Page 78 of Surfer's Paradise

Waiting for her answer.

Waiting for her truth.

She took a slow breath, her fingers curling around the edge of the armrest, grounding herself. No bullshit. No filtering. Just the truth.

“I’m broke,” she admitted.

Greg didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Just sat there, listening.

“I have nothing,” she continued, her voice even. “I am… nothing to no one.”

There. She said it. The thing she never admitted out loud.

Greg’s expression didn’t shift, but something behind his eyes did.

Understanding. A flicker of recognition.

“But I have a vision,” she added, sitting up a little straighter. “I want to help people.”

He tilted his head, intrigued. “What kind of people?”

Rosie swallowed, already knowing the answer.

“Young people,” she said. “Kids in care. Kids aging out of the system. The ones no one thinks about when they turn eighteen. Iwant to give them hope. Hope that there’s a better future waiting for them.”

Greg was quiet for a moment. Then, he nodded.

“That’s good,” he said. “That’s something worth doing.”

She exhaled softly. “And I’d like to be independent. I want to be financially stable. I want to be successful, but not just for the sake of success. To me, success means… all of those things. It means security. It means control over my own life.”

Greg studied her, as if processing every word.

Then, with an unreadable smirk, he asked, “And a family of your own?”

Rosie blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I’m overstepping,” he admitted, not at all apologetic. “But I’m curious. Is that part of the vision, too?”

She hesitated.

Her instinct was to brush it off. To be flippant.

But something about Greg—about the way he looked at her like he expected honesty, nothing less—made her answer.

“Yes,” she said, her voice softer.

Greg’s gaze flickered. Satisfied.

“There’s something for us both to think about, then,” he said, pushing back from his desk. “Why don’t you meet me back here on Friday? Dinner, and we’ll hammer out the details.”

Rosie blinked. “Dinner?”

Greg’s smirk was subtle. “If you can.”

Something about the way he said her name sent a flicker of heat through her.

She nodded, standing, smoothing out her blouse.

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