Here was my proof that she was exactly who I thought she was. That she’d learned nothing from her own monumental fuckups. That no matter what façade she presented to the outside world, beneath it she was nothing but a spoiled rich girl who’d gotten away with her horrible, uber-privileged, life-shattering behavior because Mommy and Daddy were always there to step in and save her. And now she was trying to do the same thing for her brother, ensuring the cycle would continue.
Abso-fucking-lutely not.
“The right thing,” I repeated, dragging my eyes back to her.
She nodded. “Forgive his debt.”
I gave her another moment to realize what she was asking, what a double standard it was, but her expression remained stubbornly determined, and I finally lost my temper.
“No,” I snarled.
“This could ruin his life,” she said.
“Maybe itshouldruin his life. Maybe then he’d finally learn what the rest of us already know: that there are consequences for our actions.”
She pulled a face. “What are you talking about? My brother knows all about consequences. He watched—” She cut herself off, taking a deep breath as she seemed to think better of what she’d been about to say. “My brother has never stepped a toe out of line before this. He’s never so much as gotten a B minus.”
I scoffed. “You expect me to believe that? That he reallywasan innocent little lamb right up until he threw away three million dollars? Be so fucking for real, Stella.”
“Hey,” she said, leaning over the table to glare at me. “Iambeing real. He’s a good kid. And naïve because he’s been so sheltered. His long-term boyfriend recently broke his heart. Blake was an emotional wreck, and his stupid frat boy friends dragged him toyourparty to blow off steam, whereyoutook advantage of his vulnerable emotional state. So yeah, in this instance, I think the right thing, the decent thing, would be to forgive his debt.”
I shook my head, unmoved by her sob story because I’d heard a million of them before. Everyone always had an excuse for their behavior. A reason they shouldn’t have to pay, whytheywere the exception to the rule. If my mother had taught me anything, it was that people saw kindness as weakness. So, no, I never forgave anyone’s debt. Because I knew that if I did, I’d be inundated with endless requests. Worse, word would get around I’d gone soft, and someone would seize the opportunity to try to steal my business.
The waiter arrived with the bread and began to place it in front of Stella.
She snapped at him. Literally bit the air like a feral cat.
He dropped the basket and fled without a word.
“Was that called for?” I drawled.
“Yes,” she said, unapologetic.
We went back to eyeing each other across the table. I needed her to trust me, at least a little, for my plan to work, which meant it was time to stop toying with her and get down to business.
I leaned forward and dropped my voice. “I’m not decent. So, no, I’m not going to forgive Blake’s debt.”
Her brown eyes darkened with hostility. “Then I’ll just go to the cops and tell them what you did.”
“No, you won’t,” I said, calling her bluff. “The cops like you as little as you do them. There’s no way you’d blow up your baby brother’s life like that, and your family can’t afford another scandal.”
The color drained from her face.
I winked at her. “Like I said, I’ve done my research. But I’m not entirely heartless”—a blatant lie—“so I’ll tell you what. I’m willing to transfer Blake’s debt to you instead.”
She fell back in her seat, eyes wide, skin even paler than a moment ago. “Youwhat?”
“I’ll let you take on Blake’s debt,” I repeated, because Stella looked like she might be in shock.
She stared at me, her expression shifting as her thoughts whirred. I could practically see the internal war she fought, the need to protect her brother battling it out with self-preservation.
“I can’t pay either,” she said.
“Already blew through your inheritance?”
“It’s tied up elsewhere.”
Which I’d guessed from the way she led her life, no longer spending huge amounts of cash on frivolities, but I had to play dumb; I’d already revealed enough of what I knew for one night. “Then find a way to free it up.”
