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“Practically the mob.” My jaw clenches. “They don’t want you to ever be debt free. They rely on consistent payments, forever, from everyone they ever work with. A business partner of mine warned me about them.”
Marcella swears again. “I’m an idiot. I mean, I knew it wasn’t entirely safe, but I didn’t think it was organized crime.”
My head shakes. “You’re not an idiot. You were desperate. And that’s exactly what they prey on. Desperation.”
“What do I do? Will they let me close my account with them at all?”
I smile. “They will, or I’ll shut them down completely. Just tell me when your appointment is. I’ll take care of everything else.”
Chapter 14
For reasons I won’t explain, you aren’t allowed to take your ties off anymore.
– Marcella
“No, you listen to me. You’re a loan company, aren’t you? And your interest rates are listed clearly right here, aren’t they? Which means this amount is the total due, isn’t it?” F-man stabs a finger at the printed report of my loan, which includes the outrageous percentage these people sprung on me days after my initial no interest for the first three months expired.
A fission of warmth trails down my spine as I sit in a dingy office room beside F-man, flanked by nine of his bodyguards. They barely fit in the room, but given how creepy this place is, I’m so relieved they’re here. Hands clasped in my lap, I watch my boss, my temporary boyfriend, a man I have only ever seen smile gently and kindly and considerately.
Right now, his smile chills me to the bone. It’s all wicked promise. Venom. Death threats.
The man seated across from us fumbles through rules and regulations, claiming the terms and conditions I apparently agreed to, while he wipes a palm against his sweaty, receding hairline.
“I see.” F-man leans back in his chair, drumming his fingers slowly against the wobbling desk separating us from JustBorrow’s representative. “Let me make sure I understand: my client took out a loan with you, and she’d now like to pay it back in full. You are refusing to let her, despite agreeing that the amount she’s offering is correct and compiles the initial loan with all incurred interest.”
The man’s eyes scan the wall of suits behind us. “I-I’m afraid there are fees and paperwork that need to process before we can accept a payment of this size. We recommend holding out another month and—”
“And incurring more interest, more fees, more headache?” A dry laugh exits F-man. He leans forward. “I don’t think so. It’s clear I understand perfectly what’s going on. Now let’s see if you do… I’m a businessman. I don’t have time to waste. You work for businessmen, who I’m sure don’t want to waste time handling this in court. Your higher ups have two options. Either they accept this amount, today, provide proof that Miss Keyes never has to speak to anyone here ever again, and leave it at that, or I go through the trouble of putting this place in the ground permanently. I don’t care how long it’ll take because I’m in the fun position of being able to hire someone else to deal with it.”
“T-that’s not necessary, sir.”
“Excellent choice. In that case, where’s Miss Keyes’s receipt?”
When all F-man’s bodyguards escort us out of the cramped building and back to the two limos taking up the entire parking lot, I’m so dazed—clutching the proof I’m debt-free—I barely register F-man slipping his hand into his suit pocket and murmuring, “Pumpkin?”
I drag myself from the fog of staring at the blurry words on the page I’m grasping. “Yes?”
His attention drifts across the cloudy sky. “Add decimating JustBorrow to my schedule.”
My heart flutters. “Oh, um…” I push my hair over my ear, realize what I’m doing, and snap my arm back down to my side. “Yeah. You got it.”
We slip into the back of our limo. Together. Just the two of us.
And, what do you know? It appears that in the time it took us to take care of this, I’ve developed claustrophobia.
“Where to, Mr. Marsh?” Mark asks through the small window separating the cab from the front seats.
F-man slides two fingers into the neck of his tie and tugs.
I jerk my attention out the window as my heart lunges for him.
No, no, no, no, no. I’m not. I can’t be. Am I…?
There’s a slight, slight, slight chance…I’m attracted to Mr. Marsh right now.
But who wouldn’t be?
He just saved me from lifelong debt to a mob. From never being able to afford nice things. From perhaps always being reliant on him if I want a nice place to live…
