Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
A lot could happen over one night, and I did mean a lot . I couldn’t believe I was willingly walking into Max’s office. This was not what I wanted to do first thing in the morning, but after I talked to my grandpa and begged him to move, to which he refused, I knew I needed to get us out of this mess. The land held sentimental value to my grandfather, and for him, I would beg to have it back. I justwished my grandpa would tell me why he sold itin the first place.
For a quick second, my hand wavered at the door. The shiny gold letters that read Maximilian Dunnett made me pause. He had achieved everything he had wanted, and for once my decision to leave didn’t sting as bad.
“Please go in. Mr. Dunnett will be here shortly.” I smiled at the older lady who pointed me toward Max’s office. She shouldn’t have left me alone. I would use the opportunity to snoop .
Max had several pictures hung, but none of themfrom around the time we were together. If what he wanted was to pretend like we never happened, he had done an excellent job.
My heel was tapping furiously on the floor, trying to synchronize to the beat of my heart. The pink stilettos matched my dusty pink lips; meanwhile, my black dress wasn’t revealing, but it clung to my every curve.
I looked good.
“There is someone in your office, Mr. Dunnett.”
“Thanks, Sandy.”
As soon as I heard his voice, my blood pressure rose. The room felt smaller. I really didn’t think this through. I should have stayed home and sent him a letter; that would have been wise.
Too late now.
When he walked in, he froze by the door. He did a slow blink, probably thinking the same thing I was. What the fuck am I doing here?
“Good morning, Mr. Dunnett.” I smiled at him. God, what was wrong with me? I was here on friendly terms, not to taunt him, but a part of me couldn’t resist. His hair still gleamed from his morning shower. I wanted to lean in and smell his bodywash and run my tongue along his neck. I needed to get my shit together before I did something I would regret. I crossed my legs, trying to put myself at ease.
Max’s eyes followed my movement, those green eyes going darker.
Was I affecting him as much as he was affecting me? Motioning to his desk, I said, “Please, have a seat.”
The slight tick of his jaw made me want to smile. When he walked to his chair, he moved agile like a cat. Instead of being scared, it thrilled me. “You dorealize you’re in my office, sweetheart?”
He did not just call me sweetheart. But he had, and the room was getting smaller; it was also burning up. I cleared my throat because I needed to regain control of the situation. And my vagina.
“Hard to miss with all the photos of you.” Was I crazy jealous because he didn’t have a photo of me? Hell to the yeah, but he could have had a picture of him from our time together.
He seemed to get the dig, but that wasn’t surprising. Max knew me, all of me. He leaned back in his chair and looked at me like a hunter would his prey. “Is there a reason you are here, Miss Pratt?”
“You know why I’m here.”
“Contrary to popular belief, I don’t follow your every move.”
“I didn’t say you did. You jumped to that conclusion all on your own.”
“I don’t have all day.”
“How much for my land back?”
There was something feral about the way he smiled at me. My skin tingled, and my body vibrated with want, waiting for his response. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware it was ever your land. ”
“You know what I mean,” I said through gritted teeth. Seriously, who was this guy and where did the Max who’d been nothing but docile go?
“The land isn’t for sale, nor will it be. Eugene and I have an arrangement. If you don’t agree with it, you are more than welcome to move out. Or leave, that shouldn’t be a problem for you. Now, if there’s anything else I can help you with, please make an appointment with my secretary.” He looked down at his papers, dismissing me. I stayed seated like a dumbass, unable to move, too shocked to comprehend that Maximilian had just kicked me out of his office.
“What happened to us?” I hadn’t meant for the words to come out, but when his head snapped back at me and he froze me with his glare, I regretted wishing he ever hated me. His green eyes weren’t vibrant; they were cold. I never thought I’d be grateful for Abigail, but she walked in before Max could give me an answer.
“Honey, I have the best news—”
She halted at the door when she saw me seated across from her fiancé. I had to admit, the look on her face made me feel a little better. I smiled and gave her a wave. I didn’t need to pretend to like her any more than she did.
“I didn’t realize you were doing charity work.” Abigail’s sweet voice didn’t match the look on her face. She strode over to Max, glaring at me as she did. I gripped the edge of the chair, sure I had ripped it with my nails digging into the leather. That was a better alternative to getting thrown in jail for slapping the shit out of Abigail.
Because I let no one walk over me, I replied, “I didn’t realize trying to buy the land my grandfather lives on counts as charity.”
Abigail laughed then rested her left hand on Max’s shoulder, the engagement ring mocking me. “Why don’t you start off by paying the rent he owes. Then maybe you can think about buying the lot… If you can afford it.”
Nothing made sense. What did she mean my grandpa was behind on rent? I sent him money every week, and he had his retirement fund. How could he not afford to pay rent? This wasn’t the time to think about it. Abigail didn’t get a front-row ticket to my family drama.
“How much does he owe you?” I was glad I was sitting when Abigail rattled off the amount. There was no way she pulled that number out of her ass. She had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to throw it in my face.
Dammit, there went most of my savings. Still, I said, “No problem.”
“Plus, interest.”
But of course.
“Give me an hour. Do you want cash, a check, or the money wired?” I was not getting a car anytimesoon,but at least I wouldn’t be indebted to them. I was wrong about Max and Abigail; they deserved each other.
“You don’t have to do that, Freya,” Max said, but all I saw was Abigail’s perfectly manicured hand resting on his shoulder.
“I said I’ll have the money to you in an hour.” I got up, grateful my legs weren’t shaking.
Abigail smirked at me. “I’m surprised you have that kind of money. What did you do,get a sugar daddy while you were away?”
Because it would be so hard to imagine I made something of myself? So, I squared my shoulders, stood tall and proud, and gave them a sultry smile. “When you’re really good at something, you might as well get paid for it.” I gave Abigail a wink, refusing to look at Max’s face as I walked out of his office.
Once outside, I let myself feel. My legs finally gave up, and I shook uncontrollably.
Why did I keep making mistake after mistake?
One, my savings would take a hit because I was too prideful. Two, I told Abigail I was a whore—spur of the moment kind of thing. Three, I should have stayed home. I should have known Max would never sellto me.
I was so mad I didn’t notice where I was going until I bumped into Dex. “Ow.”
“Wow, Freya, you okay?” He steadied me before I could fall.
“No, I’m not okay. I swear it’s a miracle I didn’t kill that bitch.” Then I remembered I was talking to a cop, and it probably wasn’t wise to say the K-word in front of him. “Kidding, I wouldn’t hurt a fly.” I gave him my most innocent look.
“You ran over Lucky the cat,” he added dryly.
This was what self-snitching got me.
“He jumped at me.”
Dex shook his head and laughed. “Seriously, you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. ”
“You wanna talk about it?”
“That depends. Am I talking to Dex the civilian or Dex the cop?” I reallyneeded someone to rant to right now before I went back and did something I might regret.
“Doesn’t work that way.”
“Then no, I can’t talk. I might say somethings that could later be used against me.”
“Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Let’s justsay, if someone’s tires get slashed, it wasn’t me.”
Dex’s shoulders dropped, and he shook his head.
“Actually, can you give me a ride to Rusty’s?” I asked. I needed Rust. Dex and Emma were reasonable; I didn’t need to see reason. Sometimes you justneeded to rant, and someone to rant with you, even though you were wrong.
Not saying thatI was.
“That I can do.” He steered me toward his parked car. We were almost in his car when an older gentleman stopped us.
“Hey, son, you are coming for dinner tonight?” The man looked familiar, but I guessed it was because he looked like an older version of Dex, same brown eyes, but his hair was shorter and graying. He had a bouquet of roses and French bread.
Ew, roses.
“I think I’ll make it. Dad, this is Freya. Freya, this is my dad.”
I extended my hand to shake his. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
When I smiled at him, something in his eyes flashed. I thought it was weird, but then since neither Dex nor his dad said anything, I decided it was my imagination.
“See you later, Pops,” Dex said while I waved at him and got in Dex’s car.
“I gotta say, I was never a fan of cop cars, but riding in yours feels like old times.” Dex threw his head back laughing. My distraction ended as soon as Rusty’s house came into view and I remembered why I was madin the first place.
Shit, I needed to go to the bank. I needed to get a check and take it to Mr. and Mrs. Fucking-perfect-for-each-other.
I said thanks to Dex and stopped myself from barging into Rusty’s house. We weren’t at that level of coolness, yet.
Damn you, Jana.
Okay, it wasn’t Jana’s fault. It was all mine.
Jana eyed me warily when she opened the door. “Freya, is everything okay?”
“Is Rusty here?” I was seconds from blowing up; I needed to vent now.
“No, he had to go with his dad to Superior. He’ll be here later.”
“Aw, man.”
“Do you want to come in? I made lasagna.”
“If you insist.” I barged in. She was nice to me,feeding me, making me forget I ever hated her.
“You want to tell me what’s wrong, or you want to wait for Russell?”
“I guess you’ll do,” I said, defeated. If I didn’t get this off of my chest, I might talk myself into keying Abigail’s car, and then Dex would definitely know it was me.
“I hate them, Jana, both of them. At first, I thought what the eff is Max doing with Abigail. Sweet, sweet Max. But after today, I don’t even know him. I don’t think I ever knew him. He said no, just no. He didn’t even give me a good reason whyhe said no. Then that bitch made me so mad I said I was a prostitute.”
“Freya,” Jana shouted, her brows knitted and a hand rubbed her belly.
Her very pregnant belly.
I got a brilliant idea at the sight of my unborn godchild.
“I can’t beat Abigail up because Dex will know it was me and people would think I’m jealous, which I’m not, but you can. Oh my God, Jana, if you slap her, she won’t hit you back because you're pregnant. My little godchild will act as a barrier! I’m a genius.”
It was clear to say I was not thinking rationally. At all.
“Freya!” Jana slapped me.
“ Ow , I meant hit Abigail, not me.”
“You’re not making sense. Why are you a prostitute? What happened?” Rubbing my cheek, I sat down while she fed me and listened. Jana calmed me down enough thatI would not be beating Abigail—not like I could afford bail, anyway.
“Thanks for lunch. I have to go the bank. It’s been over an hour. I’m sure Abigail is probably getting an arrest warrant ready.”