Page 31 of Confusing Cade
She recoiled slightly, her back pressing harder against the chair as if it could swallow her whole and spare her the decision. “It’s too nice.”
“No strings attached. I promise.” I kept my hands still, palms open on the table, trying to show her I wasn’t reaching for anything she didn’t want to give.
Her eyes flicked to the phone, lingering there. I could almost hear the gears grinding in her mind, each turn a wrestle between pride and practicality. She didn’t want to owe me or anyone. It was written in the way her lips pursed, the way her fingerstightened around the edge of the table, like she was holding herself together against the pull of my offer.
“Let me do this,” I said, my voice dropping to a near whisper, steady but insistent. “Just let me.”
She dragged her gaze back to mine, and for a long, heavy breath, she held it there. Her jaw tightened, then softened, a flicker of resignation passing through her soulful eyes. “Okay,” she said finally, the word clipped but firm, like she was still half convinced she’d regret it. “Go ahead and call them.”
The Geneva team of RepuMang picked up almost as soon as the call went through. On the other side of the line, a woman with a heavy French accent took down my information, reviewed my account number, and asked several questions about my request. She was professional and no-nonsense, but she made a few comments here and there about FanZone’s infrastructure, which she insisted was too permeable and unstable for a website that had grown so large, so fast.
“We should have this cleaned up in the next sixty minutes,” she said as we wrapped up the phone call. By then, I’d placed her on speaker so Bella would hear the steps the organization would take to erase the leaked photos and personal information.
“I want it done before then,” I insisted.
“We’re working as hard as we can,” she said. “I’ll email you a link to a secure report once we have completed the work.”
“And it will all be wiped?” Bella asked, disbelief coating her words.
“It will be gone.Voilà. Like it never happened.”
She exhaled and sat a little straighter in her chair. “Thank you.” She lifted her head and turned her attention to me. “Thank you.”
I smiled, then looked down at the device again. “Excellent work.”
“Thank you,” the RepuMang customer service associate said from Europe. “We’re here to help, sir.”
The call ended soon after that, and when it did, Bella let out an audible sigh as if she had put down a heavy barbell she’d been carrying for too long.
“You’re amazing,” she told me, and I heard nothing but relief in her words. “Someone like me doesn’t deserve this.”
That stung.She really does have a low opinion of herself. That has to change.“You deserve better than what life has given you.”
She scoffed.
“If you believe you have worth, other people will too,” I added.
The comment hung between us. Finally, she pointed to the small clock hanging over the tiny stove in her galley kitchen. “Wow, it’s late. Almost two.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “Didn’t realize that much time had passed.”
She stood from the table, and I knew our deeper conversation was over. “I’m sure you need to leave, and you probably have a busy day tomorrow.”
“I do.”
I got up too, but not as quickly as she did, still wanting to stay somehow, still unwilling to end my time with her. A lot had changed between us in the last twelve hours, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it all.
“What you did for me tonight was really kind,” she said when we paused at the front door.
“I don’t think anyone has used that word to describe me since I was a kid.”
“Why not?”
“Westons aren’t known for being kind.”
Bella shrugged. “Maybe your family should be.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. It was just something I’d never considered before. But maybe it was time to change that. I was still thinking about it a few moments later when I was back in my Ferrari and on my way home. My father had made a name for himself one way, but that didn’t mean it had to stay that way.
