Page 57 of Darling Obsession

Ugh. I’m getting dizzy from these circles he spins.

“Why did you buy the bakery, Harlan?” I press.

He glares at me, nostrils flaring. I’m determined to win this standoff, though. I want an answer.

Finally, he blinks. “Because you worked there.”

Oh.My god.

Did he just speak the truth? It stuns me every time he does it. But I swear, I’m starting to be able to tell when he’s not bullshitting.

“You bought it because of me?”

His jaw works for a moment before he answers, “Yes.”

“Why?”

He looks at a loss again, like the computer upstairs just crashed. And he forgot his password.

“I don’t know.”

We stare at each other.

His fingernail picks at the armrest on the door.

“Ummm. You just told me I can’t work there because you and your family now own it. I lost my job because of you. I’d appreciate a little more explanation than ‘I don’t know.’”

His gaze drifts to my mouth. “I felt… compelled.”

I blink at him. “Compelled?”

His eyes narrow with intensity, locked on my face. “Do you have any vices, Quinn? Like… a bad habit that you have a particular inability to resist? A weakness. Say, when you want to do something that you know you shouldn’t? And then… you do it.”

What is he talking about? And what does this have to do with the bakery?

“I mean… I guess so. If you put salted caramel ice cream in front of me, it probably doesn’t matter how full I am. I’m gonna eat it.”

“Yes. That. That indulgence that feels beyond your control. It’s like… a compulsion.”

“So you’re saying… this is your vice? You have a compulsion… to acquire businesses in the blink of an eye?”

He hesitates. “Something like that.”

Why do I get the feeling that he’s the one who’s sugarcoating now? Trying to make the truth behind his words more palatable, for me…?

“But you said you bought it because of me. So, you felt compelled… to own another business whereIwork? Youwantto be my boss?”

He seems to war with something in his head, before finally answering, “Yes.”

I consider this, trying not to freak out. Trying to convince myself that this is not at all alarming.

“But… then your family said you can’t be my boss.”

He’s glowering again.

“You don’t like that they have power over you,” I conclude.

“My family doesn’t control me, Quinn,” he says darkly. “I’m the one in control here.”

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