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where does it end if I do that? Will he buy all my other clients? Will he buy the grocery store where I
shop or the salon where I get my hair done? Where will his sphere of control end? It'll be just like
before when I lived with Andrew, scared to tell anyone how he treated me because I was wholly
dependent on him for survival.
Never again.
"No matter what spin you try to put on this, it comes down to the same thing. You just want to
control me just like Andrew did. And I'm over that."
* * * * *
Driving home, I have to pull over three times because I'm crying so hard. I don't want to have
an accident or endanger anyone else but I really just want to get home. I need my bed and my mom and
to block out everything to do with manipulative men.
But then again I really don't want my mom to see me like this. So I decide instead to return to
my house. Andrew's house, I correct myself. I have to stop thinking of it as my home. It never really
was.
I pull up in the driveway and my eyes are immediately drawn to the white sign taped to the
door. I get out, not bothering to lock up my car, and march across the lawn. My neighbor on the left
side is outside weeding. When she sees me on the warpath toward the front door, she jumps up and
runs inside her house.
That's right. Go call and tell him I'm here.
I snatch the paper off the door and scan the document quickly. It's some kind of notice that says
I have three days to vacate the property for failure to pay rent.
That bastard.
Andrew is pissed so this is how he decides to punish me. By throwing me out with very little
warning. It shouldn't even come as a surprise to me since this is exactly the kind of thing he does.
Underhanded. Juvenile. Manipulative.
My taste in men is consistent at least.
I pull out my phone. "Tara. I'm so sorry to do this but can you come to my house? Andy has put
some kind of eviction notice on the door and I'll need help getting my stuff out."
She promises to bring Daphne with her before she hangs up. Briefly, I realize that even though
promoting three people is probably what's going to bankrupt us, at least it means that the girls and I
have more time to deal with all this crap.
I ball up the paper and open the door with my key. It smells slightly musty after being closed
up for the past few weeks. I flip the deadbolt and then go upstairs to the master bedroom. The
majority of the furniture was stuff that Andrew bought for us so I don't want any of that. I throw most
of my clothes in my suitcase and then zip it closed. I already packed most of my essentials when I
moved into my mom's house so the only things left are my out of season clothes and some of my
books.
I pack my favorite paperbacks into a duffel bag and then wrestle both the duffel and the
suitcase down the stairs. I hear a car in the driveway and look out the window. Andy steps out of his
white SUV. When he sees me in the window, he waves with a little smirk on his face.
I rush over to the front door and pull it open. I quickly flip the lock on the glass storm door
and then close the front door again. He has a key to the main door but I'm willing to bet he doesn't
have one for the storm door. I'm not even sure if I have it.
A muffled curse from the other side of the door proves me right. "Rissa! Open the damn door."
"Go away Andrew or I'm calling the police!"
"You can't lock me out, this is my house!"
I hear him fumbling with the latch again and then I hear a muffled thud.
"Son of a bitch!"
I look out of the peephole but I can't see anything. Then I hear Tara's voice.
"Hello, 911. Yes, Andrew Carrington is harassing my friend at her home. Yes, right now. You
know I'm not sure if he's armed or not. It's probably better to assume he is. Maybe you should send a
SWAT team and tell the local news to come too."
I run to the window just in time to see Andy jump behind the wheel of his SUV and reverse
out of the driveway. Tara runs behind him and then throws something at the back of the car. It
connects with the back bumper and Andrew swerves slightly.
Good one, Tara.
I run back to the front door and pull it open. Daphne looks terrified and launches herself into
my arms. "Rissa! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, thanks to you guys. I'm so glad you're here." I hug her back, then start laughing when
I see the muddy rock on the front step.
"Did you throw that at him?" I ask Tara when she approaches.
She sniffs. "Damn right I did. And I'm bummed that my aim is so bad. I thought for sure I'd nail
him in the face with that one."
"Did you actually call the cops?" Daphne looks impressed.
Tara makes a face. "No, I actually didn't have time to dial anything. I just wanted to scare him
off. He's such an asshole." She looks down at her phone and then hits a few keys.
"Who are you calling now?" Daphne asks.
"No one." Tara pockets her phone but she won't meet my eyes.
She looks behind me to the suitcase and duffel I dropped in the middle of the entryway.
"Come on let's box up your stuff and get it over to your Mom's house before that jerk comes back. I
don't feel like going to jail today."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
FINN
As evening descends, I sit staring at my phone. I've been on calls all morning, trying to figure
out what I should do.
How could I have screwed this up so badly?
Patrick Stevens had several suggestions and I've considered everything from selling the
company to outright gifting it to Marissa.
But in the end, I know it actually won't make any difference. Even if I could convince the
Mercers to buy it back, the damage is already done. Rissa has seen just how far I'll go when I want
something and how ruthless I can be when I consider someone an enemy.
It wasn't about the company it was about the reason why I'd purchased it in the first place.
My plan didn't seem to have any downsides in the beginning. My image of Rissa was of a
beautiful materialistic liar, a girl who left me when I needed her the most. But after just a few days
with her, I knew even then that I was wrong.
Worse, I wasn't the only one who'd felt betrayed. The things that I'd done and said had
contributed to our relationship falling apart just as much as her decision to choose someone else.
Maybe if I hadn't been deployed part of the time I could have seen the cracks in our relationship
before it was too late. But I was so caught up in my jealousy and anger that all I could see was that
she'd left me. And I'd felt completely justified in devising my plan to punish her.
I would have never thought we'd end up as friends again and definitely not lovers.
All at once, I become aware of the time. I've been sitting in this room all day. I've missed my
usual visit with my mother. If I leave now, I can get over there before it gets too late. She goes to bed
earlier now and sleeps longer.
I pull out my phone to call Jonah and then put it away. I grab the keys I keep on the kitchen
counter and ride the elevator down to the parking level. Then I climb up into the old Ford pickup that
I've had for ages.
When I get to my mom's house, Tank's motorcycle is in the drive and lights are on all over the
house. Part of me wants to turn around and go back home but I park in the drive next to my brother's
bike and get out. It's time I stopped hiding from the people who love me and let them help me.
I open the door with my key. Emma looks up from the couch. "Finn! You actually came this
time?"
My face must show that I have no idea what she's talking about because she gets up. "Tank
told me he's invited you to dinner with us a few times but you're always too busy."
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