Page 53 of Beautiful Lies

My mouth goes dry. I stare at her, disbelief washing over me. I remember that clause. I’ve read the contract so many times, I could recite it as fluently as Knox. But I never thought of him forfeiting; my focus was only on myself.

“He won’t forfeit, Mia. Why would he? He’s gone to a lot of trouble to get to this point.”

“But he might…if you give him a reason.” The mischief in her eyes shifts into excitement. “Think about it. From what you’ve told me, he’s obsessed with protecting his image and the family name. He’s going to be the next CEO of Vale Global. He has a reputation to guard. Now imagine if something happened that threatened that image.”

God in heaven. Could I be so bold? “Like, what would I do?”

“That’s where you play it by ear. Only you can come up with that idea. As you get closer to him and move into his circle, you’ll see what matters to him.” Her shoulders relax. “And you’d have to be subtle. I don’t think you could pull something obvious without repercussions.”

“What if it gets me in trouble?”

“It could, but think of it this way…wouldn’t you rather try? If it works, you keep the restaurant. Sure, there’d be no big payout at the end, but you keep the restaurant.”

My chest warms at the thought. “I’d keep the restaurant.”

“Yes. And didn’t you say you were going to try for a job on Broadway?”

I nod. “That’s the only thing keeping me going at the moment.”

“Well, if you got that job, I’m sure you’d get paid enough to take care of your mom and other things. Your finances are only bad because of your father’s debts. But you won’t carry that forever.”

“No. And I’d do everything I could to increase the restaurant’s income.”

“Exactly. But this is just an idea. I’m not saying you shoulddefinitelydo it.” She raises her hands. “But if the opportunity presented itself, I think it would be worth a try.”

Those words burrow into my mind and stay there. I can hardly pay attention after that, even when she moves on and starts telling me about her upcoming plans for the daycare. I try to focus so I don’t seem selfish, but my thoughts keep looping back to the forfeiture clause.

Mia leaves after dinner. Being alone makes my head spin with ideas that would drive Knox crazy. It would have to be something subtle but enough to truly rattle him. The problem is what.

My future husband has a hard exterior; cracking it will be a mission. He also seems like a man who can worm his way out of anything. Whatever I come up with would need to be clever enough to trap him. Outsmart him even.

And Mia was right; I’d have to be careful.Very careful.

God, I’m so glad he’s not here. It was a relief having the room to myself last night. It’s even better tonight. I’m thinking so much, I fear he’d see straight through me.

I hardly sleep. When morning comes, I head to the theatre for my usual shift, then rush to the restaurant. While I’m in the storage room cleaning up, I take the chance to brainstorm again.

The smell of coffee and bleach anchors me for a second, but the rest of me is somewhere else, turning over possibilities. Ideas skitter through my head like mice, mostly half-formed schemes and little rebellions. Nothing big.

I’m so deep in thought, I don’t even hear my mother come in. It’s not until she taps my shoulder that I realize she’s right next to me.

She looks tired, understandably so. She’s been here all day, and it’s just gone eight.

“Hey, sweetie. Just came to check on you,” she says, setting a tray on the counter.

“Please tell me you’re going home now.”

“In fifteen minutes.” She smiles. “Just need to place a meat order, then I’m good to go.”

“I can do the order for you, Mom.”

She taps the side of her head. “It’s all up here. I ran the numbers earlier, so it’s fresh in my mind.”

“Okay. But please don’t do anything else.”

“I won’t. You need to get home, too, Isla. I don’t want you here too late.”

“I’ll leave at ten,” I assure her.