Page 74 of Pretend for Me

My breath falters when I see the date at the bottom of the picture. Two months ago. “Where did you get that?”

He gasps mockingly. “Were you cheating on the richest man in the world, Peppercorn?” he tsks, as if admonishing me. “I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

My upper lip curls. “Are you referring to yourself? Because this apple is so far from that tree, it might as well be a different fruit.” I lean in, voice low and deadly calm. “I’mnothinglike you. How long have you been following me?”

He shrugs innocently. “I was just trying to get back in touch with my little girl. Figured I’d see what you were up to. I never thought you’d amount to anything, so imagine mysurprise when I found out you owned a thriving salon. But then I did some digging and found out Rowan paid for your business loans?—”

“I’ve paid him back every cent,” I retort, not that I need to justify anything to him. “Unlike you, my brother, Mom, and I take care of each other.”

His eyes flick to my chest. “I’m sure you paid him back. What, with all the extra income you were making with your side hustle as a slut.” He scoots the photo closer to me. “Or was it after you got into bed with a billionaire?”

My entire body heats up. I’m not a proponent of hitting one’s parent, but at this point . . .

“You disgust me, Anthony.”

“Hey.” He raises his hands like he’s asking for a truce. “Don’t let me stop you! You gotta do what you gotta do to survive in the world sometimes, you know? It’s exactly why I’m here, actually.”

My vision blurs and my stomach drops. “What do you want?”

“Nothing you can’t give me. I’m in a bit of a bind with my business partner. You see, I might have used some of the funds from our business account to?—”

“Spare me the details,” I say, cutting him off. I have no interest in knowing more. “Get to the point.”

He sighs as if he’s exasperated with me, the fucking asshole.

“I need sixty grand.”

“Sixty grand?!” I shriek, making a couple of heads in the coffee shop turn toward us. I should sit back down, but I just can’t get myself to. “Are you out of your mind?”

“I went to Rowan as well, but . . .” his eyes find the fucking photo again, “I didn’t have as much leverage in convincing him. Figured you would be the easiest bet. Andgiven the very successful business you run, I had a feeling you’d have it.”

“You’re pathetic and a waste of space, but I’m sure you already know that, coming here asking me for money.”

“I’m asurvivor,” he says plainly. “And as for you giving me money, who do you think paid for everything all those years while I was with your mother? You owe me a hell of a lot more than sixty grand, Peppercorn.”

“Don’t fucking call me that,” I hiss, feeling a vein throb in my temple.

Silence stretches between us for a few seconds while my heart races.

If Anthony leaks this picture, not only would it bring on a media storm weeks before the wedding, but it could get back to Dev’s parents. While Dev wouldn’t care—given we didn’t even know each other at the time—explaining this to his parents would be another thing.

What would they think of me?

His dad already thinks I’m not good enough for his son, but it’s his mom’s opinion that worries me most. This would shatter her heart and ruin everything Dev has wanted to do for her until now.

Shit!

Maybe I should tell Dev and let his team get ahead of this. But he’s been worried about an issue at work the past two days—some hardware problem with their driverless cars.

That’s not to say I haven’t seen him.

We’ve slept together every night, with me showing up to his room as promised.

Last night, after he’d given me multiple orgasms to shatter all orgasms prior to them, I got down on my knees for him. When I took him to the back of my throat, he swayed like a tree during a hurricane, chanting my name with my hair in his fist whilehe came.

But as usual, I made sure not to stay over.

And each time after I’ve slipped back into my room, I’ve heard him head into his office to work until God knows when.

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