Page 58 of Bossed By the Orc

“That’s when they started saying that they could just buy the house from the bank since we were having a bit of trouble paying the mortgage,” he said, clearing his throat. I heard the embarrassment in his voice and my throat tightened with tears.

“Because all of our money was going into my treatment,” my mom rushed to assure Dristan, who nodded with understanding.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of,” he said in a low, earnest voice. “Banks have more humane options that they can take for customers in your situation. It’s just that they hardly ever choose to use them.” He shook his head and my parents gave him watery smiles.

I love this orc so much.

I couldn’t stop the thought from popping into my head and I reached out to give his hand a squeeze. His eyes met mine, surprise filling them, but whatever he saw in my expression softened his.

“I don’t even know how they knew our mortgage was in trouble,” Dad continued, oblivious to the moment between us. Dristan released my hand, returning his attention to my parents and that alone stole whatever was left of my heart. They came first. They were my priority, and the fact that he saw that—understood that—and was doing the same, told me that my fate was sealed.

He’s mine.

“There’s no way that they could know that without there being some breach in privacy,” Dristan said, rubbing his thumb over his lower lip in thought—something that he did often when pondering a problem. “How big is your bank?”

“Tiny,” my mother shrugged, giving him a small smile. “There’s only five employees. Including security.”

“Then you know who handles your mortgage?” Dristan asked, his gaze focused, his brow low.

My parents nodded. “Yes, of course. Trevor’s handled our mortgage since we moved into this house when Pen was born. He’s the manager now, but he knows all about it. That’s why we knew something was wrong. He’s our friend,” my mom said, shaking her head in disbelief. “He’d never do this to us unless they were putting pressure on him, too.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, since I figured that these developers had to be greasing the wheels and getting information somehow, but Trevor was a part of our community and seemed like a good enough man.

“Anyone can be bought, I’m sorry to say,” Dristan’s voice carried an apologetic tone, but his expression was getting darker by the moment. “And Pen mentioned something about an eviction notice?”

Becca, who’d been leaning in the doorway connecting the living room to the dining room pointed at the letter in my hand. “That one. We got that yesterday. And it says that Pen and her dad don’t own the house anymore.”

“Which is ridiculous,” I said, scooting closer so Dristan and I could read the letter together. “Since I’ve been making all my payments since I got the promotion.”

My parents nodded, beaming with pride at my words, but I was lost in the letter, my brow furrowed. This was an eviction letter. It stated that the development company had bought the mortgage after it defaulted—which it hadn’t yet—and we were required to vacate within thirty days.

“How many payments did you miss?” Dristan asked, taking the letter from me and giving it a more thorough read through.

“Six months,” I said, biting my lower lip. “But I paid that off with the advance you gave me,” I added, shaking my head.

My mom choked on air and I looked at her, my eyes wide with guilt. “Oh! What I mean is—”

“I’m also her boss,” Dristan said with more nonchalance than I thought the moment deserved. “And I need to see those receipts.”

I nodded, grabbing my phone and opening my banking app. When I turned it to face him, he frowned at the balance, giving me a narrow-eyed look before he scrolled through the payments. I felt the heat in my face, but tried to ignore it. After making the payments for our home, my balance was woefully low.

“Good. Now, did you receive any written notice from your bank?” he asked, handing the phone back to me. I glanced at my parents to confirm, then we all shook our heads together. “Alright. There’s no grounds for a resale then,” he shrugged, pulling out his own phone and tapping away before lowering it. He reached out to take my hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze. “There’s no way they’re taking your house.”

Becca and my mother released happy squeals while my father exhaled a sigh of relief. I grinned, reaching over to press a smacking kiss to his lips.

“I’m sending the plane for my lawyer,” he told my parents. “We’ll have everything sorted right away. It shouldn’t take more than one visit to the bank and I can have everything cleared up. Any deed that this development company is drafting is illegal.” He swiped his thumb over my wrist, eliciting a shiver down my spine. “And we can have the police draft a cease and desist for the harassment.”

My parents were nodding, matching relieved grins on their faces. Becca was doing a little jig in the doorway and I laughed, throwing myself into Dristan’s arms before pulling away in a hurry when the sofa gave an ominous creak. My male stood, sweeping me up in a hug instead.

“This might be the first time I’m meeting you, son,” my father said, beaming over at us, “but I can’t tell you how grateful we are.”

“There’s no need for your gratitude,” Dristan said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m just glad I can help.”

“I want to come back to the fact that you’re her boss,” my mother said, and I felt my face heat. “How long has this been going on?”

“Yes,” Becca drawled, a wide, mischievous smile on her face. “How long has this been going on?”

“She wants to make sure everything here is settled before she commits to me,” Dristan said with a shrug and I turned to gape up at him.

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