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“I can have him dealt with for you,” I tell Hallman. “You’ll never have to think about him again.”
The room goes dead silent.
Hallman stares with wide eyes. I smile.
“Who?” Chloe finally asks.
“Or I could pull some strings and things would go very public.” I shrug. “You can either make it easier on Chloe to walk away and get to have all the things I’ve laid out. Or I take Chloe anyway and you get nothing while your skeletons get leaked to the press.”
“Let me get this straight,” Hallman says. “You hook up with my fiancée, she tells you it’s a one-time thing, and how do we wind up here? You started spying on us the same night she slept with you? What the hell?”
“That night was perfection,” I tell him, kissing my fingertips. “She is everything I want. I’ve never, ever felt like this.” I look at my girl and my chest swells with feelings.
But she looks ready to crumble. I can’t wait to hold her, take her to my bed, cover her with my body while I whisper into her skin how I’m going to make it all better. She might not believe me at first, but I will.
“So it was more than just Thad Steele who was a maniac,” Hallman mutters. “It’s just a better kept secret with you.”
My smile disappears. “Be careful, Hallman. I’m offering you some incentives here. I can rip all that away and take my girl anyway.”
“Chloe and I need to talk about this,” he says. “Can you give us some privacy?”
“No. Take the ring off, little bunny. Give it to him, and come with me. I’ll send someone to pick up your things later.”
I stand and step up to Hallman. “She’s mine. From here on out. You have no more claims on her. Anything related to our agreement will be discussed via an email address I’ll send you. You don’t contact me directly. You don’t contact Chloe.” I lean toward him and add, “You don’t ever contact Chloe. Ever.” I wait and give him a severe look before I straighten up. “And you tell nobody, and I mean nobody about any of this exchange here. You tell your friends and family that you ended the relationship. She’s not the bad guy here. You’re just too fucked up from your accident. You need time to focus on yourself. Your career. Your healing. You realize you were being difficult to live with and you don’t want that for her. Nobody can change your mind.”
He blinks a couple times and then looks at her. I sidestep to block her.
“Make it easy. She’s not happy but she’d never abandon you, so you end things with her. She marries me and I give her everything she wants. You get the customized robotic exoskeletons, into any medical trial you’re interested in. I will pull strings to make your career go very well instead of doing the opposite. You get your fiction series published by one of the big five and you have your medical bills paid for life. I’m feeling generous here, Hallman, and I want my girl to feel good about walking away, knowing you’ll be all right, so I’ll sweeten the pot and if Chloe wants me to, I’ll hand over a million dollars on our one-year wedding anniversary. To you. She can decide when that time comes. She’s already been fucking me. Loving it, man. Loving it. I fucked her repeatedly, including in your bed.” I look to Chloe. “Don’t feel bad, baby. He knows it’s not your fault. He pushed you into it and I’m the one pushing the issue. It’s not your fault. It’s his. It’s mine. Hallman, she tried to stick to your rules. I wasn’t having it. Any of it. Because you’re a tool who doesn’t deserve her.”
Chloe’s got tears streaming down her face as she stares at me in disbelief. But in short order, she’ll realize this is the best thing in the world for her. She’s being liberated from a life where she’s not appreciated, where she won’t get what she wants. With me, she’ll have it all.
“I was gonna play it differently, Chloe,” I explain with my palm to my heart. “Honestly. I wanted to show you what you could have. How much you’re worth. How I see how much you’re worth. I was planning things in a way you’d decide to pick me because you know I’m the man for you. But the idea of him fucking you?” I shake my head. “I had to throw strategy out the window when you wouldn’t come to me. When you wouldn’t take my calls. Because I can’t stomach it. Can’t fuckin’ stomach the thought of anybody touching you but me. But you’d let him. You’d ride his dick tonight because he went to the trouble, because he was throwin’ you a fuckin’ bone. Wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t come. Neither would he. And then you’d cry yourself to sleep while I sat back feeling sick about anybody but me being inside you. No way. No fucking way. I’m not him. I’m not okay with another man fucking you.”
She shakes her head with disbelief, dashing tears away.
“He told his cop buddy over here the other day that he was springing boners randomly, too, baby. He bought that pump thing but fuck, if my dick wasn’t working and I was springing them randomly, I’d call you immediately and give you the option to hop on.”
Hallman’s eyes bounce between us. “It only happened twice. I wasn’t in the headspace to do anything, to… you… Chloe, you know where my head has been at with all this. I refuse to justify myself when I’m the one who’s lost use of my legs. Just me. But forget that, it doesn’t matter now. What matters is you, Chloe. I don’t want this guy to hurt you.”
“I’m gonna give her everything, Hallman. Anything she wants that money can buy. Anything she wants sexually. And I already know Chloe better than you do after just a couple weeks. Because I know what she really needs I’ll give her the emotional support and intimacy she deserves, too. Something you’ve never done.”
I lean forward aggressively. He flinches.
“The last thing I’d ever do is hurt Chloe. I’ll hurt anyone who hurts her. The only reason I haven’t hurt you after all the pain you’ve put her through is because she’d have difficulty forgiving me for it.”
“I’ve hurt her?” he asks.
“You pushed her with the hall pass. You had her loyalty, and you broke her by doing this. All you had to do was show her how much she means to you. But you failed, Hallman. You let her carry the whole load instead of manning up. You’ve been putting her through hell.”
“Stop it,” Chloe whispers. “Please stop it.”
Her shoulders tremble and she dissolves into full-body sobs. I go to her but her hand flies up. “Stay back, Derek. D-don’t touch me.”
“Go spend a couple minutes talking in the bedroom and get your closure now. I’ll be watching. No touching. If he touches you, it’ll really piss me off. Don’t piss me off, Hallman.”
She rubs her temples.
“Pack a bag, Chloe. You’re coming home with me tonight.”
