Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 132097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
They suspected it was a bad decision, a horrible error, not desperation.
And maybe it was. Maybe.
Only, I know better.
Because I saw the look in her eyes when I walked away.
I had one chance to stop her, and I fucking choked.
My heart stops for several beats.
This is it, my darkest secret, the stone I’ve carried on my shoulders for too long, and now Cooper goddamned Daley can demolish my entire life with it.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I snarl.
I shift my leg under the small table too hard and my knee bangs it.
The whole thing shakes from the impact, threatening to collapse. Should’ve known it would be practically cardboard.
“You know what I’m talking about,” he whispers.
“Who told you?”
“Now, now,” Daley says, drawing it out like the oily little bastard he is. “Really, it’s your own fault for running your mouth with your lovely fiancée in public at a certain French restaurant. Anyone could have heard.”
I’m shocked cold.
That dinner was the beginning of the end, and I’ve tried not to think about it ever since, though I haven’t gone a day without replaying everything.
But no one was sitting close enough to hear us.
I’m sure of it.
Plenty of people would’ve been interested in listening if they could, but no one came near us except—
“The waiter,” I snarl.
“That’s a big accusation.” Daley smiles. “True or not, you never know who’s listening. Or how much someone else is willing to fork over to keep tabs on potential friends.”
“Friends.” I spit the word like rotten lettuce.
Bribery is a great way of getting people to talk—even to people they shouldn’t.
Hell, especially to people they shouldn’t.
I think back to the annoying way the waiter hovered around, butting in constantly to make sure ‘everything was fine.’
Sure, everything was fucking brilliant.
That was the moment everything started falling apart.
I let my guard down.
“Did you hire him to spy? Were you following me, you miserable fuck?” My fist bangs the table.
So much for control.
“Waste not, want not. It’s important to know every detail about the people you’re working with, and the things he found out… ouch.” He clucks his tongue. “Rather shocking, Blackthorn. I always heard you were a young punk, but driving a poor, mixed-up girl to that?”
I grit my teeth against the wave of fury.
If all he heard was what I said to Hattie, then he probably thinks I did something more nefarious, too.
I’m sure he has all sorts of theories, but it doesn’t matter.
He has the truth—a distorted version of it, but the truth nonetheless—and that’s enough.
And I can see the new trap he’s set for me.
A conversation designed to needle them out of me, to send me into a berserker fit.
He’s fishing to see whether I’ll take the bait and defend myself.
He wants me to attack him, to lunge for his throat, and disgrace Blackthorn Holdings for good, opening the door to pull damages from the company and bankrupt me personally.
He glances at his coffee, makes a sour face, and looks back at me.
“So tell me, how’s your lovely fiancée, anyway? I’ve been hearing all kinds of sordid rumors. Was your past a little too much?” He sucks his teeth. “Can’t say I blame her.”
“Leave her out of this, Daley.”
“Or what?” he asks sardonically. “You’ll throat punch me like the overgrown, entitled, stupid Neanderthal you really are?”
My hands curl into fists, so ready to do just that—beat the hell out of him, consequences be damned.
I could kill him on the spot.
But even in death, he’d ruin me, and none of the people counting on me deserve that shit.
Blackthorn Holdings deserves a leader. A man who puts the common good first.
That may not be me, depending on what happens next, but while I still have the chance, I’m damn sure going to act like it is.
Even as I rack my brain, there’s a putrid taste in my mouth.
Gramps would make the same decision.
That’s what it means to be his grandson.
Cooper runs a hand through his bleached blond hair, letting it fall back into the same carefully arranged dishevelment.
I stare at him for an eternity, weighing my options.
None of them are fucking good.
What if he tries to drag Hattie down, too?
I can see the headlines now.
No Bookish Fairy Tale for Struggling Ex-Fiancée of Disgraced Blackthorn Heir!
That’s not the press she needs.
Fuck, if that happens, nothing will stop me from murdering this man. But his goal isn’t Hattie.
She’s a means to an end—to get to me—and that’s a bridge we can cross later. Right now, I need to defuse Cooper Daley’s bomb.
I came here with a plan. This revelation, though unpleasant, doesn’t change anything.
I lean back in my chair, steepling my fingers.
“Go ahead,” I growl.
Cooper blinks. “Go ahead and what?”
“Go tell the whole world if that’s what makes you feel better. Knock yourself out. Tell them what you think you know. Spread your ugly gossip and rumors to the moon and back.” I hold his gaze and smile.