Page 46 of The Billionaire and His Driver
“It’s mine now,” Ronny said.
Grisham lost it then. He went to punch Ronny with all the strength he had. But Ronny blocked his punch. “You did it to yourself. Bilking my father and expect no retribution? You did it to your own damn self!”
“You’re serious?” Grisham realized in that moment it was no drill. Ronny meant every word he said.
Grisham pulled out his phone, turned it back on, and was hurrying away, bumping into tables as if he was drunk. If it was true, he knew he was done for. But when he saw the text messages he had missed, and all those doomsday messages, he knew it was true. He fell against the doorjamb at the entrance doors, and then he pushed himself on through.
Ronny sat back down.
“Is that true?” Brina asked him. “You own his company now?”
Ronny didn’t respond. They stared into each other’s eyes. He could see the trepidation in her eyes. “This is who I am also, Sabrina,” he said. “That will never change.”
Brina continued to stare at him. He seemed ashamed of his actions, but not regretful of them. He looked to her like a man who did what he had to do. She didn’t know if that was a good thing, or a horrible thing.
“Eat your vegetables,” he said to her when it seemed like they were at an impasse, and he continued to eat his own food.
Brina didn’t know what to say or do. It seemed so cruel to her, so exacting, but she was certain he didn’t get to be a billionaire by being nice and unassuming. Yet he was so nice to her! That was the part that kept her from running. And her heart kept her there too. She saw the deeper side of Ronny, thevulnerable side, and she had to think on that. But he came with that other side too. How was she going to navigate that?
But one thing was not up for debate: She was in his world now. She had to either get used to it, or get away while she could.
She ate her vegetables.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Three weeks later Elvira and James and all of the housekeeping staff were back to work in full force (except for Gail, who resigned her position and was busy preparing a lawsuit), and all seemed normal again. But it was far from normal for Brina.
She didn’t spend the day cleaning rooms and unloading vans, which would have normally been the case, but she instead, as had been the case for the last three weeks, spent every single day with Ronny. At his office. At his club. She even was his caddy while he played a round of golf with another businessman. And he didn’t introduce her as his caddy. He introduced her as his lady. Always. No matter where they went. She hadn’t been back to her apartment since that attack. Not because she didn’t want to go, but Ronny wouldn’t allow her to go, even just to get more of her clothes, because he knew the memories would flood back and set her back. That was how kind and considerate he was toward her. That was how well he treated her.
And now, as an example of her new life, she and Ronny were having dinner with his brothers at a fancy restaurant in Windale. They were laughing and talking and completely enjoying the evening. She felt carefree and genuinely happy.
She also felt as if she finally found a place where she belonged for the first time in her adulthood. And she was beginning to believe she wasn’t going anywhere. In those three weeks since that scene at his club, Ronny made her feel as ifhewould be lost withouther, which wasa sentiment unheard of before in her life.
“Where does the case stand with the lawyers?” Sully asked both of them.
Brina didn’t know so she looked at Ronny. Ronny ate another morsel of his steak. “They’re still investigating. They want all the pieces in place before they make any final moves.”
“Which means some pieces are still missing?” Sully asked.
Ronny nodded as he chewed. “Yes.”
That was news to Brina. “What pieces?”
“Lawyers and pieces,” said Perry as they all munched down on dinner. “What are you people talking about?”
“Long story,” Sully said.
“In other words,” said Zack, “none of your business.”
“They still haven’t been able to determine who did it,” Ronny responded to Brina’s question. “They know who didn’t do it, but they need to know who did it before they feel ready to proceed legally. They just haven’t found the evidence that pointed to any one person. And that’s what they need. It all has to tie together.”
Brina nodded. She understood that.
But Perry was still on his own kick. “Why does it always end up being you and Sully in the loop,” he asked, “while Zack and I are always out of that loop?”
“Age and wisdom, my dear brother,” said Sully with a smile. “We have it, and you and Zackariah does not.”
Perry was seven years younger than Ronny and six years younger than Sully. But they treated him as if he was some kid. “I’m thirty-seven years old I’ll have you to know. I think I’m beyond puberty by now.”
