Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45202 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
“Ah, ah, none of that. You have nothing to be sorry for. Don’t you worry about me. I’m going to be just fine.”
I open my mouth just as the doorbell rings. My heart starts to race, thinking that it’s Dom. I swing the door open, and the smile drops off my face. Ray is standing in front of me, and he looks mad.
I straighten my back. “What are you doing here? I told you that anything you had to say to me needed to go through my attorney.”
He rolls his eyes. “I think we’re adult enough we can work this out between the two of us.”
I shouldn’t let him in. I know I shouldn’t, but I also want this to be over. I don’t care about the money anymore but I need to get my name off of everything. “Fine. Come in.”
I stand back to let him in. He sees my mom and turns on that fake smile of his. “Ms. Raven, what a pleasure to see you again.”
She looks at me. “What is he doing here, Luciana?”
I see the worry in her face. “Mom, it’s okay. Can you give us a second? We’re going to discuss some business.”
She looks at Ray with distrust. “Should I call the garage about your car?”
I know what she’s asking without asking it. “No, it’s fine. Thank you though.” I squeeze her hand and gently lead her from the room. It’s not until I turn back toward Ray that I lose the smile. “Okay, let’s get down to it. I want you to buy my half of the business.”
He just laughs and sits down on the couch. “That’s not going to happen. The company is not worth anything.”
I stand with the coffee table between us. “When I left you, there was at least a hundred thousand dollars in the bank and now there’s nothing? What did you do with it?”
He just laughs. “Really, you’re going to question me about my business? You’re the one that walked out… you’re the one that owes me.”
“You’re crazy if you think I’ll give you a penny. We have contracts in place, Ray.”
“Yeah, well, half of nothing is nothing, so that’s what you’ll be getting.”
I clench my fists to hide the tremor in my hands. All that work. All the blood, sweat, and tears I put into the business, and it’s all gone. “I don’t understand how there’s nothing.”
He stomps his foot like a child. “Because the clients are unhappy. You can’t just abandon ship and expect to still get paid. That’s not how this works, Luciana.”
I lean forward, unable to hide the anger in my voice. “You can drop the bullshit, Ray. We both know what’s happening here.”
His eyes shift, and that’s the only tell that there’s more to it than what he’s letting on. “The only bullshit is the fact you think you can just walk away, ruin my reputation and just get away with it.”
I laugh. “You figured it out, didn’t you? You figured out that I’m the reason the business was becoming a success and that without me, you couldn’t keep it together.”
“I’m the reason the company was a success!” He pokes himself in the chest. “Me and me alone.”
I shrug, refusing to fight with him. “Okay, well if that’s true, I’m out of the picture. The company is yours. What do you want from me?”
He glares at me. “I want you to come back. You owe me, and I’m not going to just let you shirk your responsibilities.”
I clap my hands together. “Okay, so, you cheated on me, stole the money from the business, and—”
He cuts me off. “I didn’t steal anything!”
My voice gets higher. “And… you’ve been laundering money through the business for how long? Did you think I’d never find out? I’ll admit I’m a fool, Ray. I was a fool to ever agree to go into business with you. I was a fool to agree to marry you… I was a damn fool about everything when it comes to you, but I’ve smartened up.”
His hands form into fists, but I refuse to back down or act like I’m bothered by anything he says and does. He flexes his arms. “Here’s how it’s going to go. We’re going to get back together—”
I can’t help it. I bark out a laugh, and I can’t stop myself. He’s serious. I can see the anger on his face, but I don’t care. I laugh until my sides hurt. “Ray, you know that’s not happening.”
His face twists in anger, and he spits out the words. “Now listen here, Luciana. This is how it’s going to go…”
I sit and listen to his asinine ideas of us getting back together, me signing a bank loan so he doesn’t have to foreclose on the company, and other crazy ideas. And the more he talks, the angrier he gets. I’m beginning to realize what a bad idea it was to let Ray in the house, and if I could take it back, I would in an instant.