Page 60 of The Rebel Billionaire

Ispentthe rest of the day stripping paint. It wasn't the most fun I've ever had, but the sense of satisfaction I got from seeing my progress was worth myachingarms.

As a side bonus, I could watch the crew on my front porch through the living room windows while I worked. I knew my life had taken a turn when a brand-new front porch was enough to makemyday.

The workmen were faster than I was. They finished laying the new decking on the front porch by lunch and had moved to the back of the house. The deck off the kitchen was in much better shape than the front had been, and only a few rotten boards neededreplacing.

By mid-afternoon, they were gone for the day. Tomorrow, the contractor had plumbers and electricians coming to finish up the second floor and the attic, but for the rest of the day, I was onmyown.

It was early evening but still light out when I finished scraping the last speck of paint from the trim in the living room. I still needed to sand it all and repair the dings and scratches, but I was one huge step closer to a finished room. Satisfaction sang in my chest, better than any I'd felt before. No business deal had ever made me feel like I could conquer theworld.

Not like this. For the first time, itsankin.

I wasn'tgoingback.

Not toWintersInc.

Not to anothercompany.

I didn't have a plan yet, but whatever I was going to do, I wouldn't be behindadesk.

Feeling oddly lighthearted, I unplugged the heater, placing it carefully on its handle the way Lucas had the day before, and finally paid attention to my growlingstomach.

I really needed to buy some food. I had cereal and milk and a little yogurt, none of which were appetizing after hours of hard work. I wanted an Italian sub with extra hots. Or maybemeatball.

There was a great sandwich shop a couple of blocks away. I grabbed my phone and keys, set the alarm, and headed out the door, ignoring the chill down my spine at the memory of the last time I'd gone for a walk to getdinner.

This was different. For one thing, it was still daylight. For another, I had the panic button in my pocket. I hadn't been more than a foot away from itallday.

I wasn't going to hide, but that didn't mean I had to bereckless.

I decided on the meatball sub. Extra cheese. Extra cheese was good on everything. Even salad was better with extracheese.

Pushing open the door to the shop, I placed my order and waited, playing a game on my phone until it was ready. The smell of toasted bread and marinara sauce was killing my emptystomach.

As soon as I got my food, I was going to go home, eat my sub, start working on the trim in the front hall, and go to bed early. I wasexhausted.

Staying up half the night so Lucas could give me multiple orgasms was absolutely worth beingtired.

I flinched a little inside at the thought of Lucas. I was starting to get attached. That made him sound like a lost puppy. He was anything but astraypet.

Lucas was a man with plans and ambitions that had nothing to do with me. I knew he liked sleepingwithme.

I should be past euphemismsbynow.

He liked fucking me. Lucas Jackson liked fucking me. Thatwasit.

He lent me the tools to strip paint, helped me for an afternoon, came to my rescue when I was attacked, and told me a little bit about hisfamily.

After the way he'd left that morning, I was painfully aware that our interactions had already gotten way more personal than he'dplanned.

Lucas wasn't stickingaround.

When he got tired of fucking me, and he inevitably would, he'd walk away. He'd let me down easy. Lucas wasn't a jerk. But we'd both been clear about what we wanted when this started. Sex. No one was supposed to getattached.

After it was over, I'd go back to ogling him while he mowed the lawn and he'd forget allaboutme.

I tried not to remember the visit with William that morning, but his careless snobbery echoed in my head. The thing was, I understood William. He was wrong and he was incredibly rude, but he wasn't the only person like that whomIknew.

The world we inhabited was filled with people who thought they were better than everyone else. That was life. Every social stratum had people who thought they were better than the peoplearoundthem.