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“I’ll be back,” the nurse said and left the room.
Colette squeezed her hand. “Roth!”
“I heard you,” Jasmine said and rubbed her prominent belly. “The last thing you should be thinking about is business.”
“Did you talk to him?” Colette asked.
“I did.”
“And?”
She stared into Colette’s hopeful face and felt Polara move beneath her palm. Her heart swelled with emotion, and her throat began to close.
“Minnie?”
Her eyes filled with tears as she whispered, “It’s gonna be okay. I spoke to him, and he’s willing to speak to you.” And she would do whatever it took to make sure he negotiated in their favor.
Colette’s mouth trembled. “Really?”
“Yes,” she said and gave her a tremulous smile.
Colette slumped against the pillows. “Minnie, you’re a lifesaver. I knew you could get through to him. Anything you ever need, don’t hesitate. Hennessy & Co is my everything. I would die if I lost it.”
“I know,” she whispered as her insides writhed. “You rest and prepare for Polara. He won’t do anything until after the baby is born.”
“But…”
“Rest,” she ordered. “Or else.”
Colette nodded and took a deep breath. “I know it must have been hard to talk to him. Thank you. I owe you.” She shifted and let out a sharp gasp.
“Are you in pain?”
“Another contraction,” she said through clenched teeth.
After the contraction passed, she went to find the nurse. An hour later, Lyle arrived.
“You don’t look good,” Lyle said as they watched Colette sleep. “Get some rest. I’ll let you know if anything else happens.”
She gave him a hug and offered her cheek for a kiss before she left the room. Once she was back in the Land Rover, she sat in the driver’s seat and stared straight ahead.
She was going to sell her soul to the devil. Panic zipped through her system. She tipped her head back as she gasped for air. When the anxiety attack passed, she rested her forehead against the steering wheel and tried to get her thoughts together.
The price to negotiate with Roth was sex. Could she really let him touch her after all he’d done? Her mind told her no, but her body had other ideas. As he pointed out, she had played the whore before. If a couple of fucks with Roth ensured Hennessy & Co would survive and that Colette could have Polara in peace, that was worth it. It would kill something inside her, but did she have a choice? If she hadn’t chosen Roth over Ford, none of this would be happening. Her family shouldn’t pay the price for her mistakes. She would finish this once and for all.
She pulled out her phone. Her thumb hesitated over his name before she pressed down. The phone rang once, twice, three times. She didn’t wait for it to go to voicemail. She hung up and jumped out of the car. She paced with her hands on her hips as a steady stream of vehicles drove in and out of the parking garage. Her stomach lurched when she heard a call coming in. She approached cautiously and peered at the screen. Roth. She walked away and passed a hand over her face when it went quiet. She was playing Russian roulette with the phone. Once she answered, her life was over. She tensed when the phone began to blare again. She let it go to voicemail. On his third call, she picked up.
“Why haven’t you answered your phone?” he barked.
“I…” Her throat closed.
“Jasmine?”
She shook her head. “There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t.”
“But the money—”
