Page 90 of Claiming Atlas

My eyes widen, and my heart stutters in my chest. “You got them to change their minds?”

He laughs, “Hell no. Those guys are dicks.”

I frown. Oh.

“But I can do you one better.” He holds the envelope out to me, but I hesitate, looking up into those dark eyes I love so much. When I don’t take the letter, he gives it a shake. “Go on. You’re really making this difficult.”

Biting my lip, I grab the envelope and pull the letter out. A check falls to the ground, but Atlas bends to pick it up while I read the letter.

From Microsoft.

I swallow hard.

When he stands, I look up at him again, searching his gaze. “There has to be a catch.”

He laughs. “No catch.” He steps toward me and now I’m hyper aware of that remain one foot of space between us. “Do you know how much these guys invest in education?” He shakes his head. “It’s nuts. I went into the wrong business.”

I laugh, and he smiles.

“It’s nice to see you laugh again.” He holds out the check and I look at the amount. It’s double what I lost from that other investment company.

I look up into his eyes. “Atlas, that’s...”

“Double. I know.” He closes the space between us and wraps his arms around my waist. “Should I tell them you don’t want their pity money?”

I bark out a laugh, then cover my mouth.

He shakes his head. “Congratulations, Kayla. OperationLearn and Loveis back on.”

My chest shakes when I try to take a breath, and my eyes are so wet I can barely see him as he brings his mouth to mine, but when he kisses me, everything that broke falls back into place, like he’s the glue that holds my heart together.

When he pulls back, he wipes tears from my cheek. “Is it crazy if I tell you I’m in love with you?”

I laugh, and it’s that awful sound again. “Yes.”

He laughs too, then nods. “Then call me crazy.” He looks at the door behind me, then back into my eyes. “You know, this might be crazy too, but I’ve been thinking about being inside you forweeksnow. Can we go somewhere and get back to what we started in Vegas?”

I smile and nod. “Say please.”

He growls. “Fuckplease.”

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