Page 100 of The Thing About My Secret Billionaire

“What?” This seems to be the only word remaining in my vocabulary. The rest have been washed away in a tsunami of confusion and shock and whateverthe hell that vomit-threatening sensation is where my stomach used to be.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, this new accusation is a verbal kick to the backs of my knees.

“Don’t believe him,” Miller says. “That has to be a lie.”

“All true. And a terrible shame,” Skinner says as if it’s anything but a shame. “Oh, and another piece of bad news. I have a friend in the halls of government who I’ve spoken with and, coincidentally, it turns out that even if you apply now, you’ll never get it. The moment I officially report you, they will shut you down in an instant. So you’re going to have to sell anyway. Whether it’s to me or lover boy here.”

This is all too much to process.

Ten minutes ago, I was naked in bed, sliding over to warm sheets that smelled of Miller and thinking maybe we could figure out a way to make it work.

Now, I’ve had to absorb so much awful information in such a short time that it’s finally too much for me to prevent tears filling my eyes—tears of hurt, of anger, of frustration, of disbelief.

Miller’s attention darts from me to Skinner. “You fucking bastard.”

Miller lunges for Skinner, spins him around and, with a firm grip on his upper arms, frog-marches him toward his shiny black SUV.

“Looks like you’re one of those too,” Skinner says into Miller’s face.

“Do you just get off on ruining people’s lives? Frankie doesn’t deserve this. Her grandfather does not deserve this.”

So Miller’s lied to me about who he is and what he’s doing? Yet he’s standing up for me and Grandpa?

What a fucking hypocrite. He wants to do exactly the same thing to us as Skinner does.

So he can fuck off too.

Fuck right off.

I open my mouth to tell him exactly that, but Skinner, who’s still under Miller’s control, strains to look back at me over his shoulder.

“I’m not trying to steal from you, Miss Channing.” He raises his voice as Miller manhandles him farther away. “My offer is above market value. I’m being generous.”

“Generous, my ass,” Miller barks.

“Which I can almost see.” Skinner peers down over Miller’s shoulder.

Miller stops in his tracks and swivels Skinner to face him.

“If you bully this family into selling to you with threats about certificates, I will fucking ruin you.” His tone is deadly serious and surprisingly calm. “For my parents, I would have snatched just this one project from you. But if you don’t leave the Channings alone, immediately, I will dismantle your entire company and guaran-fucking-tee you never work in the Northeast again.”

Shit. It’s all clear now. Skinner is the one who ripped off Miller’s parents. It’s because ofhimthat Miller had to drop out of trade school and take on the responsibility of keeping a roof over his family’s head at way too young an age.

So Miller must have made an offer for the sanctuary just to try to stop Skinner from buying it—to get back at him.

Christ, I knew right at the start I shouldn’t have trusted my gut. It was wrong. So very, very wrong. Miller is not the person I thought he was. He’s someonewho tricked me into thinking he was kind and generous and thoughtful. But he’s actually bitter and twisted, and I’m just a pawn in his game of revenge.

He’s been using me. Just like Bastard Brandon did. But on a much bigger scale.

I can still feel where Miller was inside me just hours ago. I can still smell the scent of him on my body.

I have never wanted to dive into the shower and scrub myself harder.

Miller lets go of Skinner and snatches open the vehicle door. “This isn’t a negotiation.” He points at the driver’s seat. “Leave. While your legs still work. And don’t dare come back.”

Afraid that Miller really might be on the verge of getting physical to protect me—or maybe it’s just his potential deal he’s protecting—I move forward in case I have to pull him off.

“Oh, I’m so scared.” Skinner draws out his sarcastic words as he straightens his jacket and climbs into the SUV, his frightened-rabbit expression giving the lie to his overconfident tone.