Both were possible, because my experience in the professional world told me people didn’t appreciate being lied to. Maybe my lie about Pearl had nothing to do with our business, but it would undermine their trust in me, which was everything.

Technically, I could lose the job and be fine. It wasn’t the income I was worried about.

After all, I had money. Plenty of it, in fact. I had “fuck you” levels of money, except I preferred to think of it more like “here you fuckin’ go” money. Sometimes, I’d take large cash withdrawals from the bank, stick them in paper bags, and leave them around the city. It let me skip all the awkward gratitude and attention I’d get if I handed people the money directly, but it felt good all the same.

Money wasn’t the problem.

It was losing my purpose. Without my work, what would I be? There was a time I thought I was the sort of guy who would make a good husband. I’d seen myself as the young, hard-working businessman who was almost ready to settle down. Then Annabelle happened and it all seemed to come full circle on me. No sane woman was going to settle down with me. No woman who wasn’t looking to use me, at least. So I shifted my focus into my work.

It was rewarding enough. I worked with the Pollards to streamline every aspect of their operation. I was good at it, too. That was enough, wasn’t it? So what if I didn’t have a white-picket happily ever after? I was working hard at something I was exceptionally qualified to do. Just in the last quarter, I’d helped Pollard Marketing make its biggest jump in profits ever. I’d guided the Pollards into hiring an entire staff of computer engineers to overhaul their client interface, which led to several multi-million dollar accounts signing on.

Even if Alec Pollard seemed to disagree with the direction I was leading his brother and their company, I should’ve been happy. I should’ve been terrified of losing what I was building here more than anything. Even if there would be other clients when my time at Pollard was done, this was my resume. It was my legacy.

Why, then, did I seem to be hell bent on testing the limits every chance I got? Why was I thinking of nothing but Pearl and how deeply I’d enjoy just one night alone with her–one night to teach her how good it could feel to let me have my way?

Because I was an idiot. That was why.

“What are you smiling about?” Pearl asked.

“Hm?” I didn’t realize she’d opened her eyes. “I was just thinking of the future.”

She made a dismissive noise and went back to ignoring me.

And me? I started looking forward to our dinner that night.

16

PEARL

I rolled the kinks out of my neck while I waited in a fold-out chair in one of the big conference rooms at the hotel. The entire staff was there and the din of conversation had risen to a loud hum as we waited for the speaker.