Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 94048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“It wasn’t hard to figure out.” He’s talking so calmly like this isn’t a huge deal. “I had my people look into his financial background and we found the second mortgage. That’s always a red flag for a man his age. From there, I dug harder and found accounts in his name. Empty accounts. A few bribes here, a couple calls to some friends there, and I got a list of all his outgoing payments over the last couple years. Turns out, your father’s been busy funneling all his retirement savings to an account owned by known scammers. I’m sorry, for what it’s worth. Those people are pure scum.”
The magnitude of what he’s telling me feels like a cannon ball straight to my guts at close range. He found accounts? That’s not supposed to be possible. He bribed people? Called in favors? He got a list of my father’s transactions? If that’s true, and I’m pretty sure it is, all of that is wildly illegal and straight-out immoral.
Simon doesn’t seem to mind. He watches my reaction, still gauging me, measuring and judging, and I don’t know why. I chug down my drink, because why the hell not. When it’s empty, I gesture for another, as I try to process.
He knows. That’s all that matters. The details of how he knows are terrifying—but also intriguing. Because only a man with serious connections and means could pull something like that off, and he doesn’t even sound like it’s a big deal.
“Why?” I ask him once my new drink shows up.
That seems to surprise him. His eyebrows raise. “That’s what you want to know? Why I looked into you?”
I nod once. “Why would you bother? I was just some random waitress trying to steal from you. Why would you dig into me and my father like that?”
He looks amused as he drapes an arm across my chair. I squirm, leaning forward so he’s not touching me. “Because I had a feeling that I might need you in the near future. And honestly? I liked the way you said sex bag.”
I gape at him like he’s insane, then I laugh in his face. “Are you serious? The phrase sex bag is just about the least sexy thing in the entire world, and you liked it?”
He nods, not at all bothered by my outburst. “You pulled it off.”
“I pulled it—” I rub my face with both hands. I’m getting off topic. “Okay, I can accept that you know about what happened to my dad. What do you want from me?”
“It’s simple.” He drums his fingers on the bar top. I note that he’s barely touched his drink. “Your father needs someone to bail out his debts. Not only are his accounts empty, but he maxed out three separate credit cards trying to dig himself out of this hole, and I suspect the bank is just about ready to foreclose on that house. Am I correct?”
I nod once, not fucking happy. “Yeah. You’re right. And you don’t need to look so smug about it.”
“I can help him. I have plenty of money, and I can make his problems go away. In exchange, I’d need you to marry me.”
Chapter 7
Simon
Her mouth fell open. She leaned away like I grew a second head and started gibbering at herself in an alien language, her shoulders going stiff. I moved my arm from behind her chair to give her some space to process, because I can imagine this is something of a shock.
“Get the fuck out of here,” she blurts out, and an older man in a sweater and slacks beside her gives me a sharp look. I ignore the annoyed grandpa. “Why the hell would you want to marry me?”
I hesitate and pick up my drink. Because now it’s my turn to be slightly vulnerable. She didn’t have to put herself out there at all—her father’s problems are pretty straightforward, and I have the easy means to make them all go away—but my issues are a bit more complicated.
“It’s family stuff,” I say, hedging a little. “The specifics aren’t important.”
“Yes, they absolutely are important,” she says, cutting me off. The girl has a mouth on her when she’s annoyed. I’m tempted to say something outlandish again, like threaten to tie her up and fuck her pretty mouth until I come, just to knock her off balance.
“All you’d have to do is agree to stay married to me for at least five years. You’d move into my house, have my children—”
“You want children?” she says, almost shrieking now. The bartender looks in our direction, and my jaw tightens. This isn’t how I expected her to make a scene. Nearby, Isaac and Matty are waiting, just in case they need to step in. I give them a signal, letting them know everything’s in control.