Page 8 of Don't Hate Me
I nodded. Deal made.
“I’ll have my attorneys draft a non-discloser agreement. You’ll need to sign that.”
“Of course,” I said, trying to figure out where I was going to find the time to add whatever work Landen would dump on my head.
“Exactly. A gentlemen’s agreement then.”
I stood then, and offered my hand first. He took it, and his grip, while attempting to be firm, still felt a little soft.
“Thank you for your time, sir.”
“I’ll have my assistant reach out to you. Give him your contact information. Then we’ll see what type of work will fit your busy schedule.”
I smiled tightly and nodded. I left the office and made my way to the subway station. I was going to catch a train to Princeton. On the way, I called George and told him what had happened.
“I get to finish school, but I have to work for him while I do it. It’s not a bad trade. I was going to intern again this summer anyway. Why not with Landen’s operation?”
I heard the disapproval in George’s silence.
“What?” I pressed.
“Can I say I don’t like it? I don’t trust he might not have an alternate agenda.”
“Like what?” I asked. “I mean, how nefarious do we think this guy is? You know him better than anyone.”
“I know he’s changed. Something’s different in the past few years. His behavior, his patterns. I’m a driver, a cook. An errand boy. I don’t know the inner workings of his business dealings. I can only tell you, back in the day, he always sounded commanding and in charge on the phone calls he would take. Now, he seems almost hesitant. Nervous even.”
“Well, maybe that’s something else I can do. Get inside. See what’s going on. If there is trouble for you or Ash, I can help to warn you both. Or prevent something bad from happening, I don’t know. Either way, it’s done. He’s going to draw up an NDA for me to sign and Ash can come home.”
“She’s already settled in Florida,” George said.
I stopped in my tracks, which on the sidewalk of a large avenue in New York was not a smart move. People bumped into me until I stepped aside under an archway of a building entrance. Ash was back in the States. Not home, but not across an ocean. A place I could drive to. Now, I knew it wasn’t a temporary reprieve, but something I’d just guaranteed would be permanent for her. A sacrifice I’d made for her just like she’d made one for me.
“Have you spoken with her?”
“Yes, she sounds better. Stronger.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Do you know if Landen is planning to see her?”
“Yes, but not until next week. He just had me book a flight for next Sunday.”
Perfect. Plenty of time to drive down, see her, make sure she was okay, then get out of Dodge before the old man knew I was ever there.
I hadn’t told her I would come. All those things I’d said to Landen, I did want to be true. I wanted to keep my focus on the future. Not the girl from my past.
However, I also knew nothing would stop me from going to Florida.
3
Amelia Island Hotel
Florida
Ashleigh
I openedthe sliding glass doors and stepped onto the deck. I took a long, deep breath and it felt delicious. After over a week in the hospital, a few days here in the warm, balmy air meant I was finally starting to get my strength back. I could speak without wheezing. I wasn’t taking hits of my inhaler every five minutes.
It was like my body was finally mine again. I’d spent this morning walking along the beach, and I’d almost cried at how good it felt. To breathe without pain, to walk with confidence.
