Page 23 of Ruthless Love

The first time was years ago, and it was worse. We weren’t exactly friends then, more like frenemies. When her eagle eyes turned from a momentary fascination from our math teacher to me, dread hit me in a wave. I knew she knew, because her eyes locked on me. On my lips.

She had to notice the color, a bright whimsical pink that made me feel pretty and feminine. Unfortunately, it left a smudge low on our teacher’s shirt earlier in his haste to shove me to my knees, but not low enough. Suggestively above his belt line.

It wasn’t my idea, but I did it. Went along. Played the fucked-up game I’m still playing today.

And then it was over.

Whatever suspicions Margot had, the A+ I earned out of it solidified my guilt as much as me vomiting and bawling my eyes out in the girls’ restroom. But the grade wasn’t for me, and she knew it. It was for Alan.

Even then, Margot never said a word, though she nudged me to. See the nurse? I wasn’t exactly hurt, and just needed to get over it. Call my dad? Yes, let’s call the man. Because Garrett Banks will never stand to let it happen. No, he much preferred being the man who made it happen. He would do anything and everything to preserve his legacy.

Still, there’s always the voice in the back of my head that gets louder when I think about the sins of my father. It’s my legacy too, because my brother is on the brink of losing the company, and here I am again, on my knees to save him. Preserving the Banks name and still having no idea how badly I’m about to get fucked.

Here I sit, perfectly postured in my Alexander McQueen suit, sporting a diamond as big as an iceberg, and in every way I’m seventeen all over again, with Margot holding tight to my secrets.

“You know I’m here for you,” she says, insistence strong in her gentle voice. “All of us are.”

The next tear slides free, and I let it. “I know.” Then I do what I do best. I cover. “It’s fine. Besides, I might not go through with it, which should really make dear old Dad proud.”

Impatient, Margot whips me around, locking my reticent eyes to her determined ones. “Evelyn Anne Banks, I’m proud of you. You graduated with honors in a career your father never wanted you to go into. Your father’s put more pressure on you to snag a rich guy, when we both know money means nothing to you. You’re a multimillionaire in your own right, and the last thing you want is to be under some man’s thumb. If you actually bothered to take the money owed you, you’d be earning seven figures a year just in salary, even if you blew off the bonuses that would likely triple that. So, why not just ditch Dimitri already and live for yourself for once?”

I can’t answer her. Or I won’t.

What could I tell people? That I don’t want to marry the ninth richest man in the world? Saying I don’t love him will get nothing but laughs from society, as if that means anything at all.

A long series of silent glances are exchanged between us before Margot gives up, and is gracious enough to lift the mood.

“So, the man who’s snatched your undivided attention from the privacy of his own bedroom. Sounds like a huge enticement to stay at your place.”

“He is not the reason I’m not moving in with my fiancé. I just ... enjoy my independence.” Well, that and I appreciate not having surveillance cameras watch me like a hawk when I eat, sleep, and pee.

“I know you love your freedom. And possibly, not your fiancé.”

“You said you wouldn’t judge.”

“I’m not,” she says matter-of-factly as she effortlessly slips the ring off my finger and examines it up close. “But the damn thing looks like an oversize ball and chain cuffed to your finger like that. The band is too big for your finger and needs to be resized, so you should probably just pocket it. For safekeeping.”

A small smile blossoms on my lips as I hold my blazer pocket wide, letting her drop the ring in.

“Besides,” she says, “this way you get to enjoy your footlong neighbor across the street a little longer. Seems like all the incentive you need to stay hidden in suburbia. And a potential escort to our little soiree with the Alliance.”

“Okay, first of all, I’m not hiding.” Though it is the one place I know is safe from Dimitri’s annoyingly nosy bodyguards and perpetual eyes in the sky in every fucking room. “And second, it’s a corporate get-together, not a prom.”

“Don’t be brave. Every girl needs a man wielding a huge ... personality. The entertainment value alone is worth it.”

“Watching you feign interest in Coop is entertainment enough. I don’t need an escort. Though it’s funny you should use that word ...”

A naughty smile brightens Margot’s face. “Because?”

“Because the guy across the street might be one,” I say, boasting under my breath.

Margot’s eyes light with mischief. “The neighbor with the nightstick? Details.”

“Well, I met him. Twice, actually. The first time he was, uh, not wearing any clothes.”

Margot’s head cocks just so, and I’m pretty sure her ears perked up. “Did you just say that the first time you met the neighborhood man candy, he was naked?”

“As a jaybird.”

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