AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, you didn’t know younger me. I was a selfish, melodramatic wild child. My parents had indulged me until I’d pushed them too far. They sent me to Mexico instead of France, like Amy.”
“What? They sent you away? No wonder you don’t speak to them.”
“I was a mess, and they didn’t know how to deal with me. I met this guy when I was sixteen. An angry, deviant punk who’d encouraged that side of me. We had a lot of fun being mad at the world together.” Her laugh was unmistakably bitter. “This is where I should confess something to you that might change your opinion of me.”
I had a guess what her confession might’ve been. “Is this about your arrest?”
Her eyes bugged. “You know?”
“Only what your background check told me. I’d like to hear it from you.”
“Of course, the background check,” she whispered to herself. “The guy, the bad boyfriend, sort of radicalized me. I was an easy target, already feeling like I was a square peg in a round hole, and he fed off it. We got involved with this group who’d probably started with good intentions but had run amuck somewhere. They were antidevelopment, and my father—”
“Is Samson Warner. One of the biggest property developers on the East Coast.”
“You really were thorough.” She blew out a heavy breath. “Then you know my father isn’t as scrupulous as you.”
Samson Warner had made a name for himself by going into poor neighborhoods, buying homes out from under people who might have lived there for generations, and razing them to the ground. Then, he replaced the homes with gleaming towers only the wealthiest could afford. His business model wasn’t anything I’d choose to emulate, and I could see why a teenage Catherine would have bucked against him with all her might.
“I do know that. Is that why you broke into his building?” I asked.
“I’m not going to claim to be some noble freedom fighter. I was involved with this group hell-bent on destruction. It so happened they found out who my father was and decided he’d be their next target. I went along with it because I’d been too caught up to think for myself.” She pushed out another laugh. “Police showed up within minutes. I’d barely spray painted ‘eat the rich’ before I was handcuffed.”
“Little rebel. I’m surprised you wanted to work for me, given what I do.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I think you know, after all this time, I admire the way you conduct your business. But since you found out about my criminal past before you hired me, I’m surprisedyouwanted me to work for you.”
“It’s the age-old adage: keep your enemies close,” I drawled, which made her laugh. I joined her amusement. Catherine was the furthest thing from my enemy.
I probably should have been more concerned by this story, but I found it endearing. Young and wild Catherine, with her spray paint and convictions. Fuck the guy who had let her get arrested, though. I’d checked on him too. He was living on a muddy commune in Oregon, sharing a woman with two other men.
“My parents didn’t find what I’d done amusing. They had me on a plane within forty-eight hours of my release from jail.”
“They were worried about their reputations?” I ventured, my gut full of burning lava. I’d seen this girl’s mug shot. Eighteen and crying, scared and alone. She’d done wrong. Deserved to be punished. But if I were her father, there would have been no chance in hell I’d have sent her away. One look at her face, and I would have broken.
“Mmhmm. Looking back, I think they were probably worried about me too. I was spiraling. Turns out, kicking me out of the family was the best thing they could have done for me. I might still have a little Amy in me, but I worked the spoiled out of myself through manual labor and getting to know more of the world than the gilded cage I’d grown up in had allowed me to see.”
I’d spent a lot of time steeped in fury, but there weren’t many times I could remember that had touched the depth of my sudden rage toward people I’d never met.
And Catherine sounded completely okay with all of it.
“Why aren’t you mad?”
Another bitter laugh. “Oh, I was. But it’s been years, and while I’m definitely working through abandonment issues, I know they did me a favor in the end. If I’d stayed, I would have ended up with a deadbeat, addict husband or a clone of my mother. The very idea of either makes me want to rip my skin off.”
“Don’t do that.” I clamped my fingers around her wrist. “I like your skin.”
Her head turned sharply in my direction, cheeks glowing so brightly they seemed backlit. This woman might have been an expert at hiding her emotions, but her blushes always gave her away.
“I never thought you would appreciate tattoos,” she said.
“I never thought I would either,” I admitted, ending the topic of her parents for both our sakes. “I think I would appreciate pretty much anything on you.”
“Elliot…” She gasped my name, and it struck me to my core. I really fucking needed to hear her do that again.
Josephine let out a soft cry, deciding it was the exact right time to remind us she was in the car with us.
“Uh-oh.” Catherine laughed, her fingers grazing her lips. “We’d better get home before she gets too revved up.”
