FRAGILE: A Billionaire Romance (Part Two) Read Online Free PDF Page B

couldn’t save Chargene Jewelers, and I couldn’t save Buttercup. Eli is all I have left to save.
    Before I know it, I’m in front of Eli’s door to his condo. I take a breath, shuddering with sorrow and knock at the door. “Eli?”
    There’s no answer.
    “Eli?” I call. “I need you.”
    Still no answer.
    I pound on the door. “Please open this damn door!” I shout, fighting back my tears.
    The door suddenly swings open, and I step back as Eli leans into the doorway, watching me coldly, shirtless and in sweat pants, a glass of whiskey in one hand.
    “Yes?” Eli asks.
    I step forward and hug Eli. Eli doesn’t reciprocate—although he doesn’t push me away. “Let me in,” I whisper. “Please. I need to talk to you.”
    Eli puts one hand on my shoulder and holds me back, separating us.
    “Don’t push me away, Eli,” I beg. I search his face for some sign of emotion. “I’m sorry about earlier. But we can work this out, I swear. I’m fine staying as lovers, I promise. I need you, Eli. I need you right now.”
    Eli’s face is still expressionless, his green eyes hard on me. “I don’t want to work it out. And I don’t need you.” Then, Eli closes the door, slowly but firmly, leaving me to sob alone in the hall.
    ***
    By Monday morning, I had turned all of my sorrow into a rage that made me throw up a couple of times. I tremble with fury, as I drive to the Marnvell Jewelers corporate building. My phone rings multiple times, but I ignore it until I find a parking spot. A glance at the screen shows Larisa had called. She could wait. I need a word with Eli. Maybe a few words.
    I clench my fists at my side as I storm into Marnvell Jewelers. Part of my anger is just trying not to cry all over again. I’d finally managed to find the strength to bury Buttercup in a nearby park. Even if it was illegal, there was no way I was just dumping her body into the dumpster like garbage. But then I’d returned to an empty penthouse that only reminded me of the emptiness inside of me, and I cried all over again. I was tired of crying now.
    Marnvell Jeweler’s corporate building is as sterile as Eli’s room and as cold as he is, white-washed and nearly colorless, with a few faded blues and a couple of silver embellishments to just barely distinguish it from a hospital, and even then I’d seen pictures of cheerier hospitals.
    Kim, the front desk secretary at Marnvell Jewelers, eyes me warily as I approach. “Yes, Miss Jennings?” she asks.
    “I need to speak with…Mr. Richardson,” I say. I’d almost said Eli, but that sounded too personal to say to the secretary.
    “Mr. Richardson is very busy,” Kim says. “I can set you up with an appointment. How about next week Thursday, at two o’clock?”
    “No, I need to speak with him today,” I say. “Can I just catch him in-between meetings?”
    “I’ll let Mr. Richardson know you’re here and see if he has any time available to spare today,” Kim says.
    “Thank you,” I say. I go to one of their blue couches with a gray square pattern, sit down, and try to make myself calm.
    But two hours later, I can’t wait any more. I stand up and walk towards Kim, who’s on the phone now.
    “I need to speak with Mr. Richardson,” I mouth.
    Kim keeps a finger up to me as she chats with whoever is on the phone. “Wednesday?” Kim says. “Sure, I can book an appointment for Wednesday at three in the afternoon.”
    What?!
    Furious, and all the more hurt, as soon as Kim looks back down at her book I walk over to the elevator and punch in the number twelve. I feel incredibly sick. I’m wearing my long black jacket, and I tighten the belt buckle on it, cold, and then I lean back and close my eyes.
    I’d tried all weekend to contact Eli. I called him; I texted him; I emailed him; and I had even stopped by his place one more time to try and catch him. He hadn’t responded once, and while I should have been thankful that he was making the break as clean and easy as