Page 16 of The Billionaire's Buy-In

“First, no one is going to kick anyone’s ass. Second, you didn’t see shit.”

“Wow, I was pretty proud of myself for cracking the case. Now you tell me I can’t say anything?” He puts his hand to his chest, affronted.

“I’ll tell him when I feel like he needs to know. Again, not a thing.”

“Damn, you’re a spoil-sport,” he pouts. “You really know how to suck the joy out of life because I think watching Ty lose his shit on you would be hilarious.”

Rolling my eyes at his theatrics, I walk around the desk, ready to leave, hoping I can still catch Abbie in bed. I already miss her, and it’s only been a couple of hours.

“Ok,” he says, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’ll leave it alone, but fair warning, shit may blow up when he finds out. Better you tell him first.”

“I can handle it,” I assure him.

“Whatever you say.” He looks as if he doesn’t believe that for a minute. “With the case solved, I’m out. I’m headed back to the coast to fish and fuck.”

Impatient, I nod, because the sooner he’s out of here, the sooner I can see my firecracker.

As he’s walking out the door, he adds, “For the record, I was super impressed with the caveman stunt. Hot as hell.”

Then, I hear her.

We both can hear her before we see her. This can’t be good.

“Miss, you can’t go back there!” My assistant is yelling at her. At least she’s trying to stop her. She’s never told Ash he couldn’t come back to my office.

“Try to stop me, I fucking dare you,” Abbie shouts down the corridor.

Cringing, I make eye contact with Ash. He’s wide-eyed, waiting for whatever shitstorm is about to blow through my office.

Storm is the right word, because she comes in like a little fiery tornado, stopping in front of me. Toe to toe, head tilted up, and fire shooting from her eyes.

“You cheating motherfucker!” She holds up the gold coin triumphantly, brandishing it in front of my face. I sigh, because she knows.

We continue to stare at each other. I remain silent, which I’m sure doesn’t help. Silence equals acceptance.

“Umm, okay. So, I’m just gonna head out now,” Ash says as he tries to ease out of the room. You can cut the tension with a knife. Hell, I don’t want to stay either.

“You kids don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Nice to see you, Abbie.” She doesn’t respond as the coward slinks out.

She’s laser focused on me. Neither of us breaks eye contact. Finally, she looks contemptuously at the coin in her hand, then raises her arm, throwing it as hard as she can at my chest. It bounces off, landing the floor at our feet.

“I trusted you. Believed you! And I actually honored my end of our bet. The bet wasn't even real because youcheated!” She’s back to shouting again, shoving her finger in my sternum repeatedly for emphasis.

I reach for her hand, and she steps back as if disgusted by my touch. I know that’s not true.

Fuck, this can’t be happening. Frustrated, I run my hands through my hair and stare at the ceiling. I can feel myself losing control. Something I never do.

“Don’t you dare touch me! I can’t believe I had sex with you.” The tears well in her eyes. I can’t bear to see Abbie cry. “You were my first, Chord. I actually trusted you.”

Something in my chest cracks with those words. I broke her trust. She’s always so strong. Did I break her? God, please say I didn't break her.

Stepping forward, I place both of my hands on each side of her face, leaning down to press my lips to hers. She doesn’t immediately pull away. That’s a good sign, right?

I pull her fully into my arms, resting my chin on the top of her head while brushing soothing strokes down her back. She’s crying big tears and wiping both her tears and her nose on my suit. I don’t care if I have snot on my custom suit, I’m just relieved she’s letting me hold her, touch her.

“Abbie,” I finally choke out because I’m struggling to find the words. There is no excuse for what I’ve done. The lengths I’ve gone to for her. “I’m so sorry, firecracker. I never meant to hurt you. Please believe me when I say everything I’ve done was because I wanted you. I wanted you to be mine so damn bad.”

Backing away, I run my hands down her arms, leaning down to be on eye level with her, and I see raw hurt glittering in their depths.

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