Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
He shrugs, reaching into his pocket.
CHAPTER 14
ETHAN
Ihope he can’t see how nervous I am as I reach into my pocket. They want me to give them what I have, but I’ve got to think about myself, a road out of this miserable, poor life. I’ve got to make something of myself. Escape that depressing shadow of Mom and Dad and the life I was crapped into.
I place my phone on the desk, and it’s already open on the media file. I hold my finger over the play button. “It’ll be easier if we just listen to it first.”
I hope he can’t see the fear pulsing in me, too. Lukas Larson is a tall, strong, intimidating man. Even in his expensive tailored suit, he looks like the sort of man who knows how to fight and has no problem doing it. He stares at me coldly, giving me no reaction, but when I click play, his face changes. He bolts to his feet.
“That’s enough,” he snaps.
It’s a recording of him and Kayla’s friend, Maci, in Maci’s bedroom the night I came for dinner. It has them getting steamy together with lots of dirty talk. It’s the sort of stuff that would ruin Kayla’s life if she heard it. That was my idea, based on my intuition, not theirs.
“Explain,” he says, laying his fists against his desk.
“I’ve got c-copies,” I murmur, my voice cracking. He’s staring at me like a man ready to kill in cold blood.
“You wouldn’t walk in here without them,” Lukas snarls. “Whatever you are, you’re not stupid. Explain now.”
“During dinner, I saw Maci looking at you and how badly you didn’t want to look at Maci. When I was a kid, my dad cheated on my mom a lot. Once, we ran into one of his girlfriends at a diner. It was the same thing, how determined he was not to look at her. I planted a listening device in her bedroom and yours. I just want ten million.”
“Just,” Lukas says, shaking his head. “Just ten million.”
“That’s nothing to you.”
“I was dirt-poor once,” Lukas says. “I remember what it’s like not knowing if you’ll be able to pay your rent.”
“I know that, sir, but that was a long time ago.”
“I didn’t resort to this,” Lukas snaps.
“I don’t want to waste time getting into the morals of it,” I tell him. “Ten million. I’m sure you can figure out how to get that into my bank account and make it look legitimate. Maybe say it’s a prize-winning or something or a lump sum to help a young man in need. I don’t want dirty money. I want to be able to use it to buy a home, start a career.”
“As a poet, eh?” Lukas says in disgust.
“That part was true. I want to be a poet.”
“And your feelings for Kayla?” he says through gritted teeth. “I guess you’re going to tell me they’re real, too.”
“It’s… complicated.” My head feels foggy and achy. I’ve been talking with Kayla almost nonstop this past week. I’ve told her about my mom and dad. I even regret saying I love you so soon as a manipulative tactic, but I have to be strong. I have to remember what’s at stake—my entire future. “I understand you’ll want me to break things off with her, though.”
“Not that complicated, then. She’s got a price.”
“Everybody has a price. It’s only the rich who don’t know that. Even if you used to be poor, you’ve clearly forgotten.”
Lukas drops into his chair, drumming his fingernails against the desk. I’ve never felt such an intense fight-or-flight reaction in my life. My heartbeat is pounding like it’s going to jump out of my chest. I can’t control it like I usually can. Lukas Larson looks ready to tear me to pieces. He’s twice my age, and I’m physically fit, but somehow, I know it’d be easy for him.
“I’ll need time to arrange the funds,” he says, “and I’ll need a bank account to send the money to.”
Reaching into my pocket, I take out a piece of paper.
“F. Bluefield,” he reads.
“Finn,” I tell him. “My real name is Finn.”
“I wish I could say it’s been a pleasure, Finn. How do I reach you?”
“Oh, yeah,” I mutter. “I didn’t think of that.”
He slides the paper across the desk. I write my cell phone number with a pen that probably costs more than a month’s rent in most apartments.
CHAPTER 15
MACI
Isit in class, struggling to listen to my lecturer. My head is spinning, but that’s nothing new. All my thoughts do lately are pirouette and clash in my mind. It’s like I’m trapped in a two-day-long expanse, unable to escape, not wanting to. It starts with seeing Lukas in the pool and ends when he leaves my bedroom.
I’ve been doing my best to forget all about it. If I could do that, life could surely go on as usual. People make mistakes and have flings all the time. College is the world of one-night-stands and casual intimacy. Another woman would laugh about this. It would be just another story.