Page 15 of Provoke You

5

I Failed Your Test

Ela

“You can’t keep me here.” Technically, he could. Technically, I wanted to stay like this with him. Any other day, I would beg him not to let me go, but the Baroness needed me. He released a breath into my hair that warmed me to my core, and I relaxed against him. Did he surrender, or did I?

“It’s only thirty days, Ela.” He gripped my arms and propped me up.

As if I were a rag doll, my feet dangled in the air for a beat before I found my footing. Acid settled at the pit of my stomach. Matt, just like Dad, didn’t understand what the Baroness meant to me. When I turned around to face him, he stepped closer to block the pathway ahead of me and my only way out of the courtyard.

The afternoon sun shimmered over the pool water as a warm breeze rustled through the tree lining the edge of the property. Something like a mini panic attack settled in the hollow space in my chest.

“It’s more than just thirty days away from home. I wish you could see that. Dad is wrong in this case. He doesn’t understand. He doesn’t want to. Like he’s doing it on purpose to hurt me.” I stomped back to the house with Matt close behind me. I blew my only chance to get away from him, but I couldn’t stop trying. Either I had to come up with a better plan to escape, or I had to convince him that Dad was making a huge mistake.

“Your dad is a smart businessman. I’m sure he’s considered all the angles, and the risk is minimal. I don’t think he has anything to lose here.” Matt closed the door behind him and sat in the living area again. The calm tone in his voice made me want to punch his gorgeous face.

“It’s not about the money. I’m sure he’ll get his millions to add them to the pile. But he’s giving away a piece of our family history. He’s giving away my hotel. That’s where he’s wrong. This hotel isn’t his.”

He stood, bracing both hands on his hips. I finally had his attention. “If this property was yours, you’d have a deed with your name on it. Do you?”

He was right in that. I didn’t have a deed. That would require me to take over the entire LeBlanc estate, and I didn’t want that. Dad would hate me for sure if I took all this away from him. I couldn’t take over the management of it all, but I wasn’t ready to let the Baroness go either.

“There is one way to stop Dad. I need your help to find Grans’s lawyer.”

“No, I’m here to escort you and keep you safe. I can’t get involved in this. I won’t—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You won’t lose this job over me.”

“Good. Looks like I’m finally getting through to you. How about you finish packing? We have an early day tomorrow.”

I trudged to my bedside table and took out my vibrator. When he raised both eyebrows at me, I said, “What? Thirty days is a long-ass time. I’m not a saint.”

That got a chuckle out of him. “I never you said were.”

I fisted my hands and turned toward my bed and the pile of clothes that still needed packing. With an oversize suitcase in front of me, I folded a few outfits to fit into a smaller getaway bag. The marine had to sleep or take a piss sometime, though making a run for it was now plan B.

Plan A was to find Grans’s lawyer, Old Ben. According to Grans’s will, when I turned twenty-five, I would become the sole heir to the LeBlanc fortune. That would be in less than a month. All I had to do was find Old Ben and get him to push the paperwork through before the deal was finalized. Dad would have to understand. He pushed me to do something I didn’t want.

Easier said than done. I had no idea how to get ahold of Old Ben. I had no access to Dad’s office, and I had no ride. Jennifer was my friend, but she also worked for Dad. She would be no better than Matt. Even if she could help me, why would she risk her job and her livelihood for someone who, up until this morning, hadn’t cared enough about the family business to ask where our lawyer was.

I peeked at Matt over my shoulder before I made my way to the dining table to grab my phone.

“No postings,” he said from the sofa.

I rolled my eyes at him and immediately regretted it. This was why he couldn’t take me seriously. Jesus, when did I become such a brat? “Insta-verse, please help! I’m being held captive by a grouch of a marine…”

Matt jerked to his feet and in two beats was next to me. I showed him my screen so he could see I wasn’t even on Insta. “You should see your face.”

“It’s not funny.”

“Okay, no, it wasn’t. I couldn’t help it.” I laughed.

“Do I need to take away your phone?”

“Please don’t. I need it to find a person.”

“Why?”

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