Page 46 of Baby for My Enemy Billionaire

“What did you and your friend do before I got here?” Finn asks, gesturing towards the table. “Looks like you’re studying something intensely.”

“You could say that.” I sip at my coffee, trying not to burn my lips but needing to do something other than drool over him. “We were trying to get the books in order. I’ve got to go and see my landlord in a few days. Well, demand to see the landlord would be a better way to describe it.”

“Oh?” Finn raises his eyebrows. “You’re going to discuss your rent or something?”

“You could say that. I have to confront the man when the rent is raised to a market price way above what I can afford. He shouldn’t have done it without warning me about it first, for a start.” I scowl. “I can’t believe he would do that without making me aware. I thought tenants were supposed to be told in advance. That has to be illegal.”

Finn shrugs.

“I guess it’s not. Sometimes, landlords don’t need to warn their tenants.”

“Or they should, and they don’t care because all they care about is making money,” I respond bitterly. I glare at the offending account books. “My old landlord kept it at something affordable, and he always made me aware of what he was doing if it involved me. Because of him, I’ve had a good business and a roof over my head. Now that’s all being taken away from me.”

Finn clears his throat and gulps down his coffee. That catches my attention. Why is he uncomfortable with what I just said? What just happened?

“You might be able to get a saving grace for this month, given how far into it you are,” he says with a croak, which he coughs away as he shifts forward on the couch. “But what about the rest of it? You think he’ll actually lower the rent?”

“If I convince him of my business plan and that I’ve always gotten things done on time.” I gesture at the books as I sag onto a chair. “But with the way I’ve seen my books adding up, I’m beginning to think that he won’t be convinced that I’ve got a business worth saving. Not unless I can figure out how to get more zeroes onto the end of it.”

“Maybe you could do more gimmicks to get people in?”

“And what do you mean my gimmicks?”

Finn winces.

“Sorry, bad choice of words. I mean, maybe you can think of something that will be able to bring more money. Something you do every week, like a book club? Or knitting club? Arts and crafts? Or something else book-related, perhaps.”

I can see where he’s going with this, but I’m already shaking my head before he’s finished.

“I actually did a knitting club and a craft evening a few years ago, but the numbers were quite low. I gave up after about three months.”

“There’s no harm in trying again. You are a bit off the path, so to speak, so you need something to make you stand out and bring people in.” Finn holds up his hands. “That’s just my opinion. You don’t need me to tell you what to do.”

I watch him curiously as he fiddles with his half-full mug. His demeanor has changed slightly since we started discussing my business woes. Was this a sore point of conversation for him?

“I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable. This isn’t something you needed to hear right now…”

“Don’t apologize. You’re not the only one who’s gotten stuck. I understand why you feel like you’re at the bottom of the hole and can’t get yourself, but it will get better.”

“How?” I demand. “How will it get better when I don’t know what will happen with my future? I’m so close to losing everything that I love because some rich bastard decided that he wanted to bring in more money. To hell with what I want, right?”

“That’s not…”

“Have you been in a position where you’ve been struggling for money? Did you end up being so close to becoming broke that all you can think about is how you’ll get money to pay for bills? Have you lost sleep over it?”

Finn’s jaw tightened, his expression stiffening.

“I’ve never been in that position,” he said quietly. “But I have lost something I love so suddenly. Or, rather, someone.”

That is when I remember. He is talking about Katie’s mom. Now I feel horrible having ranted at him about losing something when Finn lost the woman he loved.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t…”

“It’s fine. I know where you’re coming from.” Even then, Finn doesn’t look convincing. “I’ve made my peace with her death. Of course, it still hurts, but I’ve made my peace. No amount of mourning and wishing she was here is going to bring her back.”

“Not in real life, anyway,” I murmur.

He glances up at me, and I see a flicker of understanding. He does know where I’m coming from, and I feel bad for snapping at him.

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