Page 102 of Not In The Contract

“Ugh, fine, I get it,” Tamera huffed. “You make several very good points and I wish I had a counter but I don’t. I just want you to be happy, and I’m worried that this might do the exact opposite.”

“It’ll be a lesson either way.” I shrugged, trying to laugh it off as if it wasn’t carving into my heart.

“But if I fight a billionaire and end up in prison, how will I get out?”

I laughed, unexpectedly and shrill, but it was a tight ball of air that opened my chest as it bubbled up my throat. “You’d replace the warden before they could slap cuffs on you,” I pointed out.

Tamera chuckled proudly. “You know me too well.”

After stopping for Korean barbecue chicken, as Tamera had predicted, I sullenly made my way back to the house, my spine curving at the sight of Jamie’s car in the driveway.

“Hey, William,” I said, passing one of the many security guards crawling the property.

He gave a curt nod but no other indication that he’d even heard me.

I trudged along the driveway, the smooth pebbles slipping beneath my tired feet. I hadn’t told Alex that I’d left. I hadn’t even seen her when I left. The only thing that gave away her presence was Jamie’s loud laughter emanating from the living room that had become mine and Alex’s haven of sorts. That same, oily guilt slid into my gut and I swallowed the bile on my tongue. I had no right to feel that way.

“Miss Sanders,” Jeffrey said from within the shadows next to the main entrance. “Good evening.”

“Hello, Grim Reaper,” I shot back, having become accustomed enough to his silent presence enough that I no longer jumped out of my skin when he greeted me. “How’s hell?”

“Warmer than usual.” He smiled.

He always said that and the words carried the weight of double meaning, but he’d never explained. I’d never asked.

I pressed my thumb to the scanner and the series of locks clicked and whirred, allowing me inside. The cool air was a balm on my sweaty skin. The rain had left the city humid and uncomfortable.

“You’re back.”

Shit.

I looked up to find Alex in the entrance hall, dressed in her slippers and her day clothes: a simple tee over loose jeans. Her dark curls had been swept away from her face and into a bun, exposing the length of her neck. As well as the flush of exhaustion.

It was everywhere, it clung to her like a second skin. Fatigue hid in the bags under her eyes, in the down-turned corners of her mouth, in the slope of her shoulders. Alex was drained.

“Yeah, I just needed some air,” I lied. It was a half truth. I needed to be somewhere Jamiewasn’t.

“Are you okay?” Alex asked, and I considered answering honestly.

I wanted to tell her that I could see the strain she was under, that I wanted to talk to her just for the sake of it.

“I’m fine,” I said instead, not wanting to put more pressure on her. Besides, I didn’t have the words I needed to explain without sounding churlish.

“Where are you-? Oh.”

“Hello, Jamie.”

Jamie’s gaze could have sliced me clean in half, but I didn’t flinch.

“Hi,” she said curtly, before turning back to Alex like I’d evaporated. “Okay, so we’re clear on the plan, right?”

“The plan, right,” Alex answered, clearly only half listening. Her eyes were on me, and I met her gaze head on.

As if challenging her, or pleading with her, I wasn’t sure anymore.

“Yeah, we’ll meet for lunch tomorrow and go over the guestlist for my party.”

Alex’s gaze lingered on me for a second longer before moving back to her sister, and I seized the opportunity to escape up to my room. I locked the door behind me and scrubbed a hand over my eyes.