Page 146 of Beyond the Cottage

Hefeltit. And instinct told him he wasn’t wrong.

“Is this the senator’s doing?” Ansel demanded. “What did he say to you?”

“He clarified his expectations.”

That fucking priggish asshole.

No matter. Ansel shrugged and pinched the top edge of the draft.

Before he could tear it in half, Gretta’s hand landed on his arm. “Don’t.”

“Why not? As far as I’m concerned, the senator can go fuck himself.”

“Ansel, take the money.”

“And if I don’t want to?”

“You’d be an impractical dimwit. That draft is worth a hell of a lot more than fucking me.”

“I believe that’s for me to decide.”

Eyes closed, she breathed carefully. Her fingers twisted her reticule’s drawstring. “The truth is…” She finally looked at him. “Keeping our relationship professional is a stipulation of his offer.”

He barked a laugh.

“He means it, Anse.”

Oh, Ansel didn’t doubt it. The senator was a priggish, high-handed,meddlingasshole. That didn’t mean his stipulation wasn’t bullshit. Was it even legally enforceable? “That’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard. And why the hell does he give a shit what we do? It’s none of his goddamn business.”

“He’s got it in his head he’s doing what’s best for me. The point is, he doesn’t bluff.”

“I can find another investor.”

“He said he’d blacklist you if we tried.”

Ansel’s palms flexed. He barely stopped himself from returning to the office and smashing the senator into kindling.

Gretta took the draft from him and studied it. He watched her, willing her to tear it up and throw away the pieces herself.

“It’s so much money,” she said. “We could make enough repellent to fill an ocean.” She looked at him again. “Witchcraft would effectively be neutralized. That’s what matters, right?”

A month ago, he would have agreed. Now…

“Is that the only thing that matters to you, Gret?”

“Of course not. But this is what we’ve both spent our lives working for. With this money, we’ll make an actualdifference. No more children lured to cottages, no more eyeballs in jars.”

“I thought we were friends.”

“We are. We still will be. Just…in a more limited capacity.”

A bitter laugh escaped him.

“Ansel, what choice do we have?”

We could hole up someplace with no senators or witches. We could get normal fucking jobs and forget magic spells ever existed.

He was being a selfish prick, of course. Only a villain would put his own desires over the good of thousands. Logically, heknewthe repellent was more important than his love for Gretta, especially since she didn’t feel it the same way he did.

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