Page 166 of Twisted Truth

“This way please,” the staffer insists, pointing to a different part of the hotel, away from the crowd. I want to dig in my heels and say no, but a few people are starting to stare. I don’t think anyone noticed who I was until the staffer said my name, butthat caught their attention and now my anonymity is dwindling by the second.

“Fine,” I groan. I should probably get this over with anyway. At least I can inform Asher that he doesn’t need to worry about the story breaking tomorrow. He and his board will be happy about that. But as for the rest of it, I’m not ready to talk about it tonight. I don’t know where we stand. Part of it is my own doing. I stupidly started to fall for him while knowing this was an arrangement. But he’s made it pretty damn hard to not fall when he has eclipsed my life and brought me so intimately into his own. There are almost no boundaries and walls left between us, and so I was starting to feel comfortable—safe. But he proved to me in full force why that was so stupid. When it came down to it, Asher chose his business, his reputation, and his needs over mine. I can’t blame him for it; that’s what employers do. But I won’t be blindsided by it again.

“He’s just in here, ma’am,” the staffer says, opening a door.

But the man standing inside the small room isn’t Asher.

It’s Kyle.

46

ELLA

The hotel staffer shuts the door and locks it behind me.What the hell?

“What are you doing here?” I say, my stomach sinking. “How did you find me?”

Kyle holds up his phone, smirking. “You forget that we were together for three years, Ella. Our phones are linked as friends, I can track you. Not that it’s been helpful for the last month since you’ve obviously been using a new phone. But when you started texting me from your old phone, all I had to do was pull up the locating app, and I knew exactly where you were.”

Shit.

“And what are you here for? What do you want?”

His smirk is gone and without it, I note an unhinged glint in his eyes.

“You fucked me over.”

“I did no such thing.”

“You cheated on me and then ruined everything.”

“For the last fucking time, I didn’t even meet Asher until after we broke up! You were horrible to me for months, thenyou stole my money, assaulted me, and left me destitute—youare the one who ruined everything.”

“The bank canceled all of my accounts the day you and your boyfriend broke into my apartment,” he says, ignoring all the words out of my mouth, as if he can’t be bothered with them. “An hour after you left, I got an email that said all of my accounts were closed, and then they sent me to collections for the amounts owed on all my credit cards. And when I tried to open accounts with other banks I was denied. I can’t run a business if I can’t have a bank account and can’t get any more loans. No one will work with me!”

“And how is that my problem? You stole from me and I reported it to the bank. It’s your own fault if they punished you for it by closing all of your accounts.”

“Your fuckingboyfriendblacklisted me. And now I’m three-hundred grand in the hole and my business is failing before it even takes off!”

“I’m sorry, Kyle, but this is your own doing. You went into this risky venture without talking to anyone about it, and you did a lot of illegal and shady shit along the way.”

“I was going to return your money after everything got off the ground, you fucking cunt,” he seethes. “But you couldn’t give me time. Afterthree yearstogether, you couldn’t give me a little more time. I would have given you everything back and more.”

I scoff.

“I need the money I was going to get from the article!” he shouts. “But now RTZ has backed out. You fucked me over,again, and now you’re going to make it right.”

“Make it right? You have some real nerve.”

“Youwillmake it right, you whore. You went and spread your legs for a billionaire, and he’s got the cash to fix this. I want a million dollars.”

I let out a harsh laugh. “If you think Asher will give you a million dollars, you’re even dumber than I thought you were.”

“He will if he knows what’s good for him. Or more specifically, what’s good for you.”

He pulls a gun out of his jacket.

I gasp and my head spins. I blink for a moment, unable to believe what’s right in front of my eyes.