Relinquished Read Online Free PDF Page B

in life was free. Just because I let myself think he was being nice didn’t mean he was.
    I couldn’t help but wonder why he was so mad, though. Then it hit me. I bet he didn’t want his brother spending time with me. Lowering his standards.
    At least Holden seemed to have a little more faith in me. He was the one that kept encouraging me to go to school and thought I had the potential to do more with my life, given a chance. Then again, he had said he wished he’d thought of giving me the membership first.
    I shook my head and soaped my body. These guys were beginning to confuse me. It would’ve been better if they’d offered me a job. I didn’t need their freebies. I wanted to be seen as someone who took pride in bettering herself, not taking the easy road. It broke my heart to think they saw me as some loser.
    Another few minutes in the shower, and my mind was made up. I was going to earn this membership by working here. The warm water beat down on my head as I squirted some of the shampoo from the dispenser on the wall. The scent of mango filled the steamy space. This certainly wasn’t the same cheap shit I used from the dollar store. A girl could definitely get used to this.
    Once I was dried off, dressed, and almost done blow drying my hair, I realized that was the first shower, in I don't know how long, that I hadn’t had a flashback. Huh. I would be taking more of them here.
    Enjoying the lavender in the air, I took a deep breath and headed out. Now showered, wearing jeans, and what looked like a designer t-shirt, Holden was sitting on a black leather chair just outside, fiddling with his phone. “Hey,” he stood up, “ready for lunch?”
    I held up a finger, doing my best not to gawk at him. “Yeah, but can I ask a question first?”
    Curiosity covered his face as he slipped his phone into his back pocket. “Sure.”
    I was nervous as hell but tried to hold my head high like I actually had my shit together. “I don’t like getting things for free. I earn my way. So do you have any odd jobs I can do around here that would cover the monthly cost?”  I pulled the strap of my bag up on my shoulder, bracing myself for his answer.
    He looked at me like I was being ridiculous, yet there was something else in his expression. Respect, maybe? “Jules, I’m not going to have you do crap around here to use the gym.”  My eyes followed his index finger as it tapped his lips. “We do however need someone to help out in childcare. Ever worked with kids before?”
    Kids? Hmm… “Not really, but I love children.” Now I was starting to get excited. But like when most good things attempted to come near me, I waited for the familiar hammer to crush my hope.
    Unsurprisingly, that mallet dropped the very next moment in the form of a tall, dark-haired, suit-wearing asshole with eyes as dark and cold as Mt. Everest.
    “She’s not working here. We would need to run a background check.” Dante spoke from the entryway, staring at me as he joined us. I couldn’t fight it this time. My head dropped as my eyes closed. Humiliating.
    Holden turned his back on his brother and offered me a sweet smile. “Do me a favor and wait for me in the reception area. I’ll be right there, then we’ll go to lunch, okay?”  
    Peeking around his large frame, I found Dante gritting his teeth, then I gave a quick nod and walked away obediently. I only made it as far as the doorway when I heard Holden’s lowered voice. “What’re you doing? She’s not one of your whores, you know. There’s more to her than that.”
    When I spied from around the corner, I caught the tail end of Holden backing Dante up against the wall. He wasn’t using anything other than his steps to eat the distance between them. 
    Irritated more than anything, Dante didn’t appear to be backing up in fear. His glaring eyes seemed more like the kind an exhausted parent would give after the drama of their two-year-old child throwing their fifth temper