AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Be sure that you do." I ended the call and sank back on my office chair, glad that task was done. It hadn't taken much to hack into the security feed for Faith's apartment building and get a good look at the guy that clocked her. I ran his image through some facial recognition software, and I had a name, address, and employer info. After gently letting them know how vulnerable their online security system was, I asked them to terminate their contract with Joe Palladio, the man responsible for Faith's black eye.
It made me angry every time I saw it and this morning was no exception. I'd have to go back out for another run later today to make up for this morning's workout, or lack thereof. But I wasn't mad. If anything, it unsettled me spending time with Faith. Slowly getting to know her. The real her. Not the person on the cover of magazines or the person I'd see once a year for a couple of hours. It was like she’d slipped me a truth serum. For some reason I couldn’t help myself when I was with her. I divulged more than I had to the few other people in my life. And she seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say.
She shocked the hell out of me when she came down to the kitchen bundled up in her workout clothes.
After the night before I figured she’d stay mad and avoid me.
But there she was. I wondered what changed her mind.
And those pointed questions about Harrison Barnes. He was a big fish, and I'd worked damn hard to catch as many of those as possible.
Success begets success but there were a handful of people I still wanted to work with. I opened my desk drawer and pulled out the worn piece of paper I had scribbled on a dozen years ago. Several names were crossed out, but a few remained, including Harrison's.
When I plotted my future, I had researched all the biggest companies, all the business magnets across the world and set my sights on them. Over the years, I took immense pleasure in crossing those names off. To systematically build relationships with the most powerful people and earn their trust. A young scrappy kid, fighting his way to the top. To improve not only my situation, but my mother’s. To make sure that she wanted for nothing.
It meant a lot of long hours, a lot of towing the line of legality, and focusing solely on work.
Not that I didn’t find moments to play. I wasn’t celibate. Not by any stretch of the imagination. I would find women when I went to the city, but I didn’t get attached to anyone. Have fun for a night and go our separate ways the next morning. I intentionally found women that were happy with that arrangement, who wouldn’t get clingy or expect more.
The last thing I wanted was to entangle myself with anyone from River Run. Small towns were a blessing and a curse and the last thing I needed was to embroil myself in the town gossip. My mom and I already drew a lot of attention as it was. I preferred to lay low, stay on my property, and just venture out when I absolutely needed something.
It made for a quiet but busy life. One that I had been perfectly content with.
I’d never invited a woman back home before and the idea of having Faith in my space terrified me. I was constantly aware of her. Compared to her and the life she was born into, I still felt like the kid living in a rundown apartment, where the wallpaper was peeling off the walls and the hot water was unreliable at best.
No matter how much wealth I accumulated, no matter how much my circumstances had changed, I couldn’t seem to outgrow that feeling. To be weary that I could lose it all and end up right where I’d started.
No number of showers could wash away that feeling. It made standing next to Faith all that much harder. She hadn’t experienced what I had gone through, had lived a life of privilege, and never had to worry about where her next meal would come from. That left a sheen on someone whether she realized it or not.
Although the hardships she’d endured with her family rubbed some of that sparkle away, made her infinitesimally more human somehow, she was still beyond my reach.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t protect her with all the newfound power and money I’d accumulated.
* * *
Willow nudged my leg, drawing me out of the trance-like state I often entered when I was working. I smiled, reaching out to pet her. She’d made a habit of checking on me and making sure I ate and slept. She lived by her little routines, and it broke up the usual quiet of the house.
I glanced at the clock and found that it was well past midnight. “Okay, time to go to bed. You win.”
Just then my stomach grumbled.
I’d forgotten to eat again.
Willow just gave me a look like, seriously?
Luna had called earlier needing me to do some heavy research on a few associates who wanted to go into business with her. I ran background checks and had gone down a few rabbit holes wanting to make sure I got my intel correct. It wasn’t the usual sort of task I dealt with, but I was more than willing to make sure she didn’t do any shady deals. It was in both of our best interests.
It meant I just plowed through normal working hours and apparently skipped dinner.
“Let’s go, Will. I’ll get you some broccoli.” She loved her broccoli. My mom would steam it and place it in a glass container so that I could dole it out to Willow during the week as a healthy treat.
I padded down the hallway, stretching my limbs when I found the kitchen already occupied.
“Faith?”
She was hunched over the table, a sketchpad in hand, doodling from what I could tell. When she didn’t immediately turn around, I glanced at her ears to find two wireless headphones.
I didn’t want to alarm her, so I tried calling her name again, a little louder this time.
