Page 13 of The Protégé

Uncle Carlos smiled, got up from his chair, and walked over to me. “Elena.” He took my hand in his as though he adored me.

My hand felt icky from his touch, and I needed a hand sanitizer once I got back into my car.

I reached into my purse, pulled out the check, and gave it to him. “This will cover the next three months. I won’t be late.”

Nodding, he looked at the check and arched an eyebrow. “You won the lottery?”

“Thanks to you, I’ve been working a lot.” I pasted a fake smile on my face.

Uncle Carlos smirked. “That mouth of yours could get you in trouble.”

I’m already in financial trouble.

I wanted to say so much more, but I heard the threat in his sentence.

“Who’s this, Carlos?” Burly Man asked.

“Sam, this is Elena, my niece.”

Sam’s stare made me feel like a snake had slithered down my back.

“Thank you for the payment. I’ll send the invoice with the updated balance to your email. You’re doing a great job.”

“I know my balance. See you later.”

When the door closed behind me, I blew out a breath. But I didn’t breathe normally until I got into my car. I wished I could’ve just paid for everything online so I didn’t have to come here. But he had insisted on a check payment handed to him.

Then I headed to my part-time job waitressing at Let’s Ketchup restaurant, a fusion restaurant that made the best fries I’d ever eaten. The owner, Mario, knew my mom, but I asked him not to tell her I was working there. It was just two days a week, but the tip money had helped me in the past few months.

I was a battery going into overdrive. Hopefully I’d bring home great tips tonight.

CHAPTER FIVE

ORION

“You got it,”said Sebastian, my mechanic and longtime friend. I didn’t trust anyone but him and his team to work on my cars. He only worked for me and traveled to wherever I needed him. He got paid well for keeping my collectibles top-notch.

“I’ll be taking the black SUV for now.”

“How did you get these dents?” He studied the damage to my Bugatti.

“I parked on the street instead of in the garage because I was running late for a conference.”

“Did you find out who did it?”

I didn’t know why, but a strange protectiveness rose in me. I didn’t want him slandering Elena.

I nodded. “It’s resolved.”

“Who the fuck would dent this masterpiece?” He patted the car, talking to it like it was his pet. “You didn’t know what hit you, huh?”

Though the question wasn’t directed at me, I answered it in my head.No.I didn’t know how strong the force was until Icouldn’t remove her from my mind. Elena figuratively slammed into me today, unsettling me.

Though I considered Sebastian a good friend, I didn’t want to rope him into my business.

But you just yanked Elena Sanchez into your business, my inner voice sounded, and I shoved it away. She knew the area, and that was an advantage I needed.

Liar.

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