Page 19 of Beneficial Misfortune

At first, he didn’t want me so far away, but I stuck to my choice. Eventually, he supported it enough that he even paid for my apartment for a few months until I could get a few paychecks. I’d thought he had just opened his eyes and decided to accept it as my dream and help me, but really, I think it had more to do with his wanting to see whoever that girl was.

It shouldn’t sting still, but it does. I might not want Carter or that life anymore, but cheating isn’t necessary. He could have just ended things instead of making me feel as though I was the problem.

“Are you okay?” Nathaniel asks, and I snap out of it.

“Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“Hopefully not about my offer, because you looked disgusted,” he says. I think he might be joking, but it’s hard to tell.

“Oh, no. Sorry, I was thinking about how you're right about life being a risk.”

He nods as if in understanding, and I’m not sure he does, but I’m not going to go into more detail. I don’t want to make him think I’m a lonely girl who ran from her problems, and I definitely don’t want his pity. It might not have been ideal, but I’m happier now, happier than I have been in a long time.

Finally, we reach my floor, and he falls back a step to allow me to lead the way.

“This is me,” I tell him, stopping in front of my door and turning to face him, unsure of what to do. “Thank you for the ride and for walking me up.”

Do I invite him in? He has Addison downstairs in the car with Vincent, and I’m sure he wants to get home after a long day at the office. Not to mention, my apartment is rather boring and plain.

“Think about my offer?” he asks, taking a step closer. I swallow hard, keeping my mouth closed as I feel the need to tell him I will just because he’s looking at me like that.

But this isn’t a small thing. I need to really think about it before I go agreeing just because my heart wants to pound out of my chest when he’s around, and my ovaries cry seeing him with Addison.

“I’m willing to pay you double what you make at the school, and we have nanny housing you would be free to take should you be interested. The number I gave you earlier, the one you messaged about bringing Addison, is my personal number. I didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands at the school, but feel free to call or text me if you have questions or need anything at all.”

He reaches out and pushes a stray strand of hair out of my face. It must have fallen from the clip on my way up the stairs, and it takes all my willpower not to lean into his touch.

“Think about it. I look forward to hearing from you.” With one last smile, he drops his hand and walks back the way we just came. I stare after him until he disappears down the stairs, and then I stare a few minutes longer.

What the hell just happened?

Chapter 7

The weekend flies by, and I spend most of it in a daze.

I get it. Nathaniel’s rich, but he didn’t even ask how much I made before he offered to pay me double what I make now.

I think I may have grossly underestimated the difference in our lifestyles, which only makes me feel more self-conscious. I’d felt out of place at his office, but that was nothing compared to seeing him here.

Ugh, at least I didn’t let him come in and saved myself from that humiliation.

By Sunday night, I crack. Unable to stop my curiosity, I Google him. It feels weird, but simply typing in his name brings up so many results that I’m kind of blown away.

Mr. Lawson was spotted today in a park with his daughter, Addison, seemingly enjoying some time outside of the office. While pictures have surfaced of his young daughter with a woman recently, sources say that she is a nanny versus the mysterious Mrs. Lawson we had all originally believed her to be.

With Addison quickly approaching her sixth birthday, the question still remains: Where is her mother? Is Mr. Lawson officially off the market, or is there more to this story?

Gross.

I click back to the search and try another article.

Nathaniel Lawson owns Lawson’s, a multi-billion-dollar company that he runs alongside his brother, Alexander Lawson. The company's headquarters are in New York, NY. As of 2023, it had an estimated yearly revenue of $1.9 billion and around 400,000 employees.

Holy shit.

I close out of Google before I fall into a rabbit hole. I guess that answers the question of how he could offer that much money.

But even still, I’m no less stuck in my decision.

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