Page 10 of The Acquisition

"That's not all I was offering. What can I do?" she asked, letting go of my hands to drink her coffee.

"I don't know. Colter has his lawyer working to get my assets back. I've got the new company, so I'll make money."

"New company?" she asked.

I nodded. "Evie and I are starting a boutique advertising firm. We only have Anderson Global as a client now, but that'll pick up."

"Okay, so you have a job. And you'll let me know if you need an event planner?"

"That's what you studied?" I asked.

This time she nodded. "Yeah, I haven't really gotten a chance to use it, but the knowledge of how the business world operates will help me when I go out on my own."

Realizing what I was doing, she waved her hand to brush off my attempt to change the subject. "Where did you stay last night?"

Looking down at the table, I replied, "I stayed with Colt in his guest room."

When I looked up I saw she was fighting a smirk. I held my hand up to stop the questions I could see she was dying to ask. "Look, I don't want to say anything mean because I know you and Malcolm are close. I know you said you don't care, but I would care if someone bad-mouthed someone I care about, and you obviously care about him."

She seemed like she was going to argue, but her expression revealed she agreed with me.

"I waited outside my apartment building for a long time. I sat down on a bench and after I couldn't think of what to do, I sort of zoned out. I have no idea when it started to rain or how long I sat there, but I was soaked when Malcolm came and found me."

"Yikes, well I can only imagine how seeing someone you dislike as much as him was like rubbing salt in a wound. I still don't understand how you ended up with Colter."

"Well, I couldn't call my parents since my dad is the one that made me homeless. I didn't want to call my pregnant best friend, especially since I was sure she was sleeping soundly by then. Malcolm offered, but that was not an option."

"You could have called me," she said softly.

"I felt weird. For some reason, Colter is the first person who came to mind as an actual possibility."

"You could move in with me though. I understand turning to Colter. He's different than his public image, but that doesn't mean you want to keep living with him."

I ignored her comment and focused on her offer to move in with her. "I don't have any money. At least, not yet." Was this how Evie felt every time I tried to get her to move in with me? Could that mean that Sabrina was as lonely as I had been? For me, my offers to help Evie were also a silent plea to end my loneliness.

"Extra money would be nice, but I don't need it at this exact moment. This month's bills are paid. It's not charity. I know you get sick of living alone too."

"Thank you," I agreed. I wouldn't do the back-and-forth Evie and I did for nearly a year. "My pride tells me to say no, but I can't afford to be proud right now. Not just because I'm broke, but also because I can't stay with Colter."

"I know. You'd kill each other," she agreed.

"That or we'd jump each other."

Her face scrunched up in disgust.

"Don't look at me like that," I admonished. "He's not my brother, and he's hot."

"I threw up in my mouth a little." She pretended to gag. "Good thing you are moving in with me then. I've got to tell Evie I'm her aunt, the last thing she needs is her best friend becoming her stepmom."

I sighed. "We are a seriously messed up group of people. Besides, Colter isn't the marrying kind, so I'd never be her stepmom."

"I've got to actually go to work, but I've got enough time to take you to our apartment and lend you some dry clothes. I'm guessing you still don't have your stuff?" she offered.

"I need to talk to Colter," I replied.

"Well, you'll likely find him at work. He doesn't go in early, but he'll be there by now."

"Yeah, that's a good point. Let's go, because I don't want to chicken out. He seems pretty insistent that I'm going to stay with him and he's going to be my white knight."

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