AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes, you do. Everyone does.”
“Not me.”
“You don’t even want to open it?”
“Please, take it back.” I sniff loudly. I won’t let him see me cry.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Tears start rolling down my cheeks. “When I was a kid, my parents forced me to do those videos saying how much I loved them both. They posted them online and made it look like we had this perfect family. Meanwhile, I’m left without food if I flub my lines.”
“I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“Birthdays mean memories I don’t want. So I don’t celebrate them. Okay?”
He looks at me, his smile long gone. He takes the shoebox and sets it down next to him. “I apologize,” he says. “Sit down, here.” He lowers me into the nearest chair, taking the seat opposite me. He passes me a silk handkerchief from his jacket. “For your eyes,” he says. “You trusted me with that information. I respect that. I did something wrong.” He frowns, doing that thing he does, his eyes scanning me. “It will not happen again.”
“What do you want, Hunter? Why are you here?”
“I brought the contract for you to sign.”
“I don’t see any paper.”
“It’s on my phone. Would you like to read it?”
“Is it long?”
“Only eighty pages.”
“Jeez. Can you give me the gist of it?”
“You are collected from here tomorrow morning and brought to my house. You meet Alicia. You spend an hour with her. At the end of that time, you decide if you will take care of her for a month. If you do, you will be paid a hundred thousand for your time. I will give you ten thousand if you decide the job is not for you. Either way, I agree not to fire anyone else without due cause that my lawyer and a lawyer of your choice ratified in each instance. If you choose to stay with me, you follow a set of rules outlined in due course.”
I take a deep breath, breathing in his cologne which moves deep into me, poisoning my veins and intoxicating my mind. “All right,” I say with a nod. “I’ll come and meet her, but I’m promising nothing else.”
He brings out his phone, turning the screen to face me. “Sign there.”
I move my finger across the screen, a deep sense of unease settling in me. There’s something about this he’s not telling me, but I can’t work out what it is.
The image vanishes a moment later.
“Good,” he says, getting to his feet. “Until tomorrow, then.” He walks over to the door, pulling it open. “You did the right thing, Bex.”
“Yeah?” I reply. “For you or me?”
“For your fellow workers. You took one for the team, so to speak.”
He walks out without another word, the door closing after him. I sink back onto the couch, letting out a long slow breath. Ursula appears a moment later.
“Did you hear that?” I ask her.
“Every word,” she replies. “Jo’s at Kenny’s. I think we should join her. Forget the stew.”
“I’m not in the mood for going out.”
“Precisely why we should go. Get out of your own head for a while. Plus, it’s karaoke night, and I can’t do Paradise by the Dashboard Light on my own.”
“You could get Jo to do it with you.”
