Page 35 of Brazen Mistakes

“Then I’ll walk you.”

I squint up at him. “Is this because of Bryce? Or because you want to tell me what I signed up for?”

“Both.”

Not able to argue against that, I shove my feet in my boots, my shoes already in my purse, and call goodbye to Walker and Jansen. Hopefully RJ will be back after my shift—I still haven’t given him his welcome back kiss.

Yawning, I lead us down the sidewalk. Walker and Jansen insisted we stay upstairs in Walker’s room last night for our privacy, and it turns out that it’s impossible to sleep three in a double bed.

We tried anyway. I got a Jansen chest as a pillow and a Walker body as a mattress. I didn’t sleep much, but it was better than when everyone was gone for Christmas.

“So?” I prompt as we trudge through the beaten and blackened snow.

Trips jams his hands into his coat. “So. The company covers your room and board. No rent, and food stipends will be applied to your bank account weekly. It’s generous, so while it’s only legal for it to cover working meals Monday through Friday, it’ll cover your grocery bills easily. We’re setting up a scholarship to cover the rest of your tuition. It’ll be ready before the bursar’s office invoices you. And student loan repayment is a perk of employment.”

I stop in the middle of the sidewalk. “Basically, you’re paying for everything in my life. No questions asked.”

“We’re all working under the same deal.”

I know I must look like a goldfish in a cup, but I can’t seem to process what Trips is saying.

“There’s also reimbursement for work clothes. So if you want to get some new stuff, you can.”

“I…Trips…this is too much. I haven’t signed anything, I’m not official. This, this doesn’t make sense.”

He takes my arm and forces me to cross the street when the light changes. “If you decide you’re out, we lose the investment in you, but honestly, if we can get one more big job like Chicago before we graduate, you will have more than covered your costs.”

“Just how much did we get paid for the Rubens?”

“A shit ton. Enough to make your loans look like peanuts. My brother must have really wanted to impress his little fiancée.”

“Shit.”

“Good shit, though.”

A strangled laugh escapes me. “No rent? No grocery bills? No student loans?”

“Nope.”

My heart threatens to beat out of my throat and take flight. I’m flinging myself at Trips before I even think about it, and luckily, he catches me, my arms around his neck squeezing tight. “God. This is amazing. Trips, do you know how amazing this is?”

His big arms band around my waist, just tight enough to keep me off the ground, but loose enough that it’s not intimate. And I wish he were holding me tighter, pressing me close, our lips meeting so I could show him exactly how big of a deal this is.

But I’m not going to push anything. He knows I want more than what we have right now. And he’s the one who keepsturning me down. Even after finger fucking me in a business school study room.

The distance aches, so I let go, sliding down his front and back onto the icy sidewalk. I look up at him, not having a planned script to recover from my spontaneous affection. “Thank you.”

He shrugs, then tugs us down the walkway. “It’s nothing. One more job and we’re set for a while, whether or not you stay.”

Ouch.

But legit.

The FBI’s email flashes through my mind. It’s everything I thought I wanted. A clear path to my future.

Getting a job at the FBI, attending law school at night as I rise through the ranks. Eventually all that work leading to a position heading up the white-collar crime division in a big city, someplace like Boston, Seattle, or New York.

We make it to the coffee shop while I’m still lost in my thoughts. “I don’t have to work anymore, do I?”

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