Chapter 4 - The Man Behind the Kensington Name
By sunrise, Atlas had eaten half a bowl.
Jared stared at it like I’d performed a miracle.
“I didn’t save him,” I said.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
Atlas rested his enormous head against my leg.
Jared looked almost offended.
“He never does that.”
“Maybe he has taste.”
Jared laughed.
Actually laughed.
It transformed his face.
Then Miles entered.
“We found what Edwin accessed.”
Jared stood.
“What?”
“Financial records. Property holdings. Private schedules.”
“Who was he sending them to?”
“We’re working on it.”
I stood too.
“That’s my cue.”
Jared looked at me.
“You’re leaving?”
“The dog ate. My job’s finished.”
“No.”
I blinked.
“No?”
“You’re staying until Atlas stabilizes.”
“You bought one night.”
“I’ll buy another.”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
His expression hardened.
“What problem?”
“You think everything has a price.”
“Most things do.”
“People don’t.”
Silence.
Jared stepped closer.
“You think I’m trying to buy you?”
“I think you had someone investigate me before I ever entered this house.”
He didn’t deny it.
My stomach dropped.
“How much do you know?”
“Willa—”
“How much?”
His answer was quiet.
“Enough to know why control frightens you.”
I stepped backward.
“You had no right.”
“You were entering my home.”
“So you investigated my past?”
“I investigate everyone.”
“I’m not everyone.”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
That scared me more than anything else.
I grabbed my jacket.
“Keep your money.”
“You earned it.”
“I don’t want it.”
“You need it.”
I turned.
“Never say that to me again.”
Jared’s face changed.
I continued.
“I spent years around someone who used money to decide what I was allowed to do, where I could go, and when I could leave. I will never live like that again.”
He said nothing.
I headed toward the door.
Atlas stood.
Then followed me.
“Atlas,” Jared called.
The dog kept walking.
I stopped.
“Buddy.”
Atlas pressed against my leg.
Jared stared at him.
For the first time, he looked genuinely helpless.
“What do I do?”
The question surprised both of us.
I crouched beside Atlas.
“You stop ordering him to trust you.”
Jared slowly approached.
“And then?”
“You earn it.”
His eyes met mine.
Something passed between us.
Not romance.
Not yet.
Recognition.
May you like
Maybe we were both learning the same lesson.
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