She looks pale this morning. Tired shadows hang around her eyes, hair pinned up in a tight bun, legs underneath her as she perches in a big armchair.
Her gaze snaps to me and her brows knit together.
“Let me guess, you were eavesdropping?” She squints at me.
“Yes.” No point in lying. I sink into the chair next to her, even though all I want to do is pace the room. “Who called? You sounded deflated.”
She exhales, massaging her temples the way she does when she’s overwhelmed.
“That was Fairfax. He just called to tell me that none of the letters with the egg have a signature that could be authenticated back to anyone important.”
Damn.
I knew some shit was coming, knew this guy was bad news, but this sits in my gut like a cold rock.
“The documents were written by understudies. That doesn’t necessarily make it a forgery or anything, but he said it makesthem harder to insure against destruction or theft. That could be a problem if it goes on the market.”
“A fucking insurance issue? Are you kidding?” I sit up straighter, bracing my hands on my knees. “Bullshit. What did you tell him?”
“I’m not stupid, Holden.”
“Never said you were, Nile. None of this sits right with me.”
“Calm down! He came back with an ‘adjusted offer,’ he called it.” She toys with the hem of her shirt. I catch a flash of her belly and force myself to look away. “Ten million dollars even. Supposedly fair for the issues with the paperwork.”
“Not fair,” I bite off. “You thought it could go for three times that, maybe more.”
She smiles weakly. “He called it a favor. He’s willing to buy and take on the risk for a piece with less than gold-standard authentication. He said it almost never happens.”
“By throwing you scraps. He planned this,” I growl. I’m speaking from the gut with no proof. “It’s worth a lot more. Watch him find whatever proof he needs later on and flip it for a lot more.”
“Holden, don’t. Ten million dollars is… it’s still a ton. More than enough to get me a nice studio almost anywhere I want.”
“It’s a rip-off. Frankly, he’s trying to fuck you over.” I bite my tongue, ignoring the flash of surprise on her face.
Wrong words.
“It’s a ticket out of this mess, back to our lives. Don’t you want that?”
“Of course I do. I’d love to wrap this up, but not if it means—” I sigh, raking a hand over my face, suppressing an eruption. “It’s your decision, Cleo.”
“Yep. And you should understand there’s more than money at stake. If we can get something reasonable and get on with ourlives, whywouldn’twe take it? The day it’s gone, you get your inheritance. This won’t be your problem anymore.”
That doesn’t make it better.
I sit back in the chair, all the breath leaving my body. I have no words, hating that she’s settling for convenience.
“Holden, you heard me. Don’t look at me like that.” She stares at me, wary. “No amount of money can buy time. That’s what we have to think about here. The more time we spend fighting this, chasing better offers, the longer it’ll take to close this out. Isn’t time just as valuable? Don’t you want to get back to your family?”
“Obviously. That’s not the point. It’s the principle of the thing. Leonidas put that first.” I feel like I’ve been socked in the stomach. “This is your future, Cleo. I’m not him and I can’t tell you what to do. The old man trusted you.”
“It’s your future, too. And it’s just easier this way. I don’t even know how I’d fight it if I wanted to. What would we do, scour the earth looking for those papers?” When she looks at me again, the sadness in her indigo eyes almost knocks me flat. “The sooner we finish, the better. I think you know that, even if you don’t want to agree.”
When she stands, I don’t follow.
I can hear the words she’s not saying like a rattling whisper in my ear.The sooner this ends, the faster we can forget what almost happened.
We can stop worrying about stupid accidental kisses and dumber mistakes.
