AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Cameron’s account wouldn’t have been enough anyway.”
“Why did María go through so much trouble?” I gasped. “For Cameron… to get her on with us…”
“I don’t know. That’s not important right now. What’s important is that you’ll be all right.”
“Fuck I’ll be all right, Ruth, I’m getting kicked out of the damn apartment,” I snapped. “All because—just because—” I stood up, the haze in my head coalescing into red-hot. “Fucking Miguel on my case. That’s what it is. The little rat—working for a competitor, trying to get rid of me, trying to convince me not to attend a conference, wanting to get in the way of the Cameron account. Dammit. He probably got a hefty payout for making Queen Pearl disappear.”
Ruth stood with me and guided me back into a seat, moving me to take another sip. I choked back tea, just needing hydration. I hadn’t been properly hydrating at the conference—my throat hurt, my eyes dry. “I wouldn’t be surprised, but we’ll find him and gut him another time, okay?”
“My things.” My voice was hoarse. “That plaque was sixty million dollars.”
“Oh, Jesus, she’s losing it.”
I laughed, streaked with tears. “Shit, I’m going to have to get a contractor’s help to even get into the building and grab my stuff out of my office. Wasn’t doing it once enough? Fucking Castleton all over again.”
“We’ll figure that out tomorrow, okay?”
“Tomorrow.” I let out a shaky sigh. “At least I don’t have to worry about the pigeon smear. Fuck, Ruth. What is it about me?”
“I’m staying here with you until the morning, all right?”
Something about the comment snapped me back to reality—the practicality of the situation, Ruth here in my apartment. I sucked in a sharp breath, the room coming back into focus, and I took another sip of my tea before I set it down, turning to Ruth.
“Thank you… but I think I need to be alone.”
She furrowed her brow. “London, please don’t tell me you’re about to do something stupid.”
I looked away. “I don’t like crying in front of other people.”
Her expression softened, and she put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m here for you, anytime. Even if I’m not here, you just call me and let me know, and I swear I’ll come running. It’s a promise, all right?”
“Yeah. I know.” I swallowed. “I know. Ruth, I… thank you.”
But she’d barely shut the door behind her, after checking a few more times with me and making sure I had food on the table for whenever I was able to eat, before I did something stupid.
I called Miguel. The phone rang twice before he picked up.
“Now she comes crying to me,” he muttered. It was the last fucking thing I needed to hear right now. I flew to my feet, seeing red, and Earl took off running.
“Crying? Crying? Oh, you fucking wish, Miguel. How long was this your plan? How long were you waiting to—”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“What the fuck do you think I’m talking about, Miguel?” My voice felt like it was about to tear my throat open, like it would burst outward and shake the windows. “You burned down Queen Pearl all for the sake of that fucking realty group you’re in bed with, sold me out, sold out María—been trying to sabotage the Cameron account, the damn conference—”
“Are you high? Can you just calm down for one millisecond and—and listen to me?”
“Listen to you? Like you’ve got so much worth listening to? I swear to god—I will fucking end you, Miguel. I’m getting out of here, finding a new home without your fucking name on it, finding a new job without your fucking—”
“María installed me on that board.”
I stopped. “What?”
“María got me there. On the board with Leon Realty.”
It felt like something… cold, damp, pressing into my neck. I felt my head spinning, and I sank back into the couch. Finally, I spoke, quietly this time, trying to summon up the same explosive anger but finding dying embers. “What the fuck do you mean?”
“This was her gameplan since the accounting fraud happened. She pulled some connections to get me on with Leon Realty and convince them to buy Queen Pearl’s assets from her.”
