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He never told me that.
“Sure.” I nodded.
“Okay, well—” He cleared his throat. “I recommend getting a few cashier’s checks, but I’ll happily dole your funds out however you like. How do you want it done?”
“Cash, please.” I set my bag on his desk. “All hundreds.”
He picked up the bag and looked inside of it. “Do you have other bags on their way here?”
“No.” I shrugged. “That’s it.”
He looked over at his associate, then back at me.
“Miss Carter,” he said, slowly sliding the reading glasses off his face. “How much money do you think is in your account?”
“Fifty thousand, give or take.”
“If it was fifty thousand, I wouldn’t have met you at the door, and you would’ve been out of here minutes ago.” He leaned forward. “This is seven million dollars.”
My jaw dropped to the floor, and I felt all the color leaving my face.
“Like I was saying.” He looked at me. “How do you want it done?”
“Cashier’s checks.” I could barely hear my voice. “But just for um, ten percent of it.”
“I thought so.” He stood to his feet. “I’ll be right back, Miss Carter.”
I leaned back in my chair, beyond stunned.
I pulled out my phone to unmute Travis and send him an appreciative message, but he’d texted me already.
Several hours ago.
Travis: I love you, Crown … I hope someday you’ll see where I was coming from. Even though I couldn’t physically be there, every match I ever fought was for you.
Forty-Eight
Present Day
Hayden
* * *
Cinder Settles with Tinder for $40M
* * *
Cinder’s Company Valuation Now Worth $2B
* * *
Simon Gaines Arrested in Manhattan for Fraud, Hedge Fund Offices Raided
Forty-Nine
Present Day
Penelope
Manhattan, New York
“It took me all this time to realize that everything I’d done with Cinder, every move I’d ever made, was because I was in love with my best friend, and I didn’t want her to be with anyone else …”
“I was willing to lie, cheat, and steal, to get back at the man who I thought had taken her away from me.”
Tears hit my screen as I read Hayden’s words in The New Yorker for the umpteenth time. In revealing the truth about Tinder, he’d exposed bits of our story that I’d long forgotten, and late last night, the months before my accident unfolded in my brain like the pages of a novel.
Scene after scene of me wanting him and dating Tim as second-best, not knowing that he felt the same way that I did.
I wanted so desperately to call him and tell him to meet me someplace so we could talk, but I couldn’t do it.
The past headlines of his affair with Anya were still a barrier to us ever being friends again.
We can be co-parents and nothing more.
“Hey, Penelope?” Tatiana’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “You kind of need to get out of the car now.”
I looked to my left and saw her holding up an umbrella over the cab’s open door.
“Oh, sorry.” I stepped out and stood underneath it, shutting the door behind me.
“I think this is a decent complex,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “Lots of great amenities, and it’s close enough to two rinks. It’s also close to—Well, um…”
“Cinder,” I said. “In case.”
“Yeah, in case.” She looped her arm in mine and led me inside. “I’m sorry I brought that up.”
“No worries.”
We took the elevator to the top floor, finding ourselves in the middle of a private party. We wrote our names on the badges, then we moved over to the table of gourmet snacks.
From here, the view of Manhattan was perfect.
As I was pouring myself a drink, I felt a familiar jolt of electricity traveling through my body, that pulsating throb that I only felt when …
“Is that Hayden Hunter?” “Oh my god, look!” “Is he here to buy everything before we can?”
Hushed whispers suddenly filled the room.
“You want to leave through the back elevator?” Tatiana whispered. “I can put in bids for you if you don’t want to stay.”
Yes. “No.” I shook my head. “I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
I nodded and let out a breath. Tuning out the whispers, I scooped another handful of M&Ms onto my plate.
I managed to make it to the end of the snack buffet before giving in for a quick glance at Hayden.
Looking sexier than ever, he was dressed in a black V-neck shirt that clung to his muscles and dark jeans. Still incapable of looking anything less than perfect.
His blue eyes met mine, and I tried to look away, but I couldn’t.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?” The curator clapped his hands and moved to the center of the room. “Thank you all so much for coming to our open house. Please follow me into the showroom area where we’ve set up space for the formal auctions.”
The guests made their way toward the showroom, but I remained still.
