“So you want me to marry you, work for you, but we’ll just be friends? Jordan, this is insane.”
“No, what’s insane is a gorgeous, brilliant, talentedseventeen-year-old pretending to be twenty-one in order to work to keep a roof over her head and not be ripped away from her best friend. Just look at it this way Mel. No matter who finds out that your mother’s out of the picture no one can do anything about it. You and I will continue to work together and once you’re safe, finished with school, including college because you’re going, you’re too smart not to, we’ll see what happens,” he said but she just couldn’t wrap her head around all of it.
“I can’t. I can’t let you do this Jordan.”
“You’re not letting me. I’m offering Mel and the way I see it you have two choices, marry me, or be prepared for what happens when the truth comes out because I can’t just let you stay here working for me knowing all of this, and if you even tried to go back to working for Tracks, I would tell someone the truth, even if you’d hate me for it. Women aren’t safe around that man and knowing what he already tried to do to you once…he wouldn’t care that you’re still underage.”
“And you’re the lesser of two evils?” she said, reading the truth in his gaze that he really would tell if he thought it the best thing for her which made her love and hate him at the same time. “Fine. If, and trust me it’ll be a really bigif, you can find my mother and convince her to sign the papers, I’ll marry you.”
“Not the way I expected to have a marriage proposal answered but it’ll do.” Jordan grinned at her as he kissed her forehead and headed out of the office.
“Where are you going?” she asked from the doorway.
“To find your mother. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Great, stupid, idiotic, no good,prom,” she said kicking the stool once the door was shut. She winced at the pain that radiated up her leg and hobbled over to her desk. She might as well enjoy working for as long as she could, because there was no way Jordan would ever find her mother.
∞∞∞
“Mel, this is insane. We have what a week and a half left of school? We’ll just take off; we can play pool up and down the coast and then head east. Dad won’t turn us in, and once you’ve worked the tournament again there’ll be tons of people wanting you to go pro. You’ll make a fortune and then you can get your GED and do college,” Tate said as they walked through the hallway after first period.
She’d hidden in her room the entire day before unable to admit that her secret was out and that she was in deep,deeptrouble. “No, I’ve thought and thought andthoughtabout this and it should work. Jordan isn’t going to try anything and let’s be honest with the way Stephanie’s been going after me lately, it’s bound to come out that she’s gone.”
“Then just keep clear of her until you turn eighteen Mel. I mean why marry the guy when you only have five months until your birthday?”
“Because it protects us both, I won’t find myself tossed into the system or juvie when it comes out that I’ve been on my own for over two years and Jordan doesn’t have to worry about people questioning his choice of hiring me, providing the car. Can you imagine what would happen if he kept the truth quiet and it came out later? Or if he simply offered to help? Can you say a huge scandal of the underaged mistress variety?”
“So by marrying you it’s better if it comes out?” Tate questioned.
“He could spin it as a love story, whereas if I’m simply working for him, because you know I wouldn’t let him just pay the costs for the apartment, it would bring a huge, and I meanhugegrey cloud over the place. This way we’re both protected.”
“And he won’t get arrested for sleeping with an underaged girl.”
“We’re not going to be sleeping together,” she said as they entered their next class.
“Oh come off it Mel, the guy’s had the hots for you since he saw you.”
“He has not but it doesn’t matter anyway. He’s changed his attitude from the first day I started working for him and now that he knows about the att…”
“Knows about what?” Tate asked as she cut off. He studied her face for a moment and swore. “You told him about being fourteen?”
“Yeah and he’s not going to do anything so can we lay off? I don’t think any of us wants it coming out, besides, he still has to find her first.”
“Mr. Tatum, Miss Taube, would you care to clue in the rest of the class to your conversation?” Mr. Grasse inquired lookingbetween them as the others turned to stare at them huddled together.
“We’re finished Mr. Grasse,” she stated shooting Tate a ‘don’t you dare’ look.
“We are,” he agreed. “Just talking about Mel’s boyfriend.”
“Tate! Shut up,” she hissed at him.
“You were talking about yourself?” Andie asked.
“Nah we were discussing Mel’srealboyfriend, the one too cool to take her to prom, right Mel?” Tate said grinning at her.
“I swear if you don’t shut your mouth, I’ll be forced toJo…” she whispered to him grinning when his eyes narrowed. The boy hated his first name. He was listed as simply J. Tatum in the school’s system even and wanted to keep his real name under wraps.
“You win,” he said nodding at her.
