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I want him. I suppose I always have, but he seemed so far out of my league I would need a miracle to reach him. I’m shy around him and unsure how to act because I made the rules in this relationship and yet I want to break them before the ink has dried on the contract that is still not even drawn up.
I’m a disgrace, and especially so when he crooks his finger and says softly, “Come and sit with me.”
I almost run there, and I hate myself for it. Why am I not cool? I suppose it’s because I was never a cheerleader. Maybethey learn life skills there about how to act with men, something I really believe should be a class in college because I am like an open book.
Troy sits on one of the soft cushions and pulls me down by his side and I’m surprised when he puts his arm around my shoulders and says softly, “This is nowyourlife, Laura. You are my girlfriend, and this is all yours to enjoy.”
“It doesn’t seem right.”
“Why not?”
I say shyly. “Because none of it is mine. It’s as if I’m renting space by your side just to be seen with you. I don’t really feel good about that if I’m honest.”
“What? About being my plus one?”
He studies me hard and I nod. “Taking without giving, I suppose. I mean, what’s in this for you—really?”
He changes into Adonis in my mind, and I see his grim expression reminding me that Troy is using me for revenge. I’m not sure why making me his girlfriend would tear down a mafia empire with the shock.
Troy, however, looks nothing like the evil villain in my story as he whispers huskily, “This may surprise you, but I kind of get lonely sometimes.”
My eyes widen and he laughs softly. “I said you wouldn’t believe me, but it’s the truth. I don’t date women and keep them. I don’t even like most of them because they see me as a golden ticket to a billionaire’s paradise. I’m no different from most guys. I work and I don’t always get things right, but I try.”
He squeezes my shoulder and sighs. “My parents had a happy marriage and I want that too. I thought it would be easy, and it was to a point. To be honest, getting a woman to say yes to a date was the easy part. Navigating her claws was a different experience entirely.”
“Her claws?” Imagining he dates wolves or cat like species makes me giggle and he pulls me a little closer and says with a smile. “You are the first woman I’ve met who tells it how it is. You aren’t afraid to speak your mind and you don’t put me on a pedestal. If anything, you would probably push the pedestal hard, so I fell off.”
I laugh out loud. “You got that right.”
I stop laughing and say softly, “You saidhad. I mean, your parents, they had a happy marriage. What happened?”
A flash of pain sparks in his eyes and I regret prying as his expression turns bitter, and he says huskily, “My father died a year ago. When I say died, it was by his hand. He committed suicide.”
I have no words because there is nothing I could say that wouldn’t sound lame right now.
He smiles bitterly, “He was about to go under and lost the contract he was relying on to pull him through. As it turns out, he was in a lot of trouble financially and had no way to turn. Remington Industries was about to go under, and he asked for help.”
The expression in his eyes tells me he didn’t get the help he desired as he hisses, “They turned their back on him and expelled him from the club he was proud to be a member of.”
I freeze because I already know my family must have had a hand in that for him to want to use me for revenge.
Troy appears to be somewhere else entirely as he says through gritted teeth, “They left him with nowhere else to go. We were facing ruin and, as a result, he couldn’t live with that, so he took the only way out to end his misery. He shot himself and that was that. It took him a lifetime to build the company up and he couldn’t bear the humiliation of watching it crumble.”
“I’m so sorry, Troy. I didn’t know.”
I hate how broken he is and, impulsively, I reach out and grab his hand and lace our fingers together.
He squeezes my hand and smiles gratefully and adds, “I was his heir. I already had a seat on the board and was Vice chairman. I was elevated to CEO overnight and worked twenty hours a day to stop the ship sinking. It didn’t happen overnight and yet gradually the orders came through, including the one he lost. As it turned out, they had a change of heart and the stock market got behind me. I was offered his place at the club he loved so much, and I only took it because it would help the business grow.”
“It grew well.” I’m impressed at what he has achieved, and he nods, a hint of pride in his eyes.
“I did it for my father and I made a vow that it would never happen again. I have devoted my life to Remington Industries to make my family proud and because of that, I haven’t had much time for myself.”
He seems almost vulnerable and a little lost as he turns to me and smiles. “So, I did what I’m good at. I negotiated a deal with the first andonlywoman I wanted to make the offer to. So, Laura, your doubts are based on nothing and you would be doing me a huge favor if you say yes.”
His words have hit me deep in the heart and whatever his reasons were for bringing me here, I couldn’t give a fuck. If I’m here for revenge, why should I care? I don’t know the people he seeks to destroy and if anything, I’d probably help him if he asked. Having Troy Remington as a boyfriend isn’t a bad thing at all and so I’m a little happier as I squeeze his hand tighter and say with determination,
“Then I accept your proposal, Troy, and will be delighted to help you keep the wolves at bay.”
