Total pages in book: 196
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
“Oh fuck!” There were pictures; how the fuck stupid could he be? Cheating on your wife is one thing, but cheating on her with an underage girl and getting caught is another.
My phone chimed once again, and I read the new message with dread. ‘Do you believe me now? Oh, and by the way, that king in the desert won’t be of any use to you. You shouldn’t ask him for money; he’d kill you faster than I would. Then again, maybe not.’ King… What the hell? How do they know what I said to Mom? I typed out that question as fast as my fingers could move, and the answer came back just as swiftly.
‘You should be careful who you let into your home.’ Who I let…. It couldn’t be Andrews; he’s up to his ass in filth, same as I. No one has been here…. “Rachel!”
Chapter 60
*Ryder*
“What the hell is this, Scott? What have you done?” If Lyon hadn’t warned me ahead of time, I would’ve been out of my mind, but since I’d been forewarned, I had time to practice and still come across as pissed and just a little bit scared. What I was, was beyond repulsed and, yes, pissed way the fuck off.
I could barely look him in the eye without sneering the whole time we sat there on the deck of his home. “Listen, it was a good deal; I figured you wouldn’t mind.” No, you figured that I was still under your control and would let you walk all over me.
“Fine, but what is this about fifty million? It says here you sold the catalog for two hundred million dollars.”
“What? Let me see that.”
I passed him the printout I’d brought along with me. A signed document showing that he’d made four times as much as he tried telling me he’d sold my life’s work for. I knew something was off with the numbers he’d given me, but because I wasn’t sure of all of the details behind what the niece was doing, I couldn’t be sure.
He’d tried convincing me that the deal he had signed would benefit me more in the end than if I took all the money upfront, which I halfheartedly accepted, until today when this report came to my attention. It’s the only reason I was here, that and the fact that my girl had left, and I’m pissed and missing her and, quite frankly, out for blood.
Lyon had warned me not to lose my cool because that was a sure way for me to slip up and say the wrong thing, giving everything we were working on away, but it was hard not to punch this man who I’d trusted more than half my life and who had done and taken so much to and from me.
It was hard keeping the hate hidden behind the mask that I’d worked so hard to keep in place the last couple of weeks. He looked over the paper; his brows squinted the way he does when something doesn’t make sense, or at least that’s what I knew that look to mean, but how can I trust that now? How can I trust anything about him ever again?
“Where is the rest of my money, Scott? First, you sell my work out from under me, and now you’re trying to scam me out of millions of dollars?”
“I promise you. I didn’t sell it for this much.”
“You think I believe you? It’s right there. Isn’t that your signature?”
“Yes, but….”
“You know what, I have nothing more to say. Talk to my lawyers. And not the ones you hired for me; I have new lawyers the Saunders group hired to take care of my interest.”
“What? You don’t trust me? Come on, Ryder. This is me. I made you. How could you think I’d do something like this to you? You know me.” I stared at him wordlessly for the merest of seconds before speaking. “Yeah, I know you. I do.” I didn’t have to say anything else for him to get the picture, and the way his face fell, and his eyes dropped, I knew that he knew what I was talking about. It was at that moment that Tyler cleared his throat, reminding us both that he was there.
“It’s time to go, Mr. Sumner.”
“Who is this guy? Do you need a keeper now?” I started to say that was rich coming from him but instead got to my feet with one last threat that he would be hearing from my lawyer very soon. As it stands, he owes me one hundred and eighty million dollars. His cut was only supposed to be ten million, but he’d obviously tried to pull a fast one and keep all the money for himself while paying me pennies.
I still don’t know who bought my catalog; I know nothing about the deal that went down, and had it not been for the little bit Lyon had shared, I, too, would be in the dark. He himself isn’t sure about all of the details as his daughter wasn’t too forthcoming with much other than to tell me not to panic.