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It’s official. If I don’t get out of here fast, the only thing I’ll be cleaning off these floors is a dead body.
He must know it, too, because he’s already heading for the door. “Don’t take too long,” he calls over his shoulder. “I still need to go over tomorrow’s schedule.”
“Then you better stop talking and let me work.” The bite is there, and I know I must take a breath and calm down. Going off on him won’t be good for me.
He pauses at the edge of the staircase. “Always with the smart mouth.”
“Better smart than stupid.”
Yep. So much for listening to my own advice.
“It will get you in trouble someday.”
“It already has. Nothing I can’t live through again.” The words leave my mouth before I can stop them, and I realize my mistake.
I gave him a glimpse into me.
I dropped a damn breadcrumb into my past that I never should have. Hopefully, he didn’t realize what I said. Maybe he won’t start digging around to understand.
Because that was a tiny thread of information. But if he picks at that thread long enough, it’s sure to unravel.
I can’t have that.
Trent Aldridge can’t know my past.
He can’t know anything I have done or had to put up with before.
If I ever want to get far away and start fresh, I need Ronald’s money.
It’s my only way to escape the demons that still haunt me.
Chapter
Eighteen
TRENT
A less observant man might have missed it.
Might have been too busy staring at her. The fiery woman as she barked back at me. The way her chest rose and fell with each restrained breath.
But I am not that man.
I miss nothing. I see everything.
And I certainly heard what she said.
She dropped a piece of the puzzle, and if she isn’t careful, I will collect all the pieces and use them to ruin her.
I latch onto the clue like a detective, ready to unravel it, no matter how long it takes. And it will take a bit of time. The statement wasn’t clear. It didn’t point me in any particular direction.
So, her mouth got her into trouble once before.
Interesting.
In the meantime, I’m enjoying toying with her more than I’d like to admit.
Payton Hart is easily angered. Her cheeks flush red when she’s upset. It quickly spreads down her chest.
