"Fuck," Archer said once we were back in the car."Sebastian Cross?"
"Has to be," I said, dread billowing through my gut like a jellyfish coasting through ocean waters."Which means we're screwed."
There was no mistaking the name Cross in the developer space.Sebastian Cross didn't just build luxury developments—he specialized in massive projects that completely transformed entire neighborhoods.If he'd bought the factory, it meant he had plans for the entire fucking neighborhood.
Plans that would likely price out every working-class family for miles and turn this area into another playground for the wealthy.
"Well, our plan is clear," Archer said as Trojan started the car."Start buying up the surrounding properties before Cross realizes what we're doing."
“Okay,” I said slowly, the gears turning as I mapped out the neighborhood in my mind.“Let’s say we scoop up whatever’s currently available.Twenty properties on factory-facing blocks, if we’re lucky.Then we’ve maxed out the cash.We don’t have time to liquidate what we need to compete with him on this scale.”
Archer was quiet for a long moment.Finally, he turned around and looked me dead in the eye.His voice was so quiet I wasn’t sure Trojan could overhear."Then accept the fucking inheritance and its terms."
I stared out the window at the factory complex, imagining what it would look like in five years.Luxury high-rises.Upscale shopping centers.Nothing that seemed so awful until you thought about all the families nearby who suddenly couldn’t afford rent, who’d be driven out of the city.
“There’s two of us,” I shot back.“Why don’t you take the lead?”
“You were born first,” he growled.
“But you have just as much to gain from doing it as I do,” I reminded him with a slick grin.
Archer glowered at me.“I’m a non-option.There’s only one person I could do that dance with, and she’s…” He inhaled sharply, turning back to face the front.He didn’t need to finish his sentence, and not because I was his twin.I knew who he was talking about and what it meant for his heart.
Archer was right.
"I’ll do it," I said finally.
Even Archer seemed surprised, turning back to face me.“Seriously?”
"We need that money."
I checked my phone to find a response from my assistant.
MARINA:On it.Will have full report by end of day.
I thought back to both versions of Clara: the Clara I’d first met as Scarlett four years ago and the Clara I’d seen the other day at my office.I didn’t believe in love at first sight, but what I’d felt for Clara the night I’d first met her was as close as I might ever come to that feeling.That, if nothing else, gave me a little hope that I could pull this off.
She seemed like she might be in a position where a financial boon would be welcome.And I was in a unique situation that required someone who acted like my soul mate.
Just like she’d done for an unforgettable evening.
"Do you have someone in mind?"Archer asked.
"I do," I confirmed.“And I’m pretty sure she’ll agree.”
Now I just had to figure out how to convince Clara Whitehall that marrying her former one-night stand was the best decision she'd ever make.
CHAPTER FOUR
CLARA
It had been over a week since I'd lost my job at the catering company.The panic attacks were beginning to infiltrate my waking hours.They used to just come at night, right when I was about to fall asleep, but now it was constant pressure on my chest.Shortness of breath.A deep sense that no matter what I did, it wouldn’t be enough for Mia.
Fuck you, Preston.
It was like a marquee in my head.Never ending.He’d wriggled into the custody deal back when we first entered the court system, passionately pleading his case as an invested father.He’d wanted fifty-fifty back then.Ever since, it was more like 99/1.
Of course, the split custody ensured he paid nothing.And I had never been able to challenge the arrangement, because guess who couldn’t afford the lawyer needed?
