Page 60 of Wicked Dares
She taps my hand and nods. “Yes. You are.”
We stare at each other for a moment. Again, I don’t argue because she’s clearly picked up on more than I thought.
Iamafraid. That’s exactly what not ready means. But I can’t entirely blame myself.
It took me all that time to get back on track after Reece went to prison.
I had to heal my mind from the trauma he put me through, then I had to heal my life from the financial hole he left me in. I moved back in with Aunt Bess, which was how I managed to save up the money to clear off debts Reece left me with and save to make the move here. I knew right from the moment I had to testify against him on the witness stand, that I couldn’t stay in San Francisco.
I couldn’t leave straightaway, but I settled with the plan to leave as soon as possible. It took me nearly two years to do so, but I left.
“Just try to loosen up. Even a little.” Alexis nods. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Not all men are going to be like Reece.”
“No. I guess not.” I offer a small smile.
Levi certainly doesn’t feel anything like Reece. Not even a little, even though the two men like the idea of control. Reece was just evil.
“He was just a curveball life threw you. But now you can throw it right back.”
“I will,” I promise, even though I still have my reservations. “Until I find the right guy, I want to savor this.” I wave a hand toward the business plan on the computer screen.
The smile returns to her face. “And so you should. What happens now?”
“I see Levi on Tuesday for the first event. It’s a fundraiser at the Lockwood Foundation building.”
“Ooooh. That sounds fancy.”
“It’s going to be. There’ll be a dinner first, and I’m sure Arthur will take the chance to grill us. I’m nervous about that. We’ll be around all his people who’ll be judging me.”
“You’ll be fine. Everyone who meets you loves you.”
“Unless they’re Helen.”
“She’s a stuck-up bitch with a stick too far up her ass. Don’t worry about her. She wishes she were you.”
I laugh. “I’m glad I don’t have to work with her anymore.”
“Me too.” She switches the webpage to Google. “How about I order pizza and we can look at some office buildings?”
My spirits lift again. “A hundred yesses.”
Alexis taps away, pulling up a commercial lease agency, and I get sucked in straightaway.
Today is the first day in years that I’ve felt like I could relax and take my time to do what I want.
I guess that’s what having an extra hundred thousand in the bank does to you.
It’s a good feeling.
Now I just have to earn the pay.
My new job begins on Tuesday night.
Chapter Fourteen
PIPER
The Lockwood Foundation building sits on the Upper East Side, a Beaux-Arts mansion with four stories of pale limestone, a wrought-iron fence trimmed in gold leaf, and a portico held up by columns thick enough that two of me could hide behind one and never be found.
