Page 22 of Snowbody

“Okay. Just… wow, man, that was intense.”

I laughed. “Sure was.” I shook his hand and he left.

Maddy was still with me. She looked up at me. “Jacob, I… What’s going on?”

I hesitated. “Let me handle one more thing, and then we’ll go talk. Okay?”

“Okay.”

I took my phone from my pocket and dialed Mark.

“Jacob.” His voice was cold. “I’ve heard about your little escape from the resort. I hope you’re calling with an explanation.”

“Kind of.” I smiled at Maddy. “You should watch the news tonight. And be ready for some calls. It’s going to get interesting.”

“What?”

I’d never heard nervousness in Mark Sutton’s voice before, but I liked it.

“Yeah. The whole truth is out now, Mark. I’m done. The money, everything. Oh, and the part you didn’t know. I’m the silent partner in the company.”

“What?” he repeated.

It was hard not to laugh.

“Yeah. Surprise! So you can sell your share to me, or I’ll sell mine to the other partners. I’m not giving you shit. Oh, and one more thing. I’m in love with your daughter, and I’m done following your rules.”

I hung up and dropped the phone back into my pocket.

Maddy stared at me, mouth open.

I looked at her and grinned. “C’mon. Let’s find somewhere to lay low.”

Chapter Twelve

Maddy

I barely had time to pack an overnight bag before he whisked me away in his truck. We went to Jacob’s apartment in town.

We watched the news together. As soon as it aired, it went national. Articles started to pop up on all the major news sites; Jacob’s phone started to ring incessantly, to the point that he just turned it off.

I barely slept that night, overwhelmed by everything that had happened.

Part of me couldn’t believe that my father had done something like this, especially with somebody else’s money.

But he’d always been a little… controlling, now that I really thought about it.

As I talked to Jacob about what my dad had been like with him, it all started to make sense.

Of course, he’d used Jacob for his own gain. Of course, he’d done something so underhanded. He’d accepted the money and put some of it into Jacob’s account and some of it into his own-- a finder’s fee, so to speak.

It was infuriating.

And then for him to use it against Jacob was… too much.

But the other part that was overwhelming hit me as we lay in bed the next morning. Jacob was reading one of the news articles on my phone, his still turned off to avoid reporters.

“Jacob?” I rolled to face him. “Do you… mean it?”

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