Rumor Mill by Lexy Timms

Author:Lexy Timms
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: billionaire romance, new adult romance, sexy, contemporary romance and sex, hot and steamy, sport romance, hired wife, romantic comedy, fake girlfriend, happily ever after, sweet love story, romance love, romance love triangle, billionaire obsession, melody anne billionaire bachelors series, holiday, holiday romance, romance, romance billionaire series, billionaire, true love, love and life, golf, bilionaire romance, dark romance, saga, women's saga, motorcycle club romance, free kindle romance, workplace romance, BBW, bad boy, Alpha Bad Boy, Alpha male romance, new adult, contemporary romance, cancer, fictio, big beautiful women, women's fiction
Publisher: Dark Shadow Publishing
Published: 2023-01-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Theodora

AS SOON AS BRAD LEFT, I cleaned up the roses and the chocolate. I put the chocolate in the refrigerator and the roses in the sink. I didn’t want to look at them at the moment, and besides, there were other more pressing issues. I really wanted Andrew’s take on the whole settlement deal.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Andrew asked, settling back down now that we were alone again.

“I’m fine,” I assured him. “Please don’t stop.”

“I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” Burke continued.

I glanced at the wine glass I had left on the table. Suddenly, I didn’t feel like drinking anymore. Instead, I wanted to keep busy. So I took the glass to the fridge and placed it next to the mayonnaise. Grabbing a sparkling water, I popped the tab and drank heavily.

There were so many thoughts running through my head, I was having difficulty catching them all. Thoughts of Brad and not wanting to hurt him were paramount. I knew he was just trying to be nice, and it was one of the sweetest gestures anyone had ever given me. Still, it had been exactly the wrong time for a surprise visit.

I needed Burke to tell me that it was okay not to fight Nikki’s lawsuit. But he wasn’t playing ball. I couldn’t seem to explain to either him or Brad that I knew the entire situation was my fault. If I had just taken two seconds to think about what I was doing before I opened my mouth to explain my suspicions, none of this would ever have happened. Just two damned seconds, that’s all it would have taken.

Nikki really did lose her job because of me. That wasn’t something she made up. And this inability to tell the truth was a burden even greater than a million dollar debt would have been. I didn’t want to pretend that I wasn’t responsible. I wanted to own up to my mistake.

I didn’t have to pay Annie back for the painting, but that was because she was forward thinking enough to insure the gallery’s possessions. Nikki had had no such insurance against her lost wages. Maybe a million dollars was too much, but I didn’t want to stand up there in front of a judge and argue that I had nothing to do with it. That didn’t seem fair.

“Can’t you arrange another meeting with her?” I asked, sitting down at the table next to Andrew.

“I don’t think that would do any good,” he replied. “From what you told me about her meeting with Brad and what I witnessed in our meeting on Thursday, she doesn’t want to deal.” He watched me for signs of capitulation, but I wouldn’t provide any.

“The thing is that it isn’t her fault,” I continued.

“The point of a trial is only partly to assign blame,” Andrew explained. “The other half is to decide how much each party is liable for. We don’t want to admit anything—”

“But that’s just the thing,” I argued.

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