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Another minute passed, the silence rigid and tension growing.
I finally caved. “What is it, Conway?”
“What is it?” His voice came out as a quiet whisper. It was far more terrifying than if he’d screamed at the top of his lungs. “It’s a lot of things, Sapphire.”
I couldn’t prevent myself from reacting, from jerking slightly at the use of my name. My heart slammed into my chest when my secret was thrown across the table. He knew I was up to my eyeballs in debt. He knew I was wanted for tax evasion. He knew my entire life had been destroyed, and now I had nothing left.
I was weak.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered. “I could have helped you.”
“You couldn’t have helped me, Conway…”
“I’m a billionaire. And all problems are solved with money.” He snapped his fingers. “Problem solved.”
He must not know everything. If he did, he would understand I was over a million dollars in debt because I owed Knuckles seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars alone. That wasn’t on the books. That was a blood debt. “I could never take your money. You don’t owe me anything.”
“You could have worked for it.”
Even if I could model for him for another five years, I would never make that money back. And if I managed to pay it off, Knuckles would still get to me eventually. It would all be for nothing.
He gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white.
“Why are you so angry? It’s my business, Conway. I’m not obligated to share anything with you.”
“Why am I angry?” His chiseled face was still beautiful when he was angry, but it was all full of lethal threat. “Your own brother did this to you? He got wrapped up in stupid shit and left you to deal with it?”
I lowered my gaze because thinking about Nathan was always hard. I hated him for what he’d done, but I still ached from the loss. Both of my parents were gone, and my brother was nothing but ash. I was the only person I had left in the world.
“It’s fucking bullshit.”
I lifted my gaze again.
“Family doesn’t do that shit to each other.”
I told myself there was a reason for Nathan’s actions. It hadn’t been intentional, and it hadn’t been careless. But I would never know because I couldn’t talk to the dead. “It is what it is…”
With a clenched jaw, he shook his head.
“I decided to leave America once I felt overwhelmed. With so much debt and no way to pay it back, I didn’t see any other way out. I can’t finish my education because no bank will give me a loan, so I’ll never make a salary that would even give me the privilege of paying it back. There was no way out…so I took off.”
Slowly, the anger softened on his face.
“I saw you on TV and knew you were holding auditions, so I went for it. I was desperate for money, and I thought I could start over here. I didn’t give a name so I couldn’t be traced here. But after what happened this weekend…I can’t stay. It’ll only be a matter of time before they figure out where I am.”
He dropped his hands and slowly circled around the table toward me.
I held my breath when he drew near, feeling my heart thud inside my chest. Even though my soul had been poured out on the table, I still felt the tightness in my chest when he drew near. I felt the pull, the attraction.
He stopped in front of me. “I have a new offer for you.”
There was nothing he could offer me to entice me. Being a public figure was only putting my life on the line.
“Ever since you walked in here, you’ve changed my life. My output is ludicrous. My designs are beautiful. You’re inspiring me in a way no other woman ever has. Everything I created for the show is being critically acclaimed—that’s because of you. So I need you, Sapphire. I can’t let you go.”
I wanted to step back because the proximity was too much. But I didn’t dare move, didn’t step away from the heat that radiated from his body.
“I’ve realized I don’t want to share you. I don’t want other men to stare at the woman who inspires me this way…I want her all to myself. So I’m asking you to be my muse—my private muse.”
That meant I would be alone with him all the time, half naked and objectified. He would sprinkle more kisses on my body, and eventually, those kisses would escalate into something else. It seemed like I was selling my body for money—no better than a prostitute.
“In return, I’d pay off your debt.”
My eyes shifted back up to his, seeing the green emeralds that possessed unshakable confidence. I heard what he said, but I needed the reassurance in his eyes. He just offered me a generous gift, the most generous offer I’d ever find. “And what exactly would you expect?”
