Read Online The Boss Vol. 3: a Hot Billionaire Romance by Cari Quinn, Taryn Elliott - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Cari Quinn, Taryn Elliott
Ads: Link
the house.
He turned off the Range Rover, and the sound of his shoes followed me in a much quicker stride. I got to the side of the house where the maid’s quarters’ door was before he hooked his hand around my elbow to stop me.
“This isn’t your house.”
I turned to him. “Not technically. I was never on the paperwork to this house, but I was the executrix of the trust.”
His face was mostly in shadow, save for a single safety light throwing harsh white light across his cheekbones. “I bought it from the bank.”
“Because it went into foreclosure almost immediately. My grandmother had a reverse mortgage on it that I didn’t know about.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I didn’t even get through the reading of the will before I was told the bank had taken the property, and you bought it.”
“That’s proprietary information through the bank.”
“This is a small town, Blake. Of course everyone knew who bought Annabelle Stuart’s house. Lady’s Cove is one of the oldest areas in Marblehead.”
Something flashed across his face, but it was too dark. I didn’t know if it was surprise, or that he’d actually been trying to keep this secret. “Your name isn’t Stuart.”
“No, she’s my maternal grandmother.”
He paced away from me. “What does that have to do with me and why you’ve been lying to me for nearly a month?”
I dropped my purse on the walkway, and chased after him. “I lost the most important—” I grabbed his arm until he faced me. “The only person in my life. I was at the will reading, and couldn’t get past the grief, or the idea that I was suddenly destitute.”
“So you came looking for me?” His eyes were hot.
“Can we go inside?”
“I don’t know, can we?”
I tipped my head back. “May we?”
“This isn’t a goddamn grammar lesson, Grace. It’s my goddamn house.”
I dragged him back up the walkway and grabbed my purse. I could feel him fuming behind me as I searched for my keys. When I unlocked the door, I actually felt his seething breath on my hair.
I flipped on the lights as he climbed the three steps to my part of the house. “This is the maid’s quarters.”
“I know. Why are you in them? And why is there power? I haven’t turned it on yet.”
I pressed my lips together. The space felt even smaller with him inside. I swallowed hard, and shrugged out of his coat. “I have a generator.”
“So you’ve been squatting in my house?”
My shoulders stiffened. “I told you, my house.”
“No, I have the deed, Grace. It’s my house.”
I pushed my hair out of my face. “Technically.”
“We have very different definitions of that word.”
“I’m trying to explain how this whole mess happened. Would you just shut up for five seconds?”
He took a step closer to me, his chest heaving. “Were you trying to con me?”
“No! Not really.”
“Grace.”
“Stop growling. The day you were interviewing for a new assistant was the same day I found out the bank had sold the house before I even had the option to buy it on my own.”
He opened his mouth to interrupt, but I pointed my finger at him. He dipped his hands into his pockets instead. “Go on.”
“It was the same day I found out I lost everything. You have to understand, nothing made sense. I never paid attention to money, it was just there.”
Blake’s jaw flexed.
“I know that sounds awful, but it’s the truth. My family has always had money. My parents, my grandmother, my great-grandparents. This house was one of the first houses built on Lady’s Cove. Yes, ignorance is a big factor in all of this, but I was completely unprepared to find out everything was being taken from me.”
“So you came to me?”
“The plan was to talk to you.” He took a deep breath at the word plan . I walked toward him and placed my hands on his chest. “It wasn’t a con. I went there to try and make you understand why you should sell the house back to me.”
He frowned.
He turned off the Range Rover, and the sound of his shoes followed me in a much quicker stride. I got to the side of the house where the maid’s quarters’ door was before he hooked his hand around my elbow to stop me.
“This isn’t your house.”
I turned to him. “Not technically. I was never on the paperwork to this house, but I was the executrix of the trust.”
His face was mostly in shadow, save for a single safety light throwing harsh white light across his cheekbones. “I bought it from the bank.”
“Because it went into foreclosure almost immediately. My grandmother had a reverse mortgage on it that I didn’t know about.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I didn’t even get through the reading of the will before I was told the bank had taken the property, and you bought it.”
“That’s proprietary information through the bank.”
“This is a small town, Blake. Of course everyone knew who bought Annabelle Stuart’s house. Lady’s Cove is one of the oldest areas in Marblehead.”
Something flashed across his face, but it was too dark. I didn’t know if it was surprise, or that he’d actually been trying to keep this secret. “Your name isn’t Stuart.”
“No, she’s my maternal grandmother.”
He paced away from me. “What does that have to do with me and why you’ve been lying to me for nearly a month?”
I dropped my purse on the walkway, and chased after him. “I lost the most important—” I grabbed his arm until he faced me. “The only person in my life. I was at the will reading, and couldn’t get past the grief, or the idea that I was suddenly destitute.”
“So you came looking for me?” His eyes were hot.
“Can we go inside?”
“I don’t know, can we?”
I tipped my head back. “May we?”
“This isn’t a goddamn grammar lesson, Grace. It’s my goddamn house.”
I dragged him back up the walkway and grabbed my purse. I could feel him fuming behind me as I searched for my keys. When I unlocked the door, I actually felt his seething breath on my hair.
I flipped on the lights as he climbed the three steps to my part of the house. “This is the maid’s quarters.”
“I know. Why are you in them? And why is there power? I haven’t turned it on yet.”
I pressed my lips together. The space felt even smaller with him inside. I swallowed hard, and shrugged out of his coat. “I have a generator.”
“So you’ve been squatting in my house?”
My shoulders stiffened. “I told you, my house.”
“No, I have the deed, Grace. It’s my house.”
I pushed my hair out of my face. “Technically.”
“We have very different definitions of that word.”
“I’m trying to explain how this whole mess happened. Would you just shut up for five seconds?”
He took a step closer to me, his chest heaving. “Were you trying to con me?”
“No! Not really.”
“Grace.”
“Stop growling. The day you were interviewing for a new assistant was the same day I found out the bank had sold the house before I even had the option to buy it on my own.”
He opened his mouth to interrupt, but I pointed my finger at him. He dipped his hands into his pockets instead. “Go on.”
“It was the same day I found out I lost everything. You have to understand, nothing made sense. I never paid attention to money, it was just there.”
Blake’s jaw flexed.
“I know that sounds awful, but it’s the truth. My family has always had money. My parents, my grandmother, my great-grandparents. This house was one of the first houses built on Lady’s Cove. Yes, ignorance is a big factor in all of this, but I was completely unprepared to find out everything was being taken from me.”
“So you came to me?”
“The plan was to talk to you.” He took a deep breath at the word plan . I walked toward him and placed my hands on his chest. “It wasn’t a con. I went there to try and make you understand why you should sell the house back to me.”
He frowned.
Similar Books
