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I’ve put it off long enough, but I still can’t ignore the dread I feel at the thought of seeing Danny again. Before heading to his meeting spot, I take the same precautions I did the last time I snuck out of the Royal, but when I arrive, free of Graeme Bellamy, I’m not any calmer.
God, the jerk isn’t just determined to barge into my personal life—he’s in my head. Our time together, good and bad, is starting to trick me into forgetting our healthiest dynamic—as boss and employee. I’m questioning things I haven’t in all the years I’ve spent alone—like that, maybe it wouldn’t be abadthing to wake up to being served breakfast in bed by a surly British bastard with dangerous blue eyes every day…
It could be that I’m falling for Graeme Bellamy’s perhaps not-so-nonexistent charms, or I’m so damn high-strung these days that my logical brain can’t cope. If it’s not occupied with mindless lust, then paranoia takes over.
Even now, I feel like I’m being watched everywhere I go. While I made sure not to alert James when I left the Royal, it seems as though every dark, fancy car in existence happens to appear behind my cab on the trip across town.
By the time I finally step out onto the curb, I’m ready to just toss Danny the bracelet and run. Unsurprisingly, when I enter the small café he indicated, tucked in between a laundromat and a liquor store, it’s devoid of anyone but a waitress who smiles warmly.
Go figure. Danny was never known for his punctuality—and if he’s truly in the amount of danger he thinks, maybe he won’t show at all.
For a fleeting second, I regret not asking Graeme to loan me his security detail or telling him about this meeting. He would refuse to let me come outright, I suspect, given his outdated misogyny. Or, god forbid, he’d insist on calling the police first. Danger aside, I can handle my big brother, no matter what trouble he’s gotten into.
And I can definitely handle a spoiled billionaire without taking advantage of his misplaced jealousy.
I bet he hasn’t even realized I’ve left. In fact, he’s probably galivanting around the office, scheming ways to get one over on Adrian Riley. Whatever happened between them in the past has reduced both to little more than preening school children trying to steal each other’s toys. Though, am I any better? With a sigh, I pull out Dahlia’s bracelet and slip into a booth at the back of the café. Gosh, the elegant piece of jewelry looks even more priceless in the flickering, fluorescent light above. Hopefully, it will be enough to buy Danny off for a few weeks.
Before he gets himself into yet another mess.
Resigned to the task at hand, I alternate between staring out of the window forlornly and watching the clock hanging on the wall above a battered linoleum counter sporting an array of pies for sale. When the waitress comes by, I order a coffee and prepare to wait for however long it takes for Danny to show up. Before she’s returned with my drink, the bell above the main entrance chimes as someone new enters.
“Eves… You came.”
I look up at the figure approaching my table. God, he looks so tired. I almost feel guilty for blowing him off the other night.
“You have five minutes,” I croak as he sits down. “What do you want?”
“Can’t we just talk?” He snaps his fingers to flag down the lone waitress as she reappears with a steaming cup of coffee. “I’ll have a coffee too, and anything she wants is on me—”
“No thanks,” I snap. As she flits off, I meet Danny’s gaze directly. He has a black eye and, judging from the purple bruises under both, he hasn’t slept in days. The no-nonsense attitude I brought in with me starts to waver. I fight to keep my voice steady as I say, “Four minutes.”
“Alright, Eves.” He scoffs and rakes a hand through his already disheveled hair. He used to do that when we were kids, utilizing his natural charm to talk his way out of trouble. Twenty years later, he’s still utilizing the same old tricks, but hardened criminals are harder to schmooze than a disappointed teacher, parent, or sister, I suspect. “I wanted to ease into things, but like always, you just have to jump right to the chase.”
“That’s not fair,” I point out. “I’m not the one who dragged you out to the middle of nowhere. Just tell me what it is you want now.”
“Eves…” He shoots me a sheepish look, and I’m reminded of the many, many times we’ve been in this position before. “I know I’ve put you through a lot of shit lately. But I mean it. Once I settle a few things, I’ll get my life back on track.”
Color me skeptical. To be polite, I sip from my coffee to hide my scoff. Still, I can’t resist asking, “What is this, the tenth time you’ve made that promise?”
“You know what, I don’t know why I even came here.” He jumps to his feet, and the bruising on his face looks even worse in the faint sunlight coming in through the window. “If you’d rather hate me than help, fine—”
“How much?” I demand, lacing my fingers together. Dahlia’s bracelet is back in the pocket of my borrowed coat, but I don’t reach for it yet. “I want the dollar amount, Danny. No more games.”
Slowly, he lowers himself back down. “Fifty,” he says.
“Fifty dollars?” My brows furrow in confusion. That can’t be right. Knowing Danny, he could have easily scammed that amount out of a stranger walking by—he’sthatdamn good of a bullshitter.
“No, Eves…” His heavy sigh tells me that my suspicion was correct. “Fifty grand.”
My eyes bulge, and I nearly fall off my chair. “You think I can come up with that kind of money on a personal assistant’s salary?”
Because there’s no way in hell that I would ever take out a loan for that much or, god forbid, ask Graeme Bellamy.
“No,” he admits. “But maybe you can get a loan from your company or something.”
“Of course,” I snarl. “Because it’s that damn easy. I can just waltz into the office and ask for fifty grand. Maybe a hundred for good measure—”
“Look, Eves…” He has the decency to wince. “I’m in deep, deep shit. The people I owe money to, they won’t just take an IOU. They mean business.”
