Page 108 of The Price of Forever

“Figured you’d come around.” He looked haughty as he swiped his phone on again. “Let’s hear it. And this better not be another fake.”

I rattled off the number. “It’ll go to voicemail, but you’ll hear my voice this time. I’ll text you as soon as I get back to the lounge to show you it’s mine.” My heart pounded as I spoke. I couldn’t believe I’d done it. But the intuitive nudge was there.

I didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary around Eli. But he might know something that I should know too.

He tapped on his phone for a moment, then looked up at me with a smile. “We’ll see, won’t we?”

“We will.”

“I’m gonna head to the bathroom. I’ll look for your text.”

I nodded. He’d come today just to lock me down, get a number. And he’d achieved it. He pocketed his phone, leaving all the money behind.

“All right, gorgeous. I’ll be seeing you soon.”

I blew him a kiss. He left the VIP room, and I made quick work of scooping up all the money. Seven stepped inside a few moments later.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“More than okay.” It was hard not to sound giddy.

“He came back.” It wasn’t a question, and it was more than just an observation, too. I scooped up a few more hundreds, stuffing them in my bra.

“He did. And today I made ten grand off him.” A painful thud hit my ribs as soon as the words left my mouth. But at what cost? While I hadn’t given him my real phone number, I’d given him my burner line, which directed straight to my phone via an app. I could cut it off or delete it at any time – but I felt like I’d crossed a line still. “I know he’s an ex for a very good reason. But I told you—in here, I have a job to do.”

Cora and I hadn’t talked too much about her ex. I’d gotten the sense it was the last topic she wanted to bring up. And I could already think of a list of twenty-five reasons why she’d want to divorce Eli, after less than two hours in his presence.

And you’ve opened up the lines of communication with him. If he hadn’t made that comment about three brothers on Wall Street, I’d have stuck with the communal phone number that led to nowhere. But I needed to see what else he had to say. Just in case.

But Cora’s ex?

Shame flooded me. This was an unsettling situation of the highest order, and one that could affect my soon-to-be sister-in-law, a woman I deeply admired and respected.

Fuuuuuck.

“You gotta stay away from him,” Seven said, standing with me once I’d scooped up the last bill.

“I can’t exactly turn him away,” I reminded Seven. “He requested me, and he got me. That’s how it goes.”

Seven didn’t say anything more. I squeezed his arm.

“I hear you, though,” I said. “My plan is to just milk him for money. That’s what I’m here for. It’s what I was hired to do. That doesn’t change just because of who he used to be married to.”

Seven nodded, looking like he wanted to add more.

“Besides,” I went on, “I think he might have information that my brothers should know. He made a weird comment in there.”

Seven’s chin dipped. “Weird comment?”

“Not about me or anything. About…ruining three brothers on Wall Street or something.” When I caught his doubtful look, I said, “I have no idea what it was about. But I want to see if he says anything else. Men confess things in the VIP room all the time. What if he was somehow involved in this whole mess my brothers are in?”

Seven let out a measured sigh. “The likelihood of that is…very small,” he said.

“But if there’s a chance? I want to find out.”

Seven didn’t look entirely convinced. But he had nothing to worry about.

Even though the mere thought of Eli sent my stomach churning.

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