Chapter 78

He quirked an eyebrow as if to say, “Oh really? Prove it.”

“You make money,” she stated succinctly. “Lots of it. I know what you’re worth.”

This time the other eyebrow went up, too. She’d surprised him.

“I don’t want you to make his problem go away. I want you to pay off his debt.”

“You need money.” He spoke slowly, as if marveling at the irony. “And you have no one else to ask?”

Despite the embarrassment creeping under her skin, she forced herself not to look away. Not to shy away from his cool, appraising gaze. “There’s no one else. He owes a lot.” She sucked in a deep breath. Gut-check time. “Fifty thousand dollars. We could mortgage the house, but it’d be weeks before we saw the actual money, and frankly, it’s not worth that much.”

A slow, cynical smile toyed with his lips. “You want me to just hand you a check for fifty thousand dollars?”

“I know you have it.”

His smile broadened without any humor reaching his eyes. “And why would I give it to you?”

“Because it's just a drop in the bucket for you.”

“And why would I give it to you?” he repeated, more slowly this time.

She considered the question for a second, letting herself really ponder why she’d been so sure he could help. It'd been quite audacious of her actually. And ironic that she'd left him because she didn't think knowing him for a short time was enough to make her stay, but now she expected the same from him.

Willing him to meet her gaze, she answered as honestly as she could. “Because of our past, no matter how short it was, I suppose. Because you loved me, I guess. Because you’d have done anything for me. Because—”

“No.” He straightened and rounded the desk.

As he lowered himself into his chair, she got the distinct impression she was being dismissed. Panic rose in her throat. “That’s it? ‘No’?”

He looked up with a you’re still here? expression on his face. She’d worked so hard over the past to learn to control her impulses. As grans used to say, a feisty temper did no one any good. But somehow, just being with Nolan right now, desperate as she was, stirred up all defiance in her.

“Just, ‘No’?” she repeated. She curbed her temptation to say more. She was unfamiliar with this side of Nolan, but simple logic told her angering him right now wouldn’t get her the money she needed. “I think you can offer me a little more than that.”

“I’m a businessman, Candace. What exactly would I be getting in exchange for all this money I’d be giving you?”

She sucked in a breath of surprise. She hadn’t expected this. Blind desperation had gotten her this far. “I’ll pay you back,” she said stupidly, but he was already shaking his head.

“If you don’t have the money now, how would you get the money to pay me back?”

“The mortgage,” she threw out. “I'll talk to Michelle and Andrew. We are all ready to make sacrifices… So we'll start with that. And make payments. I’ll—”

But he shook his head. “No. I just don’t think that’s a good return on my investments.”

He was toying with her now. Obviously he enjoyed having her at his mercy. It was a bit chilling really, that satisfied gleam in his eyes. This man before her was a stranger. No, not a stranger. Nothing that benevolent. More like a thug on the street. One of the angry teenage boys who prowl around late at night, leering at people, looking dangerous and disreputable just for the sake of it. Hoping to scare just for the thrill. The Nolan she knew, briefly yes, was not like this. He’d been respectful. Funny. Caring… But now? He was acting like this now merely to punish her.

All of her frustration boiled up inside her, forcing its way out in a taut tone. “If you want to be mad at me, fine, be mad. But don’t take this out on Andrew. I know you don't know him but he’s innocent in all this.”

“If he has dealings with the Blackstone Cartel, then he’s far from innocent.”

Everything in her stilled. “Then you know who they are?”

“I do.”

“Then you know how desperate his situation is.”

“I do.”

“And you still won’t help?”

“I don’t see why I should.”

He was back to the cool, clipped tone. She forced herself to look beneath it. To search for some chink in this wall he’d put up between them. Somewhere beneath this cold facade was a man who’d told her that he loved her. She just had to find the right words to unlock him.

She rounded the desk to stand before where he sat in his chair. Acting on instinct, she dropped to her knees before him, then cradled his jaw in her hands. His gaze was hard, but he wouldn’t look her in the eyes.

Despite the hour, he already had growth on his jaw as if he’d risen early and hadn’t bothered to shave before coming in. It prickled her palm. His skin was hot beneath her fingertips as if to foreshadow she was about to be burned.

Suddenly she remembered how they had been. How happy they were together… As if they'd known each other for a longer period of time. Remembering that, she once again willed him to meet her gaze, and he did. For the first time since she’d entered his office, he seemed to really look at her. In that instant, all her fear for Andrew faded and she was lost in pain. Of knowing she had been wrong to leave him in the first place. Before she could stop herself, it began pouring out.

“I’m so sorry, Nolan. I'm sorry for how I must have hurt you. You’ve got to know I never meant for any of that to happen and—”

He shoved the chair back and stood quickly, leaving her kneeling there before him. “And now you want something from me, so you’re here to apologize.”

She stood, bristling from the sting of his words. “What exactly is it you want from me, Nolan? I’ve already apologized. Do you want me to beg?”

“You want to know what I want? You have no idea how angry I am with you. You made me look and feel like a fool and I want you—” he pointed his finger at her “—completely at my mercy.”