Page 2 of Monster Among the Roses (Fairy Tale Quartet 1)

But here he stood, a normal mortal with a slight paunch to the gut and thinning hair on top, and…and he smiled at me as if he were genuinely pleased to meet me.

Flustered, I didn’t know what to say. What to do.

“She…uh…she’s…” Quickly, I reached out to shake with him. His skin was warm, dry—human—and his grip was sincere. “She’s not well,” I blurted.

Damn, I’d hoped to work into that topic subtly.

“Oh?” Mr. Nash tipped his head to the side, concern marring his eyebrows.

“Yeah, she…” I ripped my hat off and began to fidget with it again.

“Here.” Mr. Nash stretched out a hand, inviting me further into the office. “Let’s sit and discuss it. Miss Givens…” He nodded to the secretary, and she left the room, shutting me inside the grandiose office alone…with the one man who could destroy my mother.

Palms sweating, I wiped them on my thighs and followed him to a chair placed in front of his desk. Instead of moving back around behind the table, he sat in the other seat next to mine. It didn’t put me at ease, as I think was his intent; I only felt closer to the chopping block now.

“Tell me about Margaret.”

At the mention of Mom’s name, I blew out a long, steadying breath. I was here for her, here to beg and accept anything Henry Nash wanted of me. For my mother, I could do this.

“Well,” I started slowly, swiping my tongue over dry lips. “As you know, she fell and broke her hip about three months ago.”

“Did she?” Mr. Nash lifted his eyebrows, the soul of ignorance and surprise, maybe even worry.

His shock confused me. “Yeah…” I said slowly, trying to discern if he was lying and really knew or if he honestly hadn’t a clue. “Didn’t she mention it when she asked for the loan extension?”

The older man opened his mouth, only to shut it. He seemed to deliberate something before speaking again. “I’m sorry, but your mother never asked me for a loan extension.”

I stared at him.

What? Of course, Mom had asked. She’d told me she’d been denied. She’d told me…what the hell had she told me? My brain sputtered, trying to remember her exact words.

I was sure she’d gone to Nash Corporation and asked for some leniency. She’d sworn that she’d tried everything. Wouldn’t everything logically include asking for a loan extension? That was why I was here. If Henry Nash wouldn’t listen to my poor, broken mother, maybe I could get him to listen to me, maybe I’d have more to bargain with than she’d had.

But if Mom hadn’t even talked to him—

I shook my head, denying the possibility. Of course, she’d asked for an extension. Anyone in her position would. “Maybe she asked one of your people and it just never got back to you,” I allowed.

Except the man before me squinted in doubt. “All requests for loan extensions are passed through me, Mr. Hollander. I make those final decisions.”

My shoulders collapsed. Well, this changed things. This…

I needed to regroup and figure out what to do.

Except no, honestly, it didn’t change much at all…maybe just the way I viewed the man before me.

Mr. Nash cleared his throat discreetly. “If I may, I know your mother’s been behind on her payments. Very behind. And I am aware the people who come to me for a loan usually do so after they’ve been declined help from the bank. Lending your mother money to start her bakery was a risk. I was aware of this from the beginning and made my own allowances to prepare for any worst-case scenario. So, if Margaret has fallen on hard times and needs some leeway, I’m perfectly willing to—”

“You don’t understand,” I blurted harshly, causing Mr. Nash to pull back and blink at me. Running my hands over my face, I clenched my teeth and tried to quell the rising panic. After taking a moment to calm myself, I quie

tly confessed, “It’s worse than that. We had to close the bakery.” And we were about to be evicted from our apartment if we didn’t pay our back rent, and the medical bills kept coming, and the utilities never stopped, and—

And it was enough to make me feel as if I couldn’t breathe every time I thought about it.

“It’s gone way past needing an extension.” I hated to expose this. I felt like a failure every time I thought it. Saying it aloud, to Henry Nash, might possibly be the most humiliating moment of my life. “At the state we’re in, I don’t see how we could ever pay you back.”

“Oh.” Mr. Nash calmly clasped his hands together as he studied me. His intent gaze seemed to bore through my skull as if he were searching for all my innermost thoughts. Then he murmured, “You looked like a man on a mission when you came into my office, Mr. Hollander. It makes me think you have an idea about how you want to resolve this problem.”

I gave a slight nod. “I do.”

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