Page 105 of House of Payne

Shit.

How long do I have before the whole thing spirals out of control?

There’s not enough air in the room.

I have no idea how long we’ve been arguing, or how long Mason has been standing there, as still as a statue.

How much has he heard?

And how much of it will he punish me for?

You haven’t said anything to violate the contract, so you’re fine. He’s not going to do anything. You have bigger problems right now.

“Who the hell are you?”

Mason steps forward and doesn’t say anything, but his presence speaks volumes. I feel his eyes linger on me before he swings his gaze back to Noah, who squares his shoulders.

“You must be the man London is working for,” Noah spits. “How are you not ashamed of yourself?”

Mason takes another step forward and then another, each move filled with precision and intent. “I’m a businessman, Nolan. I don’t force anyone to make deals with me, and London is no exception. She knew what she was getting into.”

“It’sNoah,” Noah corrects, his eyes narrowing further. “You need to let her out of whatever deal you made.”

Noah, please stop. You have no idea who you’re dealing with.

Mason stands next to me and raises an eyebrow. “Or what?”

Noah glances from me to Mason and back again, losing some of his bravado. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Noah, please.” My voice is barely above a whisper, but Noah looks over at me and pauses. “You don’t know what you’re doing. You need to let this go.”

Noah’s expression shifts and softens. “Lo, I don’t know what he has on you, but I can handle this. Let me figure this out.”

I take a step forward and will Noah to look at me and see the desperation in my eyes. “I don’t need you to save me. I can take care of this.”

“You cannot—”

“Noah,” I interrupt a little harsher than I intended. “Let it go.”

Look at me. Read between the lines. Can’t you see what I’m telling you?

I’ve seen Mason in action, and I’m sure if Noah keeps standing here and insulting him, he’ll snap.

Noah shifts closer to me, and his eyes dart between us. “Lo—”

“For fuck’s sake, Noah. Why can’t you just leave it alone?”

Noah’s expression falls, and for a long second, he gapes at me like he can’t recognize who he’s looking at. Then his gaze slides over to Mason. A long look passes between them.

“I am not going to cover for you with your dad,” Noah says finally. “You can figure out how to clean up your own mess.”

“That’s fine,” I say calmly. “I’ll figure something out.”

Noah’s eyes tighten. “I don’t know what the hell happened to you, but you’re going to regret this.”

Mason steps in front of me and faces Noah down. “I know you’re not deaf, Nolan, so you have two minutes to get out of here.”

Noah scowls. “I don’t know what kind of business you run, or what kind of twisted sense of humor you have, but I’m not one of your employees that you can just order around.”