Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 158829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 529(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 158829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 529(@300wpm)
A thick envelope catches my attention.
What the hell is that?
I tear it open and pull out a large blue card with a yellow thought bubble that reads, There is no good card for this...
I flick it open and see the words, But I’m so sorry for your loss.
And then in handwriting underneath, Hell of a winning streak you had, Winnie. It almost pains me to see it coming to an end.
P.S. At least you won’t be lonely. That sweet little kitten should help lick your wounds.
Fuck him entirely.
I am done.
Before any sanity sets in, I grab my phone and call Apollo Finch.
“Winnie, what a surprise. Did you get my card?”
“You fucking coward,” I spit.
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”
“Stay the fuck away from her and stay away from my house! If she shows up in one more tweet, I’ll send you to the butcher shop. Then I’ll send a package to your mother.”
I know how unhinged I sound, threatening dismemberment.
I don’t care. This maniac has crossed every red line.
“Oh, Winnie, your threats are so tedious. You should work on that anger. I had to take a few classes myself after Samantha—yeah.” He catches himself.
It takes a second to remember that was his ex-wife’s name.
The woman who walked out on him after losing the award sent his life into a spiral. I’m sure the decent chunk of his fortune she got wasn’t nearly enough for putting up with his bullshit.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Finch. No one else sends me a condolence card unless they’re causing my bad luck. All for an award I haven’t lost yet.”
“Yet,” he bites off.
“The award isn’t the point. I’m warning you, stay the fuck away from my—” I stop. Shit. Why give him more ammunition? “Stay away from Piper Renee.”
Silence.
Then he says, “Was it worth it?”
“What?” I clip.
“Dipping your pen in the company ink. Was it worth ending your winning streak and embarrassing yourself?” He pauses, waiting for an answer I won’t give. “You were always so buttoned-down. No scandals, no women, no substances to spice things up. Mr. Boring Workaholic, too married to his work to ever wind up in trouble. Or so we thought.”
Goddamn, this is pointless. He’s been warned and I’m not sitting here taking his shit.
“Are you done?” I snarl.
“Don’t hang up yet,” he hisses.
I wait.
“You’re so protective of Miss Renee. It’s almost endearing,” he says, an edge in his voice that hints he thinks this could backfire. “I wonder what you would think about this?”
“What?”
“You have to rein in your temper first, Winnie. You are threatening me with a meat grinder, after all. But I wonder how much you’d flip if you heard my little recording?”
“Recording? What fucking recording, Finch?”
“Oh, fine. Best not to leave you wondering, huh?”
I wait while there’s a clicking sound and another voice with a digital echo.
A voice I recognize.
“He’s going to get blown up and it’s all thanks to me,” Piper says miserably. “Jenn, what if they start digging into my father? All the medical stuff he’s paid for? An office fling would be pretty embarrassing, but if everyone finds out he’s spent tens of thousands on my family... I can’t do this. I can’t let his kindness end in a slaughter. I’ll never live it down. I love him so—”
Click.
The recording cuts off.
I’m too fucking stunned to speak, my heart banging in my chest.
Finch’s nasty laugh echoes in my ear. “Rather sad, isn’t it? You’re so protective of her. You can just tell the guilt must be eating her alive. What will she do if this leaks and the whole Winthrope crew finds out about Harold Renee’s special treatment?”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Before I know what’s happening, my fist crashes down on my desk so hard pain lashes up my arm.
“Leave her alone or you die.”
He makes a loud exaggerated yawning sound.
“That’s very sweet of you, still trying to go all Neanderthal for her. Such a shame that we understand your little romance, but everyone else—well, your HR department—might consider your moves potentially litigious. Winthrope Resorts might even need a new CEO.”
“Stop following her, or Oasis Springs will definitely need a new chief. I’ll make sure they never find the body,” I growl.
I don’t even disconnect the call.
I just chuck the phone across the room.
It thuds against the wall, bouncing to a stop on the floor.
Pure bullshit.
And here I am, playing right into his game.
Fuck whatever happens to me.
I care that he could make Piper’s life far more miserable.
That can’t happen.
I can’t take more from her than she’s already lost just by trying to do the right thing with her ailing father.
My phone goes off and I walk across the room, surprised it isn’t broken as I snatch it off the floor. “Goddamnit, Finch, you need to back the fuck off and—”
“Young man, that’s no way to talk to your grandmother!”