25. All That Money Can’t Buy
25
All That Money Can’t Buy
W ork was never so hard to leave for than it was when Spencer was with Nicole. If she didn’t have obligations of her own to attend to, Spencer would have kept her in bed all day. She was the dream he imagined her being, plus more.
He was fooling himself when he thought he could take things slow with her. Nicole was like lightning in a bottle. Once you captured it, there was no giving it a chance to get away from you. You guard it close to your heart, or else risk losing it forever.
Spencer couldn’t lose Nicole. He’d gone into the night not knowing what was going to happen, but he couldn’t go on another day keeping her at a distance. He couldn’t run the risk of her not waiting around for him.
Last night was meant to give a clear account of what Spencer could handle in his life right now. He was honest with Nicole, to a certain point. He did have a lot of his plate. The biggest being William.
Being around Nicole and hiding his connection to William was becoming an impossible feat. Pushing her away wouldn’t solve the problem, but Spencer knew what would. Terminating his contract with William .
William was a man who held onto his grudges and would never let him go so easily. Spencer knew that now. Seeing the grudge he harbored against Nicole should have made him second guess getting into bed with him, but so much had changed since then.
Discovering Nicole wasn’t the money-hungry femme fatale William led him to believe she was, changed everything. The heartless con woman he expected to find was guarded, self-reliant, and strong. The real person beneath the image William built of Nicole was a woman with a complicated, lonely life.
If the circumstances were different, Spencer would have completed the job. He would’ve taken William’s money, and went on about his life a couple thousand dollars richer. But that would have required Spencer not to see Nicole for who she really was. He wouldn’t have wished for that reality in the world.
It shamed Spencer that to get to this point, he was going to hurt the people he cared about. He didn’t care about William’s feelings, but his choice would affect Yara, his mom, Nessa, and Nicole. If they didn’t get lucky and nab another high-paying case, Spencer couldn’t justify keeping the agency’s doors open.
Yara would be out of a job. His mom would lose yet another piece of her husband. Nessa would have two parents unable to provide for her. And Nicole? There would be nothing standing in the way of Spencer telling her the truth. That his first name wasn’t Aiden, that he wasn’t a millionaire, and he didn’t hire her by chance. For them to have any hope of a future together, coming clean to Nicole was the only way forward.
“You have a look on your face.”
Spencer looked up to his doorway to find Yara there, inspecting his appearance. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have class?”
“Canceled. Professor’s giving a lecture in another state. Thought I could earn a bonus coming in on my day off. ”
“I don’t even have enough to pay you for your normal paycheck, let alone a bonus.”
“Explains that grim look on your face.” She came over and sat down in one of his chairs. “You’re giving up on the case, aren’t you?”
“How did—”
“I listened in on your meeting with Mr. Harrison last week. In my defense, it was hard not to. Your voices were loud, these walls are thin, and I left my headphones in my dorm.”
“Yara, I’m sorry. I know you need the money.”
“Yeah, I do, but there are job openings on my campus. And with your stellar recommendation, I shouldn’t have a hard time getting one.”
“I’m glad to hear it because I can’t say the same for myself if this place goes under.”
“I thought you told me you only took the agency over because your dad gave it to you? What did you want to do before that became an option?”
“To mooch off my parents.”
Yara sighed. “I’m serious, Spence.”
“I am too. I didn’t have dreams of what I wanted to be. As a kid, I thought of jobs as this thing that took my parents away from me and preoccupied them when they were home. I didn’t want that for myself. As much as I fought against running this agency, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do if—” he stopped. Then corrected himself. “When I have to close the doors.”
“Sounds like you’re giving up.”
“I didn’t want to, but I have to be realistic here. I’m not my father or my grandfather. This wasn’t my dream. It was theirs. I borrowed it for a little while, but I never made it my own. I think that’s what pushed returning clients away. They could feel my passion for this line of work wasn’t sustainable. I can do a good cosplay of my dad, but I’m not him. I don’t want to take my work home with me or miss out on some of the greatest moments of my life because of my job.”
Spencer laid his head back, facing away from Yara and up to the ceiling. “I took this job because my mom wanted me to. Disappointing her came so easy to me. I wanted to surprise her by actually doing something she wanted of me. It helped that by doing this, I was getting the chance to be closer to my dad right after I lost him. But above all, I did this to feel some sense that they were proud of me. I thought by sticking with this, I was showing them how far I’ve come.”
“You don’t think that anymore?”
He lowered his head, meeting her eyes again. “What I think is that I shouldn’t be dictating my life based on what will make my parents proud of me. If I’ve really grown as much as I’ve said I have, I need to do what makes me happy. Even if it doesn’t align with what they want from me.”
Yara nodded, following his line of thought. “So, what makes you happy?”
“In a career?”
“In your life.”
For his career, Spencer would need some time to figure that out. As for his life, he already knew for certain what did. “There’s this little girl named Nessa. She’s real short, but has this real big personality. Maybe you’ve met her?”
“She does sound familiar.” Yara chuckled.
“And there’s this woman.” Spencer took a deep breath. “Her name is Nicole. It’s new, but in the time I’ve known her, no one has ever felt as right for me as she does. That feels like it has to mean something.”
“It does. So I say you should do whatever you have to do to hold on to them. Anything that makes your face light up like that is worth keeping. Everything else, you can figure it out later. But what do I know? I’m only a psychology major.” Yara smiled, rising out of her seat.
“I will write you that recommendation if only to become your first client when you open your practice.”
“I’ll throw in a discount for you, and not just because I know you’ll need it to afford me.”
“Yara, please leave before I talk myself out of writing you that recommendation.”
“Aye, aye boss. Catch up with ya later.”
Yara’s utmost confidence in herself aside, Spencer took her advice to heart. It gave him the courage to make the long overdue call. William didn’t pick up. A good chance he was in a meeting, depending on what time zone he was in. But Spencer wouldn’t wait to do this on his terms. He wanted this done now.
“William, it’s me, Spencer. You gave me the week to decide if I could continue working on your case. Turns out, I didn’t need a week. I’ve chosen to end our partnership. I can’t in good faith pry into the life of a woman for you when you’re a bigger criminal than she is. You think what you’re doing to Nicole and her daughter is some kind of justice? It’s not. It’s torment, and only sick fucks like yourself get joy from inflicting that on others.”
Spencer took a long sigh, calming himself. “So no, I will not be taking your dirty money. I’ll have your suits returned in the same condition you gifted them to me in. Nessa and I will be out of your penthouse within the next two days. And I’ll be refunding the money you paid Nicole for Nessa’s party. I don’t want any of your favors. The only thing I want from you is to leave Nicole and her family alone. If there’s another threat made to her, I will know it was you and I’ll be out of the country before they can even find your body. Let alone identify it. That’s a promise. And I know those don’t mean much to you, Mr. Harrison, but know this. I always make good on mine.”