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“Why wouldn’t he tell me?”
“Who? Dudley?” Lisa asked.
“Oh.” I hadn’t realized I said it out loud. “Um, no. Brenton.”
“Why would he? He sounds like a selfish pric—”
“Lisa!”
“What? Am I wrong?”
I blushed a little and she finally caught on.
“Oh my god! You slept with him, didn’t you?”
“Uh…”
“You did!” The sudden exclamation came from Sonja. Lisa and I exchanged a surprised look.
“Sorry,” Sonja said, finishing her final coat on my toes in silence.
“Um, yeah I did. And immediately regretted it.”
I shook my head. I wasn’t normally someone who slept around with just anyone. I mean, I hated dating sites and despised Tinder most of all. I wanted to connect with someone before I took things to the next level. In the moment, I was drunk and thought I was beginning to know Brenton, but I soon found out that I didn’t know him one bit. The next morning started out fine aside from Samson’s slobbers. He made me delicious coffee and didn’t act uncomfortable or embarrassed about the events that had transpired the night prior. I felt at ease. That is, until he turned into a controlling maniac.
“What did he do? Couldn’t perform?”
“No! Not that!” I blushed even more, remembering how good he made me feel, how easily he had me shaking.
“Ooooh, Helen!” Lisa praised my reaction.
“It—the sex I mean—it was great. But afterwards, he sort of reminded me of Carter.”
This made Lisa’s smile fall immediately. “Oh. Oh, Helen. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m fine. It was a mistake and now that I know, it’ll never happen again. It’s just frustrating that I can’t shake Carter, you know? He’s still ruining my dating life!”
“Girl, I hate to break it to you, but men suck. Period.”
“You don’t have to say that twice. I don’t know, maybe I was just being paranoid and drawing parallels that don’t exist.”
“Maybe, but you can never be too careful. Are you still thinking about selling the property to him?”
“I don’t know.” I put my head between my hands. Brenton’s temper and his demands had caught me off guard. They made me reconsider everything I thought I had learned about him. But, I couldn’t ignore how kind and passionate he was before any of that. It couldn’t have all been a show, could it?
“Well, I for one think you should kick him to the curb and find a new buyer. But first, you have to keep looking for Dudley’s journal. That inheritance could change your life, Helen.”
“I know. But if I don’t sell it to Brenton, my family could get their hands on it. It seemed like Dudley hated them just as much as I do. I can’t let his house go to them.”
“Damn, girl. What has Dudley gotten you into?”
“A hot mess.” One that I was growing more and more invested in. I knew I didn’t trust Brenton, but I also knew I couldn’t let my family get their hands on Dudley’s inheritance. I had to find that journal and I had to confront Brenton about Dudley’s role in his company.
