Page 19 of My Grumpy Billionaire Protector

I reach inside the pocket of my jacket and pull out an envelope. “How’s this?”

Larry snatches the envelope out of my hands and rips it open. After counting the money, he gives me a smile full of yellow teeth and rancid breath. “What do you want to know?”

“Tell us everything about Governor Coombes’ daughter’s schedule.”

Larry lets out a low whistle. “Man, you guys don’t mess around. Go big or go home, huh?”

I give him a blank look.

Larry throws his hands up in the air as his smile grows wider. “I’m not going to judge. Not as long as I get paid. Okay, here’s what you need to know.”

He finishes telling us the information as Pierce records everything on his phone when we are interrupted by a call. I press the phone to my ear and bark out something. Then I grip the edge of my seat, mutter something under my breath, and end the call. Cory takes one look at my face and pulls the car over, earning a few honks and shouts of protest.

“We’ll be in touch again if we need to,” I tell Larry without looking up at him.

The door slams shut behind him, and Cory grips the steering wheel harder.

“One of our warehouses is on fire. The one near the compound. We need to get there fast.”

EVIE

“Okay, I know your mom is overbearing and controlling, but I can still compliment her place, right?”

I sigh and gather my hair up into a bun at the nape of my neck, glancing at TJ and Sienna. “She does have great taste.”

“Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to live here,” TJ says from his seat across the couch. He stretches his legs out ahead of him, and his silver-gray eyes dance all over the room before they switch back to me. “No offense, but it beats the dump you live in.”

I grimace. “Offense taken. I know it’s a dump, but at least it’s my dump, and it’s all I can afford on a teacher’s salary.”

TJ frowns and sits up straighter. “E, I know you want to be independent, and I think that’s great, but don’t you think you’re taking it a little too far?”

“Says the guy who still lives with his parents,” Sienna replies before smacking the back of his head. “Don’t be an asshole. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be independent.”

TJ scowls and rubs the back of his neck. “I didn’t say there was, and I don’t live with my parents. I’ve got my own apartment.”

“Connected to their mansion,” Sienna points out with a shake of her head. “Besides, you’ve got someone who comes in every day to clean, do your laundry, and make your food.”

TJ shrugs. “So? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

Sienna drops onto the armchair on my left and lifts her almond-shaped eyes up to the ceiling. “God give me strength.”

“And understanding,” TJ adds under his breath.

Sienna lets her head fall forward and pins him with a dirty look. “I heard that.”

“I don’t care.” TJ stretches his arms up over his head and flicks his dark hair out of his eyes. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with enjoying well-earned money, and if your family wants to help you, you should let them.”

I tuck my legs under me and glance around the living room. My eyes move from the large TV over the fireplace to the expensive Persian carpet underneath our feet. I look back over at TJ who has his legs stretched out ahead of him on the brown leather couch, looking refined in his dark jeans and button-down shirt. He only needs a cigar and a glass of whiskey to complete the look.

Of course, he looks like he belongs.

I, on the other hand, look like I've been dragged in off the street in my old sweatpants with paint stains and a hoodie that has seen better days. Slowly, I glance down at what I am wearing before I blow out a breath and lace my fingers together. Living with my mom wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, especially not with my own suite already prepared for me and a woman who came in to cook and clean six times a day.

However, I’ve already lived that life, and while I couldn’t deny how comfortable and easy it had been, it didn’t fit me. My entire childhood and well into my teenage years, it was like I was trying to put myself into a puzzle when I knew I wasn’t the missing piece. And now that I can finally see this place for what it really is, I can’t go back. Even if it means clothes from the clearance section, instant ramen at the end of the month, and living on a tight budget. It isn’t glamorous, but at least it ismylife.

It is a decision I made seven years ago. Even though it hasn’t always been easy, particularly when I feel old habits beckoning me like a siren song, I know it is going to be worth it.

They could keep their gilded cage and its gold-plated chains.

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