Page 46 of Hacker Identified

Willy glared over at Tarzan. "Dude, you told me you saw the plans, and the tree was going to be demolished."

Tim shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I was wrong."

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Ross." I exclaimed.

The man's lip twitched. "Technically, it's not my problem anymore. Some asshole made me sell the land."

"To whom?" I demanded.

"Another developer. This is all his problem now." Alex smirked.

The cuff next to me dropped to the ground, and Zack rose. "Except I don't plan to develop the land, asshole. Now give me the documents to sign and be on your way."

I blinked as Zack followed Alex over to the SUV and tried to replay the entire conversation in my head.

Nicole elbowed my side. "Did Zack just buy the land?"

The same question was rolling around in my head, but that sounded extreme. "I don't know why he would do that."

"Oh, because he has it bad for you," Kat said. "I would love to stay longer, but I need to go over my game plan to take over the PTA."

Kat and Sophie disappeared into the tall grass while Willy and Nicole packed up. Ignoring them, Tim strode over to me. "He's bad news."

"Who?" I asked.

"Zack." Tim scowled in Zack's direction. "He'll have another woman in his bed while you are away. I understand powerful men like him. You'll never be enough."

His words echoed how I already felt inside. Before I could counter his words, Tim gathered his things, and I was alone by the tree.

Zack and Alex shook hands and hugged before Alex jumped back in the SUV. I was alone with Zack in the marsh under the tree.

He jogged back toward me and stopped only a foot away. "Why?"

"To see you smile, to ensure the tree was preserved."

I rested my hand on my hip. "You can't spend thousands of dollars just to save a tree. Especially when what we have will be over in four months."

He snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me against his body. "First, it was a few million, and secondly, I thought we agreed to see where this would go."

I stare into his gray eyes. "Millions? How the hell can I ever repay you for this?"

His right hand gently rubbed against the lower part of my back. "I have one idea."

I try to step back to get some distance, but he tightened his grip. "When I'm this close to you, I have a hard time thinking."

"Because you want to kiss me?"

I nodded. "I do, but this is all pretend."

"Or?" he cocked a brow. "We do this for real."

I searched his eyes for some sign he was lying. "We live in two separate worlds. You just spent millions, so you didn't have to protest a tree."

He rubbed his thumb across my lips. "I would've sat with you for days, but knowing this will be preserved after I couldn't save the last area for you."

A flash of bulldozers on my father's property rushed through my mind. I didn't hold Zack responsible for what my father or his assistant did. "That's not your fault, but how could I ever repay you for all this?"

"No repayment is needed, but I would love to kiss you under this old tree."

---