Chapter 39 CHAPTER 039
"I want to finish college on full scholarship. I want my already existing college loans settled. I don't care how you get the money from him, but I know you would. And can. If he questions you, you can just offer yourself up to him. That is how things work between you right?"
My skin crawls at the ugly scowl on Tyler's face. I don't know what stings more, the fact that he is being unreasonable with these demands and I can't tell him that, or how he has twisted what I had with Linc into some dirty affair. Had. Because obviously, whatever it was is all done now. There is no going back from this.
His cold eyes cloud over and he takes a step towards me, I flinch backwards, "I need you to answer when I ask you a fucking question." He says, looking me up and down like he is thinking about which part of my body he can hit without leaving a mark. I feel sick.
"No, that is not how things work between us." I say through gritted teeth.
"Oh really? I am curious then. Tell me." His eyes flash and I bite down on my lip, regretting every single bad decision that has brought me here. To this point in my life.
"Look, Tyler. I am not interested in playing that game with you and I am sure you are not really interested to know beyond what you recorded. You just want to torture me and you're doing a great job at it. But let's cut the bullshit now. You have the upper hand, good for you. Make your demands so I can leave and quit staring at your sick face." I snap, feeling my anger rise. My arm hurts where he grabbed me and my throat is lodged with dread at how he can possibly harm me physically in this quiet parking lot, but I am done cowering in front of him.
I have accepted the consequences of my actions and am ready to start doing damage control. I hate that he is having fun at my expense. I bite my tongue to keep from adding that I can't possibly fulfill his demands without having to tell Linc what I need all that money for. He takes care of me financially. He knows all I need and he foots all the bills. I rarely ask him for anything. If I go to him now with unreasonable demands for huge sums of money, he is definitely going to be suspicious.
Tyler might think I am stupid, but he obviously doesn't know Linc Dmitri yet.
"Well, aren't you a boring little bitch." Tyler smirks even though his cold eyes flash with anger. He knows I would stand firm on my resolution and he can't do anything about it. He can't physically hurt me, he is wise enough to know it can jeopardize whatever sick intentions he has for leveraging this situation.
I don't say anything in the tense silence that follows. He watches me quietly and I do my best to not squirm under the sickly scrutiny of his cold eyes. A part of me still can't believe Tyler is this kind of person. The way he is talking about the situation tells me that he has been monitoring us for a while. It wasn't a coincidence that he happened to walk in on us that day. He has been stalking and bidding his time.
All those lunches spent together and he thinks of me this way. It is weird but I can't wait to rub this in Ashley's face. I can't wait to yell that I told her so. Tyler was a sick bastard but she, like everyone else is blinded by his act.
"You have three days." He says, turning away.
"Three days for what?" I scream at his receding back, he is going to his car and dread fills every part of my body.
"Figure it out, bitch." He says glaring at me over his shoulder. He gets in his car and drives off. He is not even going back up to continue the rest of his work day. I guess since he now has me to do his bidding, he doesn't care about being the best intern Titan's Construct has ever had. The slick bastard. He is giving me three days to fulfil his first demand.
How the fuck am I going to get the amount of money he is asking me for? I don't even know how much he is owing in college loans. I have no idea how much a year in college costs. Courtesy of Linc taking care of everything all these years.
I try to push the elevator button but my hand is shaking so badly, it doesn't bulge. I stop, take a deep breath to steady my racing heart. I try again and the button blinks red, indicating that it is in use.
I blink back tears. I try to think of something else so my mind can stop reeling at the absolute fuck up I have found myself in. But it is futile. My left arm hurts. My heart is breaking. My head hurts. I can't think straight.
The elevator shows that it is climbing down here and I don't even have the time to compose myself before it stops, the doors open and it is Ashley.
"Emily said she saw you going down with Tyler. What's up? Where is he? I thought you were going to see Linc." Ashley looks around the empty parking space, and I stand there, reeling from the mention of both Linc and Tyler's name in one sentence.
"Woah, why do you look like that? What happened? What did Linc say? It can't be that bad. What is wrong?" Ashley rushes to my side when she finally looks at me and sees the state I am in.
"It was Tyler." I breath, feeling all my defenses peel away as my knees give out and I crumble to the cold cement floor. I have being acting all brave with Tyler but I can't keep it up. I want to curl up somewhere dark and quiet and let the days pass me by. I want to soak myself up in regret so much that it consumes me.
"What? What did Tyler do? What are you talking about?" Ashley kneels down beside me, patting down my back as I shut my eyes tight.
"He was the one that walked in. He recorded us. He is blackmailing me. He...he..." My breath gives out and I can't stop my body from shaking.
"No." Ashley shudders and I hate the disbelief in her voice more than I currently hate myself for getting into this situation.