Page 66 of Stepbrother Dearest

“Why what?”

“Why would you be so nice to us? We weren’t exactly welcoming to you.”

He smiled ruefully. “I always wondered why everyone seemed to hate me. At least now I know why. And I get it. I would have hated me too.”

“So why give us your money?”

“Because it should have been yours all along.”

“And this? Is everyone getting one of these?” I lifted the envelope.

He shook his head.

“Why?”

“Because what happened wasn’t your fault and your asshole bosses did you dirty.”

I squeezed the envelope, feeling the stack of bills inside. “I can’t accept this.”

“That’s their cut.” He held up his hands. “I’d say you deserve it more than them.”

“Biggs should get it then. He’s the new boss.”

“He suggested I give it to you,” Stone explained. “He filled me in on the whole story. I heard some of it from the other dancers, but when Biggs told me the rest—”

I cut him off. “I don’t need charity.”

“It’s not charity. Gray, think about it this way. You’d have medical insurance and sick leave if you weren’t contractors. But because of the way Corey and Ray ran things, you didn’t have those protections and you got hurt at work while defending a customer. That’s owed to you.”

“But…”

“Have a good night.” He smiled and jogged down the steps.

I closed the door slowly, staring at the envelope like it was a bomb.

Carefully, I ripped it open and pulled out a stack of cash. Leaning against the door, I quickly counted the bills.

Holy shit.

Stone just handed me two grand like it was nothing?

I needed to give it back to him, but I couldn’t make my legs move.

This money would give me a cushion in case I couldn’t find another job when the gig with the twins was over.

It wasn’t going to solve my problems long-term, but at least I could stop spending my days freaking out over being homeless or trying to calculate how many calories I needed so I could cut my grocery bill down.

This was a good thing. It wasn’t like I was going to owe Stone back. What he just did wasn’t only selfless, it was fair. It was the right thing to do and somehow, it still made me feel like shit.

11

CALEB

Graham:are you home?

Caleb: why?

Graham: just answer the question

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