Page 46 of The Arrangement

“What the hell just happened?” Jason asks, making me jump.

“I forgot you were here,” I say, turning to him.

He laughs as if he’s in shock. “You forgot I was here as you just made a deal with my brother to marry me? What am I? A piece of meat?”

“You could be, but that’s not the point.” I move to his desk and stand across from him. My gaze levels with his. “You’re marrying me. I already shook on it.”

“I saw that. May I ask why?”

I hold my breath, deciding how much to tell him. But as I war with where to start and what to divulge, I realize I’m too tired to hold back. And I don’t have a lot of time to work with, either.

“The letter I got today during your impromptu visit was a notice that the Pliny Building is condemned. I have forty-eight hours to vacate the property.”

Jason’s brows shoot to the ceiling.

“If I can even find a cheap apartment in two days, I might be able to afford the security deposit and first month’s rent, but my funds are already low thanks to car problems, bills, and loan repayments.” I take a shaky breath. “When my mom died, I got myself in a hole, and I’m still climbing out of it. Interest is a real thing.”

His features sober. The vein near his temple pulses, and the sight of his jaw clenching makes my heart pound.

“Why haven’t you asked me for help?” he asks.

My throat constricts as his green eyes shine. “Because this isn’t your problem.”

“What you really mean is thatyouaren’t my problem, isn’t it?”

The lump grows, nearly sealing off my ability to breathe. I become lightheaded as I watch him fight with his emotions. I hope I didn’t just make a massive mistake.

“It hurts me that you’ve been struggling all this time and have never said a word,” he says.

“I don’t want you to think I’m incompetent, lazy, or needy.”

“But you’d rather me think you’re a fool for not coming to me? I have resources, and I care about you, dammit.”

Tears fill my eyes, and no amount of praying will keep them from falling.

“The last thing I want to do is sully our friendship over money,” I say. “I don’t want to owe you, Jason, because I don’t know if I can ever repay you. And everyone that’s ever tried to help me in the past has used that as an invitation to judge me, direct me—to give me ultimatums. And I’d rather live on the street and have a tarp to cover up Mimi with at night than to send her to a nursing home where no one gives a fuck about her. Where they don’t know the life she’s lived and don’t give a shit about how much respect she deserves. I won’t worry that she’s lying there lonely or cold and no one is there to give her a blanket just so I can live in a better place …”

My voice cracks as the floodgates open. The saltiness of my tears splashes against my lips.

“Come here.” Jason marches around his desk and is at my side before the tears hit my shirt. “My God, Chloe.”

He pulls me into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around me. My cheek lays against him as my heart bleeds inside me.

I can’t remember the last time someone hugged me like this.And that’s why I finally break.

His chin rests on my head as we sway gently from side to side. My tears stain his shirt, my sobs whispering quietly through the room. It’s the first time I’ve been able to cry freely for as long as I can remember.

I didn’t realize I needed this.

I sniffle as the wave of emotion begins to wane and the haze of feelings lifts. A chuckle slips past my swollen lips from embarrassment, and I pull away.

“My mascara is all over your shirt,” I say, wiping my face with my hands.

“I don’t give a damn about the shirt.” He grabs a couple of tissues from the bookshelf behind his desk and brings them to me. “Do you need anything? A drink?”

“No. I’m good.” I still have the coffee this generous, sweet man brought me on my desk. I blow out a breath and sniffle again. “Thank you for that hug.”

“Want to repay me?”