AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But how to make sure that he paid off his debt with that money right away and not decide to fly off to some small country for a couple of months?
“Have a man at the Cross Street bank at three o’clock on Friday so I can watch Eric hand over the money.”
Eric glared at her, and Petrov chuckled. “I can do that.”
“Good, then we’ll take care of everything then.”
The Russian gave her face a light tap, making her stomach flip. He looked back at Eric. “You have an excellent woman here. Shame you threw away your partnership like that.”
Eric’s eyes narrowed, and the expression on his face turned ugly. “She’s never been mine. Her stupid obsession with tattoos, and her celebrity crushes were always more important to her than me. I was always there for her. She was never there for me. I don’t owe her shit.”
Where was all this hatred coming from? She wished there was some way to turn back time so she could figure it out. Tension she didn’t understand vibrated in the air.
“Is that right? Are you not loyal to your friends?” The barely veiled amusement in the Russian’s voice grated on her nerves.
“No, he’s the only one who doesn’t care who he betrays. To him, not being willing to fuck him was the same as not caring for him.”
She had known that he wanted more from her than friendship, but thought they had settled that years ago. From the anger and vicious jealousy about her celebrity crush, it was obvious she had been wrong. How had their friendship dissolved into this?
The smile on the man’s face seemed completely out of place, as if he never used those muscles. “I don’t care who you fuck as long as I get my money. I hope you don’t betray me, because I will burn down everything you care about.”
He gave a jerk of his head towards the door. And Maxim let Eric go. The two Russian men strolled out of her office as if they had simply concluded a normal business meeting. She waited until she knew they were out of earshot.
“I can’t believe you borrowed money from them.”
“There she is, the judgmental, oh, so perfect Jade.” Eric straightened his clothes. “Too good for her friends. Too good for TV. She never makes mistakes like us mere mortals.”
“Is that what you think of me? You think I look down on you? Christ, you were my best friend. Hell, my only friend.”
Eric’s snort was loud. “That’s what you said to the cameras, but the second they were off, you had nothing but criticism. You have always tried to control me through money. Blew me off at every chance. You abandoned me for this backwater life.”
“Getting on to you about paying the rent, and making sure we had enough money to buy the plane tickets in time, wasn’t trying to control you. It was making sure we could continue to live the life you wanted. I didn’t love life in the spotlight, you did. Life isn’t about parties and the adoration of fans, Eric. If I hadn’t stepped back from the competition circuit, we would have been pushed out of the light soon, anyway. That’s how that business worked. Someone younger and with a more interesting story would have taken the spotlight and the sponsors. I thought you understood that, that I was trying to set up something lasting for the both of us.”
“Maybe, but this isn’t what I wanted. And none of that had to do with why I was never good enough for you.”
She took three steps forward and slammed her hands down on the desk. How dare he come at her when she had just bailed his ass out of a fire so big it could have cost him his life. “Not wanting to sleep with you didn’t mean you weren’t good enough. We’ve known each other since we were twelve-years- old. You’re like a brother to me. I’m sorry if you felt otherwise, but I didn’t. Before these last few months, I would have done anything for you, except sleep with you.”
“Yeah, well. Looks like you’re throwing away your brother now. Just like your father threw you away.”
His words rocked her back, and her pulse pounded against her throat. “Get out.” Rage was like ice in her voice.
“I’m sorry, Jade.” Eric backpedaled, but it was too late.
“I said get out. And you’re right. Once those papers are signed and I watch you give the money to that Russian jerk, we’re done. Don’t call. Don’t text. Nothing.”
“Fine.” Eric stormed out of the office and slammed the door behind him. The sound hit her like a blow to the chest. She was clinging onto sanity by a thread as she tried to save his ass and he dared compare her to that man? She couldn’t stop the tears that poured down her face.
How the hell was she going to fix this mess without destroying everything she had built?
Chapter 15
This may be my safe space, but I never promised it was yours.
Ink
His plan to get to Leap early and try to catch her before she opened had failed. He had gotten distracted for hours watching some of the videos of Jade that Hannibal had suggested. Watching her in her element was addicting. He had even found some of her competing in gymnastics back when she was young.
The woman was a fascinating mix of determination and humor. In her interviews, she’d shown a self-deprecating sense of humor about herself and what she did. The way she was always supporting and encouraging everyone around had engaged him. But the recent ones of her doing Parkour stunts and teaching some of the basic moves showed how passionate she was about the sport.
