Series: Cobalt Empire Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 234
Estimated words: 226965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1135(@200wpm)___ 908(@250wpm)___ 757(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 226965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1135(@200wpm)___ 908(@250wpm)___ 757(@300wpm)
“Uh, no I’m good. I’ve already closed out.” Her voice trembles with nerves being so close to Charlie. I want to tell her this bitter Boy Genius is not worth the anxiety. She side-eyes him, likely yearning and praying for a single glance from him, even if it’s a mean one.
He’s ignoring her existence.
When she shuffles away, Charlie immediately resumes the conversation. “Why is Ben working at a bar? Is it for you or for the paycheck?”
I shrug, not wanting to be an untrustworthy friend. Even if I think they should know. I asked Ben why he doesn’t just tell his family about his money issue and how he’s leaving New York soon.
He said, “It’ll turn into a bigger ordeal. They’ll try to stop me, and I don’t want them to.”
I want them to.
But I can’t break Ben’s trust. There is no coming back from that—our friendship would be obliterated, and I’d rather not cause him that type of pain, especially when there’s no guarantee telling Charlie and Eliot anything will make Ben stay.
“Does it matter why he’s bartending?” I rinse out the pint glass.
Charlie twists the glass on the wooden counter, scrutinizing me. “It does if he needs money. That would imply he’s burned through millions.”
I process this. “How would you know he has that much money?”
“Because we all receive the same amount on the same day. Ben first asked to access his trust fund on his sixteenth birthday. To buy a car. The car he would eventually crash.”
Okay…I’m shocked Charlie is just delivering this personal information to me like it’s a greeting card and not gold bars locked in a vault. “And you’re saying he has millions?”
“It would accumulate that high, easily.” His eyes ping around the bar. “So him blowing the bank—that does matter to us.”
“He could be in danger,” Eliot says, his glimmering blue eyes shaded with worries. Is he…afraid?
“Ben’s not in danger.” He just wants to live out of the city, I want to say. In nature. I picture him on a solo adventure among dense foliage and dangerous wildlife. I’m guessing this would freak out any protective, loving family, and he’s doing his best not to trigger their concern.
“Does he need money?” Charlie questions.
Eliot observes me like Charlie, but his eyes are layered with a dark protectiveness.
I dry the clean glass. “Can’t you just ask him yourself?”
“Were you here thirty seconds ago?” Charlie rebuts. “You don’t think we’ve tried? He’ll talk circles around us and be purposefully vague. I’d rather Ben stuff aluminum foil in my ear.”
I shrug. “Maybe that’s your dynamic with him, dude. I can’t get in the middle.”
Eliot downs a strong sip. “She’s loyal.” He motions to me with the glass. “Commendable. Blink twice if Ben is penniless. We won’t tell.”
Holy shit, the urge to actually blink overpowers me, and I do blink. Twice.
Eliot holds out a hand to Charlie. “He’s broke.”
Charlie sighs, then glares up at the ceiling.
Regret assaults my insides. I am literally the worst friend. I couldn’t even stop myself from blinking.
Are you serious, Harriet? I throw the dishtowel at the taps.
“This isn’t a betrayal,” Eliot says deeply. “Look at me.”
I barely lift my burning gaze.
“He needs us. He needs you.”
I frown. “What do you think is going on?”
“He’s moved his money somewhere. A trust. Land,” Charlie theorizes. “Or he was scammed out of a large sum of cash. He’s being blackmailed—”
“What?” I bristle.
“It’s my number one theory,” Eliot chimes in. “He’s paying off some bastard.”
Is that why he needs to leave New York before the end of the year? Is Ben being threatened? At times, he acts like he has to go. Like it’s a necessity. Against his will…? “What if he is in trouble?” I ask them.
“That’s why we’re here,” Eliot says, then points at me. “That’s why you’re here. Eyes and ears.” He motions to those organs with two fingers.
Charlie rolls his eyes at the dramatics, then tells me, “Ask Ben if he is. He’s clearly been more forthcoming with you.”
I’m not a fan of prodding Ben. I don’t like how it makes me feel. I hate how it makes him feel even more.
“Heeeeey.” Beefy Dude is back with an empty pint. No friends at his side. “My girl.”
I clutch my biceps.
Eliot extends an arm out across the bar, obstructing this dickhead from being able to careen over and reach me. “She’s actually my brother’s girl.” He considers me Ben’s girl??? I can’t even fully process, not while nerves accelerate my pulse. At six-four, Eliot towers over the dickhead. “You’re going to want to back up.”
Charlie is relaxed against the bar, barely moving a muscle, acting like a confrontation isn’t beside him. He sips his Glenfiddich.
Beefy Dude laughs, only eyeing me. Trying to unsettle me. It’s just frustrating me. Maybe Ben was right. This outcome was a high possibility. It wouldn’t have been if we’d just kicked him out in the first place.