Page 71 of Blackmailing the Bad Girl
“No.”
He felt himself smiling for the first time since Summer had done her vanishing act. “I think you’re starting to like her.”
Harry didn’t respond to that. “I’ll let you know when we have anything.”
Nik had meetings until noon. Afterward, he had no clue what they were about. His mind wouldn’t focus on work. He kept getting images of Summer flashing in his brain. Summer laughing, smiling, looking sad. Summer lying beneath him, falling apart.
And he couldn’t shake the conviction that he was missing something. He remembered back to that day almost three years ago. When he’d realized she was gone, had run away. At the time, the money had seemed secondary. He’d known she’d been shocked when she’d discovered that he owned the company she worked for. But he’d presumed she’d get over it. Then the web of lies she’d woven around him started to unravel. The missing money. Still he’d believed in her. Her innate goodness. She’d changed him, even back then.
He’d always believed his money defined him. It was who he was. The first thing people thought about when they met him. It was pathetic, but those evening conversations with Summer had made him realize that his wealth was only a small part of him. Growing up rich had maybe shaped him, but it didn’t mean he had to act in a prescribed manner. He could be anyone he wanted to be.
His father had often skimmed the line between right and wrong. He came from an age where profit was all that mattered. Nik had tried to change that, even before Summer. He did what was right, and profit was never his strongest motivator. But maybe that was easy when he had so much money of his own.
He got up and stood staring out the window over the city spread out below him. He tried to locate where Summer’s apartment was in the sprawl of streets, but it was lost in the heat haze settled over the city.
She would be back tomorrow.
As soon as the thought entered his mind, he knew it was a lie.
She wasn’t coming back.
She was going to do what Summer did best.
Run.
He grabbed his phone from the desk, shoved it into his pocket, and headed out. At the last moment, he hesitated, went back to his desk and pulled his checkbook from the drawer. Maybe this was one situation where money could help. If she was in trouble, maybe he had the wherewithal to buy her out of it.
After all, wasn’t that whathedid best?
He’d given his driver the rest of the day off, since he hadn’t been expecting to go anywhere. So he got out of the elevator at ground level and headed out onto the street. A black cab passed almost immediately. He raised his hand, and it stopped beside him. He gave the driver Summer’s address and climbed in, biting back the urge to tell him to go fast.
After the cab dropped him off, he headed down to the alley entrance. Would she already be gone?
He rang the bell. No answer.
He looked up but could see no sign of life. The curtains to the sitting room were open, but nothing stirred behind them. He stood for a moment, thinking, then headed around to the front of the building and through the glass doors into the gym. The same woman who’d been there the first night he’d brought Summer here was on reception. She clearly recognized him and smiled. “Are you looking for Summer?”
“Yes.”
“She’s through there”—she waved a hand at a door—“down the corridor, last door on the right.”
“Thank you.”
He headed through the door into a white-painted corridor. The place was clean and bright and smelled vaguely of fresh sweat. He’d never used a public gym in his life. Why would he, when he had a private one at his home and his workplace? His feet slowed as he approached the door. It was closed, and he hesitated for a moment. Inside, he could hear muted voices.
He turned the handle and pushed open the door.
Summer.
She had her back to him and was dressed in black sweats and a black tank top, her hair pulled into a ponytail. She was sparring with another woman. One who was taller, with short spiky blond hair, tattoos down her arm, and a ring through her nose.
She glanced up at that moment, caught sight of Nik in the doorway and hesitated. That gave Summer an opening. Whirling around, she kicked out and knocked the other woman to the mat.
Unfortunately, midspin, Summer caught sight of Nik. She appeared to stop still, lost her balance, and tumbled down on top of the other woman.
Nik leaned on the wall, his arms folded while he waited for them to untangle themselves. And while he waited for his heart to slow.
The certainty that she was gone, that he wouldn’t see her for another three years, or maybe forever, had been like a heavy weight in his middle, dragging him down. Now he felt curiously light. There was still a chance he could persuade her to stay, to see if they could make this thing between them work.
