will spend six months as my fiancée. Together, we’ll fix your problem and, in the end, you will have a million to blow as you please,” he says the last words with a seductive smile.
“That’s it?”
“Oh, make no mistakes. You will be mine in every sense of the word. I will help you to enhance those scintillating stories you publish on your site,” he purrs. “Read the contract, Sid. It will show you I have as much to lose as you do.”
Sid, that’s the first time he’s used the nickname. The way it rolls off his tongue tugs at something inside me. It’s like a slow stroke, licking up a fire. He makes it seem like something that should be said in private.
“I thought I was done with this,” I mutter to myself.
“Oh, my God,” Chloe gasps, beside me.
I groan and turn to look at her. “What, what now?”
Tears fill her eyes as she looks back at me. “My sister is texting me. They’re trying to remove her from school. I paid her tuition, but they’re telling her she owes. I checked my accounts. Sid, I think they’ve gone after my assets,” she sobs.
No fucking way.
Chapter 6
No Choice
Sidney
I think the room has started to spin. Tonight was supposed to be a way for me to release some steam. I was supposed to be celebrating my freedom. Now, it looks like things have just gotten worse. There goes that other shoe.
Chloe doesn’t deserve this. She has been by my side the entire time, every step of the way, just like when we were kids.
I remember when I met her at school when I first moved to the neighborhood. Chloe and I had a bond that started from day one. We saw something in each other. We refused to be victims of our environments and fought our way out.
Chloe may not have made it to the top level of the firm the way I did, but she’s still done a hell of a job building a great career for herself. We’ve always been fighters because we come from the bottom. We know how to hustle for more, for better.
I can’t let my shit bring her down. When her mother died, she was left with the responsibility of her little sister. Chloe is all Ally has. We’re so proud of her.
She wanted to play the flute professionally and that’s what she’s on the way to doing. I know in my heart that I’m not going to let Chloe and Ally go down with my mess. I reach for the file and start to scan through all the paperwork.
My fingers are shaking as I read. Chloe is beside me, freaking out, while she texts madly on her phone. I look up and Clayton is watching me closely.
“I’ll do it, but Chloe doesn’t need to be a part of this. There has to be a way to fix this for her,” I say.
“That’s not going to work.” He shakes his head.
“Why not?”
“Well, to begin with, things have been set in motion that I cannot reverse just yet. Secondly, Chloe’s presence has been requested. Unfortunately, Gregor couldn’t be here.
“He was called away,” he starts to explain, then he scoffs, grinning at his next words. “Brodi can be an ass when he doesn’t get what he wants.”
Chloe sits forward and gasps. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me?” she hisses, snatching up the paperwork meant for her.
She flips through to the second page and reads. She then flips through to the last page. When I looked through her file there was a picture on the last page of a hot ass guy.
“Oh, hell no. See, I must be seeing things. This contract says Gregor Hennessy. I think that’s a typo. Okay, now I’m with Sid. This has to be a joke.” She folds her arms over her chest and shakes her head.
Clayton tips his head to the side and examines my friend more closely. It’s as if I can see the wheels turning in his head. I want to ask my own questions, but something tells me to wait.
Clayton narrows his eyes. “Something tells me you and my brother, Gregor, know one another very well already,” he says suspiciously.
“Gregor,” she scoffs. “What I know about Brodi is he shouldn’t even be here. And he sure as hell shouldn’t be trying this shit. How the hell didn’t I see this coming? Nope, this is either a joke or that”—Chloe points to the file—“is one big ass typo, your brother hasn’t lost that much of his damn mind.”