I nod. “Right as they were closing for the weekend. On the lot you wanted.”
“You got the city to sell the land, funded a foundation—in my name—with more than enough money to clean up the land, create the park and the gardens, and still do other things?”
“Yes.”
She starts to blink, but tears escape her eyes.
I quickly cup her face and wipe at her tears with my thumbs. “I’m sorry, are you upset with me?”
“No,” she whispers, shaking her head.
“No?”
“No.” She crushes her lips to mine, sending a wave of endorphins crashing through my system, making me feel like I’m the only man in existence. “Thank you,” she whispers between kisses.
I pull back and brush her hair off her face. “You’re going to do a great job with it all.”
“When did you do all this?”
“I worked on it since Sunday night.”
“You did all this in less than a week?”
I shrug.
“Chase, this is…” She picks up her phone. “I have to tell Dawn.”
“She knows. She helped me get the meeting with the mayor on Thursday morning and coordinate everything.”
“You met them before the gala?”
“I told them not to tell you.”
“I can’t believe you did all this.”
“You inspired me.”
“I inspired you?” She seems shocked.
“Yes.”
Her phone buzzes in her hand. She looks and shivers.
“What’s wrong?”
She hands me her phone. A private number has texted her, and the picture of her and I in the paper pops up, but my face has been cropped out. “Whore,” is written on it.
“What the…?”
Another text message comes in. A picture of me getting into the Uber outside of the hotel is on it. I’m wearing my workout clothes. “He came to fuck me when he wasn’t with you.”
I look at Vivian. “That’s not true. I was at the mayor’s office, signing the purchase agreement, and then I worked out with the guys. Ask them.”
She puts her hand on my arm. “Chase, I know it isn’t true. I know you wouldn’t do that to me.”
Another picture pops up with Vivian’s face covered in what looks like bloody scratches.
Anger rages through me, and I pull out my phone. “That’s it.”