Read Online Deliciously Obedient by Julia Kent - Free Book Online

again . When the hell did he become some sort of man in
disguise, like a spy with really low stakes? Being part of Meet
the Hidden Boss had seemed so strategic, a tactic that was
supposed to pay off—and pay off big.
    Instead,
it shattered his world and nearly destroyed Lydia’s. The only
person who had come out remotely ahead in this crazy game was Diane,
who was supposedly in talks with FX to have her own reality TV show.
    Everyone
else was walking wounded.
    Maybe
not Lydia, though. Her enjoyment with Jeremy was evident. She seemed
happy enough. Back home in the fold with her wonderful, nurturing
parents, getting to know Jeremy, getting over Mike…maybe that was
exactly how he should leave it.
    Everything
in him screamed no .
    Leaving
wasn’t in his nature. Walking away wasn’t what he did. The past
month or two of his life was the exception—not the rule. The rule
in Michael Bournham’s life was to pick a goal and achieve it.
    Losing
Lydia had been soul crushing—not only because he’d lost someone
he’d come to love, but simply because he’d lost.
    Michael
Bournham didn’t lose.
    Michael
Bournham didn’t walk away.
    Ironic,
though, that this was exactly what he’d done this morning, paddling
off as Jeremy and Lydia walked back to camp, carefully avoiding them
and her family as he’d grabbed a backpack for the long kayak and
hike through the uninhabited island. Being around no one except
himself was what he needed, to clear his mind and figure out what to
do next.
    Ten
miles later, he had no more of a plan than when he’d started.
    How
could he be left so confused by her? Nothing about Lydia made sense.
No strategy he normally used to navigate life worked with her. She
was confounding and mysterious, feisty and incorrigible, exciting and
passionate, and now he had none of that.
    While
Jeremy had it all.
    Weary
legs pushed him up, the slow walk home fueled by urgency that built
in him step by step. The big reveal had been taken completely out of
his hands when he had been Matt.
    Now
he had a new reveal, and it would be done on his terms.
    And
his terms alone.

    Jeremy
checked his phone, alone in his cabin and without Lydia for a few
hours. Pete had invited him to come over to drink beer, shoot the
shit and pretend to repair stuff in his little work shed, but Jeremy
had demurred, citing a handful of work matters. His little MacBook
Air was all he needed to check investments, but what he really wanted
was time to try to track Mike down.
    He’d
gone completely underground for weeks now, and aside from being told
by Mike’s mom that he was fine and in contact with her by phone
every week, Jeremy had no fucking clue what had happened.
    Mike
didn’t do this. Disappearing off the face of the earth wasn’t his
thing.
    That
was Jeremy’s thing, actually. Swapping places felt unreal.
    As
he opened his email, answered a few urgent questions about some
micro-loan programs he’d invested in and checked his brokerage
accounts, he found a trend in Bitcoin that made him log in and
perform some trades. Virtual currency was an enigma that he wished he
understood better. Programmers who were hungrier and less financially
settled could take it and run with it. He had cash. That was his
contribution to the crypto-currency movement. And so far, with some
basic analytics and a few investment protocols tweaked by hunch and
good timing, he’d made a killing.
    If
Mike were here he’d be surprised to see Jeremy looking at money.
Brokerage accounts. Trades and markets and financial issues that Mike
considered his province. The illusion that Jeremy fucked around all
day on the beach in Thailand was one that was remarkably easy to
maintain, and it served him well. If no one takes you seriously, then
when you do delve into serious matters you get one of the most
valuable treasures on earth at a very cheap price.
    Privacy.
    All
it costs you is your reputation.
    A
fair trade.
    Careful
investments over the past ten years had made him