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Trying to sit through a meeting and share her success in Vegas, should have made Abby feel triumphant, but instead she felt sick. All she heard was the sneer in Cal’s voice, echoing in her head. It was like a broken record and she couldn’t pick up the needle. Why did he have to ruin everything? Steal the only happiness she’d ever known? She felt the pit of hatred harden. It was money—it always came back to money.
How was she going to get through this?
“Abby?” Bruce waited at the other end of the conference table.
“Yes?”
“You were going to lay out how we should integrate your design into the website? Do you have that for us?”
She blinked. “Yes. Right. Exactly.”
She scrambled through her notes, looking for the file on the web design. It wasn’t her area of expertise, but she knew how she wanted it to look and feel when donors or families clicked to research the foundation. It would be the main basis for information. It had to be perfect.
“Bruce, I’d like to consult with the web designer and then we could work through that at the next meeting.”
“But we need that for the celebrity endorsement page. That should come up first, don’t you think?” he asked.
Her head pounded. Why was Bruce giving her a hard time? “Sure. But I need a consult first,” she spat the words with more anger than she intended.
“Sorry.” He pushed back from the table. “Let me know when you have something for me to see.”
He marched out of the conference room.
Abby sighed. She had let her fear surface in front of everyone. She smiled at the group. “Let’s reschedule this meeting for tomorrow. Ok? I think we all need a day after the Vegas success.”
She hurried out of the meeting, looking for a place to hide. She ran to the ladies’ room and splashed water on her face. She dabbed a towel to her neck. She had broken out in a sweat.
There was no way she was going to give Cal money, but if she didn’t, she could lose Cole and Deacon.
She didn’t have enough in her savings to make a payment that would satisfy her greedy cousin. She could take out a loan, but she knew that still wouldn’t be enough to make him happy. If she had been worth six-digits to Deacon in a poker game, Cal had to be thinking a figure somewhere near that.
She leaned into the wall for support. The chills ran through her. Heat and cold. Back and forth, controlling her body with fear and rage.
Where was she going to come up with that kind of money?
Douglas greeted her at the door when she arrived at the manor. Cole and Deacon were stuck at the office in a meeting. They told her to go ahead and eat dinner without them.
“Anything you need, Miss?” Douglas asked.
“No. I think I’m going to take a hot bath.”
“Should I draw it for you?”
She looked at him. Douglas had been doing thing for her since she arrived, but that wasn’t something she needed help with.
“I think I’ve got it.” She smiled. “Will you let me know when Deacon or Cole are home?”
“Yes. Dinner is at six.”
She rolled her eyes. She thought maybe since they were out for the night she could eat on her own schedule.
“Ok.” She climbed the stairs, feeling the exhaustion hit her.
Her phone buzzed. She saw Cal’s name appear on the screen this time.
“What is it?” she asked quickly.
“Are we meeting tonight?”
