Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Melly smiled at her. “You are. Come through. Barren is still in a meeting that’s running overtime.”
“That’s all right. I don’t mind waiting for him.”
To her surprise, Barren walked into the reception area before they could head back.
“Sorry, sweetheart. I’ve been caught up with some demanding clients. I’m going to try and wrap things up quickly.”
Poor Barren. He seemed kind of stressed. “It’s all right. I can go away and come back if you want.”
“No, I don’t want. What I want is a hug.” He held out his arms.
Oh goody. She hadn’t been sure if he would want to be openly affectionate with her in his workplace.
He hugged her tight, kissing her briefly. “Do you mind waiting with Melly?”
“Nope. I’m happy to wait.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
He disappeared with a wink, and she followed Melly back to her desk in a daze.
“I’m going to make a cup of coffee; can I get you something?” Melly asked.
“No thanks. I’m good.” She sat in a chair in the small waiting area by Melly’s desk. She was reading a magazine when someone appeared in front of her. Putting the magazine down, she glanced up to see a very angry woman glaring down at her. She had her gorgeous blonde hair piled up on her head and wore a pair of tight jeans with a silky black shirt.
“Wow. Your hair is beautiful.”
The woman appeared startled for a moment. Her aura was kind of off. A bit jagged and dark.
“How do you get it so shiny? I need to do something with my hair. It’s a bit dull and boring at the moment. I was thinking of a cut, but maybe I need some new product. What do you use?”
“What? Why would I want to tell you how to care for your hair?” the woman asked.
“I don’t know. Seems like it would be a nice thing to do.”
“Why would I want to be nice to you when you’ve stolen my husband!”
Uh-oh.
“I haven’t stolen your husband,” Phoebe said quietly.
“Krystal,” Melly said sharply, returning and placing her cup on the desk. “What are you doing here? How did you get in? Did Linda let you in?”
“I’m entitled to be here. I’m Barren’s wife, not her.”
Melly picked up her phone as Phoebe stood. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“Then you shouldn’t have stolen my husband, you gold-digging whore! That’s why you’re with him, right? For his money. I know your type. Poor little damsel in distress, huh? What? Did you do your research on rich older men who had been recently divorced? How did you throw yourself into his path? Did you fall over in front of him? Pretend to be hurt? Or did you have a flat tire right when he drove by?”
Dear lord. Did people actually do that?
“Krystal! What are you doing here?” Barren walked into the small waiting area.
Relief filled Phoebe.
“I’ve come to save you from a big mistake.” Her voice changed, becoming sweeter and lower as she turned to Barren. “Oh, Barren, this girl isn’t with you because she loves you. She’s with you for your money.”
“Krystal, you can’t come in and make baseless accusations against Phoebe. You and I are no longer together and frankly, you’re embarrassing yourself.”
“I’m not the one embarrassing myself, you are. She admitted it all to Freida.”
What?
Barren frowned and glanced over at Phoebe. He wasn’t buying this, was he?
He’s known Krystal for twenty years… maybe he does still love her. He’s only known you a few weeks.
Phoebe felt her nerves fluttering in her stomach. She sensed some movement from the corner of her eye, but she couldn’t look away from Barren. She couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.
“Admitted what?” Barren demanded.
“To being with you for your money! She told Frieda that it doesn’t matter if you don’t love her because she’s only with you for your money! She’s going to suck you dry. She doesn’t want or love you. She’s a gold-digger.”
“Who the hell do you think you are to call my sister a gold digger.”
Um.
What the hell were they all doing here?
CHAPTER 17
Barren couldn’t believe this. His entire day had been a mess. Paul Lancaster had turned up to their meeting with all of his brothers. He was demanding that Barren find them a buyer for their multi-million-dollar corporation. One that they’d wanted to sell since their father died.
But as he kept telling him, his father had left equal shares to all of his eight children. So if they wanted to sell the entire thing, they needed everyone to agree. Honestly, it seemed that they were still arguing amongst themselves about selling.
He was about to tell them all to get lost when Melly had called him to tell him that Krystal was here and abusing Phoebe. Well, he wasn’t having that. He hadn’t expected his clients to follow him out… or for them to say…