Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 18755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 94(@200wpm)___ 75(@250wpm)___ 63(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 94(@200wpm)___ 75(@250wpm)___ 63(@300wpm)
“Good morning, Ms. Tully! I’m Nessa, by the way.”
“Oh, um, good morning...I’m sorry who are you?”
“Mr. La Rocca sent us.”
She automatically checked her phone again.
Confirmed.
“May we come in?”
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled overhead while she was still speaking, and Kendra realized she was being unfair. Instead of letting them in to seek relief from the heavy downpour, she had all of these people in her porch, getting wetter by the second, and all because they were just doing their job?
Kendra stepped back. “Please come in, and...thank you. It must’ve been hard traveling with this weather. I really appreciate it.”
“All in a day’s work, ma’am,” Merke said cheerfully.
“Plus the fact that Mr. La Rocca pays really well, too,” Nessa added with a wink.
What was once a painfully quiet living room now thrummed with the kind of noise and activity that was only possible when people were all working in tandem, and even Kendra herself was swept away by the hustle and bustle of it all. She didn’t even notice herself turning into a mother hen as she insisted they have some sandwiches and coffee, never mind if they were all a couple of years older. She couldn’t help sending a thank you message to his secretary since she really did appreciate everything, only to regret it right after—
Noted, Ms. Tully. Your message has been forwarded to Mr. La Rocca.
She nearly dropped her phone.
Aaargh!
She was thanking his secretary Lenny, not him! What was she going to do now? What if—
Riiing!
Kendra was so flustered that she answered her phone without even bothering to check who it was calling her.
“This is Lolita from Allied Financial Services. I'm calling to inform you that your outstanding balance has been paid in full."
Kendra went very still.
"I'm sorry, what?"
And that was how she found out about Porter taking out a loan in her name without telling her, and Dario taking care of it, also without telling her. At this point, she didn’t have to check for confirmation. Kendra knew it could only be him, and no one else.
Why...
Why was he doing this?
But deep down inside, she already knew the answer.
And he knew that, too.
On the same day she had run out of the lawyer’s office and flown back to Chicago, he had sent her a letter. As in, the old-fashioned pen and paper type, but hand-delivered by his driver. The paper bore the monogrammed letterhead of the most expensive hotel downtown, and his handwriting was exactly how she pictured it, bold, masculine, and elegant even in cursive.
You know where to find me once you’ve come back to your senses.
And that was it.
For the past month, she had been here in her mother’s house while he was there, presumably in the hotel’s penthouse suite, and she didn’t even want to think what it was costing him to stay there for so long a time.
Kendra looked around her. The women happily stocking her fridge and organizing her pantry. The men who were just as happy repairing her roof. And then there was her. She was the only one here whose heart mirrored the gray overcast clouds outside her windows. The only one here trapped in a cage of her own making, and all because she was afraid of trusting anyone again.
You know where to find me once you’ve come back to your senses.
She could feel her palms turning cold and clammy at the thought of contacting him. She was just so, so scared—
Her phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
But the moment she clicked it open, she knew right away it was from Thelma.
Who else would send her photos of her sister and ex-husband having the time of their life in a fancy beach resort in Mexico?
Her twin had always believed it was a man’s sole duty to spend for her, and since Kendra also knew Porter’s company had been close to filing for bankruptcy...
This, she realized numbly, was why Porter had taken out that loan.
KENDRA WAS STILL TRYING to think of something to say when the cab deposited her in front of the revolving doors of Dario’s hotel. But this proved unnecessary the moment she entered, with a man in a suit greeting her by name.
“Ms. Tully, welcome to the Aehrenthal. I’ve been asked by Mr. La Rocca to escort you to the penthouse.”
She managed a smile. “Of course. And—” The name plate pinned to his breastpocket gave her a clue on what to call him. “Thank you, Janus. I appreciate it.”
The elevator doors opened directly to the penthouse, but Janus didn’t step out of the elevator with her. “Please do not hesitate to call the front desk if you need anything, Ms. Tully. We wish you a pleasant stay at the Aerenthal.”
And just like that, she was alone...
“Hello, Kendra.”
She whirled around and found Dario standing just a few feet away from her.