Chapter 12
Holland
The coffee shop is noisy and full. I’m glad it is. The busyness is a good distraction from the emotional beating me I’m getting.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Talk about what?” I wrap my hands around the iced caramel macchiato I’ve nursed for the past twenty minutes.
Heidi gives me that look. The you-can’t-bullshit-me one.
“There’s nothing to talk about. I was hired to do a job, you know that. And it’s ending.”
“Yeah, the job, but not the love.”
I don’t bother denying it. How could I do something as foolish as falling for a guy I can never be with? And it hit so suddenly I never saw it coming.
“Maybe you feel the way you do because of his lifestyle. The island? The wealth? It would be enough to make him easy to fall for.”
“No. Even if he had nothing, I’d still feel this way. There’s something about him that’s far above his wealth and status.”
“Then he’s got a big dick?” Heidi asks it like a question.
I laugh. “Well, that helps, but it’s not that either.” I wipe an imaginary spot on the table with a napkin. “I’m supposed to meet at his office this afternoon to break his heart.”
“Oh, Holland. Do you think you’ll be able to?”
“I don’t know. The idea of hurting him even if it’s fake doesn’t appeal to me at all.”
“You have to. What’s the alternative? You lurk around where you think he’ll be hoping he’ll see you and change his mind?” She shakes her head. “From what I’ve heard about him, once his mind is made up, it’s a done deal.”
Her words hurt but I know it’s the truth.
“Let’s go home,” I say, standing, both ready and not to begin the untangling of my life from Theo’s.
“Is that the landlord sitting on the stoop?” Heidi asks as we approach the apartment.
I peer ahead. “No, it’s my father.”
I get out of her car and march up to him. “Don’t come by here.”
He grabs my arm as I try to pass.
“This apartment, this area…I’m going to get you out of here and into a decent place. I’ll set you up for life. You’ll see.”
I round on him. “Whatever scheme you’ve cooked up, I know it’s for your benefit. What you mean is that you’re going to screw someone else over, so you get into a decent place. So you get set up for life.”
His face flushes and I know I’ve hit the bullseye. Who could he…no.
I snatch his phone from his hand before he can stop me.
“Give me that!” He tries to take it, but I sprint away and thumb through his photo gallery.
My heart sinks. There’s a picture of the contract. Ones of Theo’s place. The company. So this was his plan? Blackmail Theo about the contract?
After what Theo told me about his own father, there’s no way in hell I’ll let mine hurt him. I quickly delete the photos, then throw his phone onto the sidewalk and stomp it to bits.
My father catches up screaming at me, asking why the hell I’m messing up his chance at a good life. Same thing he’s said to me repeatedly growing up.
Heidi rushes to join me, trying to pull me away, but I stop her.
“Forget you have a daughter. Just like you did that night. And I’ll forget I have a father.”
He stabs his finger at the pieces of his phone. “Your ass better buy me another one.”
“Why don’t you call the police? File a report!” I know he won’t. He usually has an outstanding warrant or two.
I walk away before he does. Thanks to this, I know that I can handle seeing Theo today. I will be cruel. I will play my part like an award-winning actress and fake break his heart like I’m hoping for an Oscar.
I will not let my father have even the slimmest chance of getting any of his future greedy schemes near Theo. Because I know he’ll try again.
If I’m not with the man my heart cries out for, my father won’t have a chance to hurt him.
A few minutes before two, I’m in the elevator headed up to Theo’s office. I chose to wear a short, black dress and thigh-high black boots. My makeup is darker, heavier. A black lace choker adorns my neck. Blood red earrings dangle from my ears.
Theo’s secretary Linda gives me a strange look but doesn’t comment as she announces that I’m here.
Theo’s grandmother turns with a smile that falters as I enter the office. I smile brightly, widely. “Granny, you’re here!” I beeline for her and give her a tight hug.
“Your birthday party was amazing!” I nudge her with my elbow. “I hope you got a lot of expensive goodies.”
Her gaze travels to my boots and slowly back up. “Holland…have you been drinking?”
“I’m sober, I’m just really, really pissed off.” I approach Theo’s desk and brace my hands on top of it, scattering a small stack of leather folders. “Where have you been?”
“Honey, what’s wrong?” he asks.
I reach into my purse and yank out my phone. “Three nights ago I sat outside the penthouse, and you didn’t return at all.”
“I was at work.”
“Uh huh and who can vouch for you?”
“Everyone who was here.”
I roll my eyes. “Give me names and phone numbers.”
His grandmother comes to stand beside me, her eyes wide. “What in the world?”
I ignore her. “And at the birthday party, I saw how you smiled at that lady in the green dress with the totally fake boobs. She was like way older than you.”
I swing toward his grandmother. “He won’t let me put location sharing on his phone. What does that say about him? Hmmm? What’s he trying to hide?”
If her expression is anything to by, I’ll at least get an Oscar nod.
“Theo, come with me to run an errand.” She gives me a scathing look.
I wait a beat, then follow after them. Once they’re in the car and pulling away from the curb, I begin to run after the car. “Wait! Theo! You didn’t say when you were coming back! Wait!”
I stumble and fall, landing hard on my knees. It hurts like hell, but I scramble to my feet. His grandmother is sharp and once she has a few minutes to think, she might wonder about my sudden switch.
I hail a cab to his penthouse, taking the chance that his grandmother may be here on an overnight visit. I wait outside the building, dialing Theo’s number repeatedly until I lose count. Then I dial his grandmother’s number.
An hour passes, then two. Just when I think I should give up, Theo and his grandmother arrive.
I rush up to them. “Theo Montclair, this is not the way you treat someone you want back!”
“I’m going inside. Deal with this woman,” his grandmother says in an icy tone.
As soon as she’s gone, Theo lets out a whistle. “You’re good. If our conversation in the car is anything to go by, my grandmother completely bought the act.”
He glances down at my knees. “Let me treat your wounds.”
The ones on my knees aren’t a big deal. But the one in my heart may never heal.
I swat his hand away when he reaches for me. If he touches me, I might weaken.
“Our contract is over, Theo.”
He thrusts his hands in his pockets. “Is there nothing I can do for you?”
“You can always give me a bonus. Money is the only thing I want between us from now on.”
“Are you…do you mean that?”
I blink, feigning surprise. “Of course I do. You don’t…I mean, seriously? You don’t think I developed feelings for you? Well, even if you did, it doesn’t matter. I did what we agreed to in the contract and broke your heart.”
“It’s supposed to be a fake break,” he says.
He can’t mean…no…he’s playing a part.
“Whatever, Theo. I was playing a part.” I chuckle. “Well, except during sex. There was no faking that I’m sure you’re aware. Anyway, I’m gonna go because I have a date tonight.”
“A date?”
I nod. “Someone Heidi’s boyfriend knows.”
“I see.”
I turn around to hail a cab and when I look back, Theo is gone.
Yes, that’s the way it’s supposed to go.
I get into the cab and cry all the way to the apartment.