Page 17 of Don’t You Dare Marry Me (Love in Massachusetts #3)

twelve

It was quieter today, right?

It definitely seemed quieter.

Abagail narrowed her gaze as she looked through the glass wall that blocked off her office from the rest of her team. She could see Ivy Villegas sitting at her desk and talking animatedly on her phone across the hallway.

Was Abagail the only one not really working that day?

She was a staunch perfectionist about making every minute in the office count toward work, but today she was staring at her personal bank accounts and the numbers on her phone that Nicola had texted her. It was time for her first payment.

And it churned her stomach.

Last night had been some of the best sex that Abagail had ever had.

Nicola had taken her up from the library to the guest bedroom where Nicola was staying for now, and she’d thoroughly fucked Abagail until she’d fallen asleep face down into a pillow.

Her entire body had protested getting out of bed in the morning.

But Abagail had known simply that the sooner she moved, the better it’d be in the long run for her body.

Though sitting in her chair on her brutally spanked ass was still difficult halfway through the day.

It was a sweet reminder of what she and Nicola had shared the night before, and it left a smile on her lips.

Abagail focused back on the computer and inputting the account number and routing number to Nicola’s bank account.

She’d never paid anyone to spend time with her before, and it felt… dirty.

Still, Abagail had made a promise, so she transferred the money and set herself to be done with it entirely. Maybe if she didn’t think about it, then it’d be fine for her in the long run. Especially if Nicola planned another night like last night in the near future.

The phone on her desk rang, and Abagail picked it up instantly. “What?”

“A Warren Kerrbox is here to see you?” Her secretary was sweet as ever, always wanting to make sure that whoever was there was actually supposed to be there.

Warren, however, wasn’t on Abagail’s planned schedule for the day.

But he was her nephew. She couldn’t even remember the last time he’d come to her office to visit her, actually. Had he ever?

“Ms. Kerr?”

“Yes, send him right in.” Abagail hung up the phone. She’d changed her last name unofficially solely for business purposes. It added separation. Though she wasn’t sure how many of her staff actually knew that about her. She worked hard to keep her personal and private as separate as possible.

Warren looked around like a lost puppy while her secretary showed him the way to Abagail’s office. Thank God, because if he’d been left to wander the room, he’d probably head off in the wrong direction entirely.

“Here she is.” Her secretary’s voice was smooth and pleasant like it always was.

“Aunt Abagail!” Warren seemed almost relieved that he had finally found her.

Abagail gave him a patented small smile before flicking her gaze to Ivy, who was curiously looking at the understated commotion in Abagail’s office. She was curious, and Abagail really didn’t want to have to explain who Warren was to anyone.

“Warren.” Abagail stood up, her ass screaming at her as she came around her desk and leaned against the front of it.

Any time she was in a conversation with Warren, she wanted to make sure that she had the upper hand.

He was petulant and entitled and that always put her on the defensive. So why not just get there now?

“I wanted to talk to you about Nicola.”

Abagail tensed. He didn’t know, did he? Nicola hadn’t told him, surely.

Abagail’s heart raced. Then again, the entire point that first night had been for Nicola to get revenge on Warren, so maybe Nicola had told him.

Abagail crossed her arms and set her jaw.

She nodded toward her secretary to send her on the way. “Shut the door.”

She complied, and then finally she and Warren were left in silence.

Abagail wasn’t going to prompt him with anything.

This was now a fact-finding mission for her.

How much did Warren actually know about what had been going on at Abagail’s house in the last week?

Because if he knew that she’d just sent Nicola five thousand dollars for the first week of delicious sex, he would wither and crawl—at least she hoped he would.

But in reality, he’d probably scream and yell and make a huge scene.

Which was the last thing that Abagail wanted.

“What about Nicola?” Abagail asked when Warren didn’t continue whatever he was there for.

“Oh, I just…” He flinched. Was he scared of her? Good. He should be. Abagail didn’t want him to think that she was his personal bank account. “Did she bring the ring back?”

Abagail sighed heavily and relaxed slightly. So that’s what this entire conversation was about. He couldn’t even be man enough to deal with the consequences of breaking it off with his fiancée to get the ring back, and left his aunt to deal with cleaning up his mess.

“It’s a family ring, Warren.”

“I know! That’s why I told her she had to bring it back.”

Abagail licked her lips and narrowed her gaze at him. “It’s a family ring,” she stated again, making sure that he understood exactly what she was trying to say. “Which means it’ll stay with me until the right person is going to receive it.”

And that hadn’t even been Estelle. Abagail’s baby brother had asked for the ring to give it to Estelle, but Abagail had refused even then.

She’d finally given it to Estelle when she’d begged and told her it wasn’t doing any good sitting in the lockbox.

But that was a decision that Abagail thoroughly regretted now.

“Right, but Chaya?—”

Abagail was already shaking her head. “You can’t tell me that you think Chaya is the right person. You’ve barely broken up with Nicola and you’re already engaged to someone else. There’s not enough time?—”

“Chaya has been part of our family since we were kids, Aunt Abagail. She’s always been there, unlike Nicola. She deserves the ring.”

Abagail bit the inside of her cheek. The entitlement that she’d been up against for decades came right through. She absolutely hated it. Warren had been spoiled from the day he was born, and nothing Abagail had done had been able to put it to rest.

“No,” Abagail said simply. And it wasn’t that she wanted to deny him the pleasure of giving Chaya the ring, it was that none of this felt right.

That ring belonged to Nicola, and no matter how hard Abagail tried to get that thought out of her head, it just wouldn’t leave.

There was no reason why Nicola should have that ring. None at all.

“Aunt Abagail!” Warren’s voice rose, and it was close to a screech—like he’d suddenly reverted to being five and told no, you can’t have that chocolate before dinner. Which he would have gotten anyway, so perhaps that’s why he still acted like an oversized toddler.

“I told you no.” Abagail sighed heavily, remaining in her position leaned up against the edge of her desk.

Over Warren’s shoulder she could see Ivy place the receiver onto the phone and stare at her through the window.

Was it that obvious that Warren wasn’t a client?

Or that something was amiss? Abagail continued to eye Ivy instead of Warren.

“Chaya deserves that ring.”

“You can make that argument when your relationship with her has lasted more than two months.”

Warren’s face went sheet white and he cringed.

She couldn’t deny that pang of guilt that slid through him and covered his gaze.

Well, well, well… that certainly explained a whole lot.

And it was very clear that Nicola didn’t know about just how much cheating had gone on in that relationship. Perhaps she knew none of it.

Like father like son.

Why did the men in her life feel as though they were entitled to have whatever women they wanted sexually? Only to then toss them away like they were meaningless? How had she and her brother managed to grow up in the same house but with vastly different values?

Abagail uncrossed her arms and gripped the edge of the desk.

“According to the majority of the world, you and Chaya only started a relationship in the last few weeks. Which is why this engagement seems so swift. If you’d like to explain to your mom the depth of your infidelity, feel free.

If you’d like to explain that to Chaya’s parents, then go ahead.

But until I see a reasonable relationship and timeline for one, I’m not going to give you that ring. ”

She wasn’t going to budge on this one. Not now. Not until he proved to her that he wasn’t going to fuck this up like he had the last time.

“That ring is my ring! It belongs to me.”

Abagail snorted loudly. “No, Warren. It doesn’t.

In fact, it belongs entirely to me, and you were given it in order to propose to your then girlfriend.

But you didn’t even have the balls to get it back when you broke it off with her.

So you tasked me with the job.” Abagail raised her eyebrows at him. “True or false?”

Warren’s lower lip quivered like he was going to cry.

“Don’t cry, Warren.” Abagail grimaced. “You’re a grown ass adult. Start acting like one.”

Abagail stood up and started to walk around the edge of her desk toward her chair. She was tired of this conversation already. She’d been involved entirely too much in her family’s life lately and she’d had her fill of it.

“If you wanted that ring, then you could have collected it from your ex-fiancée. Since you didn’t and it’s now safe in my possession, that’s where it’ll remain.

” She glanced up to find Ivy coming toward her office door.

Abagail nodded at her, indicating that she wanted Ivy to come inside.

“You need to leave now, Warren. I have work to do.”

“Work?” Warren scoffed right when Ivy opened the door. “You call this work? You’re better than this.” His lowered voice made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

“I’m better than this?” Abagail leaned over the desk and faced him down.

She didn’t care if Ivy heard this or not.

It was worth it to be said. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a good hard day’s work.

Maybe you’d benefit from a few of those instead of letting your mother continue to wipe your ass and clean up your mistakes. Because I’m over it. Grow the fuck up.”

Warren took a staggered step backward.

“Get out or I’ll find security to make sure you can find the door. And Warren, I don’t want to see you in my office again.”

He blanched, his jaw opening and closing several times before he finally turned on his heel in a huff and walked out. The tension in the room instantly dissipated, but as soon as Abagail looked at Ivy, she regretted her decisions.

“My nephew,” Abagail said by way of explaining. She wasn’t used to having to share information with other people. Usually she kept everything very close to her chest. “Entitled prick.”

Ivy laughed lightly. “Remind me to never get on your bad side.”

“Funny,” Abagail answered dryly. “What question did you have?”

“None.” Ivy smiled, her beautiful face transforming into something akin to light. “I thought you could use an assist.”

“Well, thank you.” Abagail plopped down onto her chair and sighed heavily. She hadn’t needed it, but it was a much faster way to get Warren out of her office. “Be sure to do it again if he ever shows back up.”

“You don’t like your nephew?”

“I don’t like entitled asshats, no.” Abagail frowned as she glanced at her computer screen as it came back to life. The bank account she’d just been in was littered with red exclamation points. What was that all about?

“I suppose if he was your kid, he wouldn’t have ended up that way.”

“Certainly not,” Abagail commented. “And he’s the entire reason I never wanted kids of my own.

” That was mostly the truth. The other part was just that she couldn’t see herself as a parent—ever.

The idea sickened her in a way that was vastly uncomfortable.

She’d never dug deeper than that, preferring to avoid the feeling rather than explore it.

“Oh,” Ivy answered. “Well, if he’s your example, then I can understand why.”

Abagail stopped paying attention to her as her cell phone rang. It was the bank. She frowned at it and looked up. “I need to take this, sorry.”

“Right.” Ivy backed her way out of the office and shut the door behind her.

As Abagail listened to the banker, her stomach plummeted.

The account was frozen.

Not hers, but Nicola’s.

She couldn’t imagine that Nicola had given her the wrong account information, and she certainly didn’t believe that Nicola had more than one account that Abagail could potentially deposit funds into.

This was everything that Nicola owned. Hanging up, Abagail stared at her computer screen, her mind spinning with all the possibilities and absolutely no answers in sight.

What the hell was going on?

What kind of trouble was Nicola in?