Page 68 of Unbearable
Edmund made another of his disgruntled grunts and turned on his heel. Without saying another word, he stomped down the stairs. Fox listened until his footsteps could no longer be heard. With a sigh, he returned to the floors. Finally, he could work in peace. If he never ran into Edmund again, it would be too soon.
“Hey, bud,” Joey said a few minutes later from the top of the stairs. “I think I’m going to call it a day. You coming? I saw his grace leave.”
“Nah, I’m going to finish this up. The sooner I can be done with the job, the better.”
“I hear you. This one’s been a hell of a thing. I’ll see you around.”
“Thanks, Joey. Don’t forget, I still owe you that beer.”
“No chance of that.” With a last wave, Fox turned his back on his foreman. Just a little bit more, and he could be done. Then he just had to run to Bailey’s and pick up Ethan.
It had been a relief when she had agreed to pick him up. An even bigger one when she found him still at the school. He would convince her to join them for dinner before heading home. Yeah, his life was starting to shape up just fine.
CHAPTER 26
Brooke stormedaround the apartment fit to be tied. Not only had Fox asked her to move out, but he had offered to take Ethan off her hands. She was supposed to be packing while he was out. That was a laugh.
She had no intention of giving up her living arrangements, though. He had no idea what he had. Not every woman would put up with him. He let her down time after time, but she never complained. And when she tried to have an occasional night out, he pitched a fit. He should be thanking his lucky starts that she had lowered her standards to be with him.
She also had no intention of giving him any leverage over her by keeping her son. It wasn’t like Ethan was his. There would never be any children for him. She had made sure of that after Ethan was born. She was saddled with one brat. There would be no more.
Like it or not, Fox was stuck with them right where they were. He would go on paying for her needs until she said it was over. She broke up with men, not the other way around.
She stomped through the living room again. There must be something she could do. She made another lap of the room and began to scheme.
The dream of strapping him into Edmund’s contraption had been growing every day. She already knew he had enough money in his account for her to survive on her own for quite some time.
It wasn’t hard to separate a man from his money. She had been doing it her entire adult life. And there were plenty of men left out there willing to roll over to make her happy. Maybe she wouldn’t have to stay after all.
By the time she emptied his account, there would already be someone willing to do her bidding standing in the wings. Perhaps even Edmund would be ready to settle down. She just needed Fox to disappear for a while and to get her hands on the credit cards in his wallet. By the time she stopped pacing, she had the start of a plan put together.
Today seemed like as good a day as any to do something with him. With Ethan out of the way, nothing stood in her way. She would need help though. There was no way she could carry an unconscious man to the trunk of his car. She also had nothing to knock him out with that wouldn’t kill him. Pulling out her phone, she made a call.
“What do you want?” Edmund said on the other end when he answered.
“I’m supposed to be moving out,” she said, ignoring his attitude. “Fox tried to break up with me.”
“What did you do?”
“Why do you think it was anything I did? That asshole is fucking my sister. He thinks he’s breaking up with me,” she raged. “He’s a fool if he thinks I’m moving out. I need you to help me. Do you have a medallion for a builder? He’s done tonight.”
“Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I’m not the stupid one. Fox has pushed me one to many times. His time has come. Now, leave whatever it is you’re doing and come help me. We can talk about our next steps when you get here. It’s time I moved up in this world.”
The phone was silent. So silent, she thought they had been disconnected. “Just don’t do anything stupid until I get there,” he finally said.
She heard the fury in his voice, but she didn’t care. His anger was only matched by her own. It was time to do it her way for once. She wanted Fox gone now. Tonight. She wanted his body laid out in some anonymous private school field by the morning.
“Then hurry.” She ended the call before he had a chance to.
She paced around the apartment waiting for Edmund to show up. He sounded like he was rushing over to help her, but where was he? Fox could be home at any moment, and they needed a plan before he arrived. Finally, she heard the buzzer at the door and pressed the button to let him up.
“What took you so long?” she hissed as she all but dragged him through the door.
“I was in the middle of something.”
“Whatever. We don’t have much time.” She spun around and walked toward the couch. “I’m thinking we wait until he sits down. Then you can step out and—” She didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence.