The Billionaire and I (Part Two) Read Online Free PDF Page B

across her face...it was almost too much to take. Almost...because if I had to fake an apology and stroke Rachel's ego to get her to agree to a ceasefire, maybe even retracting her statement, I'd do it. I'd do anything for Jacob. For us.
    Starla poured salt on the wound, coming way too close to me for comfort, hand on her hip. "I'm not sure. I think I may need to hear it again, just to be certain."
    I was dangerously close to biting the inside of my jaw off entirely. I looked at the gleaming, cruel smile on Starla's face, then at Rachel. The cruelty in her smile was dialed up a few notches. Yep, they were serious.
    One plus side was that the deep breath I sucked in through my nostrils to keep my cool would help sell the lie. If I’d just said it a second time without any sort of struggle, Rachel would know I was full of it.
    I even snarled a little before I folded my hands in my lap and acquiesced. "I'm sorry for disrespecting you, Rachel." The sorry was the hardest part. When I brought my hand to my chest like I was making a solemn vow, I convinced myself that I was just playing a role and it was easier to stomach. Kinda. "I know what you've been through. And you didn't deserve to be chastised by me."
    She clenched her jaw. Her smile dropped from her face instantly. "You don't know what I've been through. Not even close."
    Uh oh. Just when I got ready to backpedal, sure I'd unintentionally struck some nerve, she handed off her empty glass to Starla and her face brightened. I knew her brand of crazy well enough to know when she was pretending. And she was rolling out the acting chops too.
    She slipped to the edge of her ivory throne, hushing her tone like she was about to tell me something for my ears only. "Despite what you may think, I like you, Leila. You have your quirks, but I see a strong woman. I know you’re strong because it takes some massive ones for you to come here and give me some fake ass apology."
    My heart skipped a beat. Not in any romantic or positive way. It literally stopped beating. "Rachel-"
    "I'm not finished. I had to sit in that conference room while you, you talked to me like you're authorized to give me some sort of intervention." She was clearly angry. Her features were as tight and uncomfortable as my own, her eyes wild and filled with disgust. But she was still smiling, her teeth gleaming, sharp enough to cut. "Since you came all this way, let me make the trip worth it. I don't think, no, I know you don't care about my career. You probably wouldn't shed a single tear if an asteroid dropped out of the sky and ended me right this minute. So don't insult me with this little routine like you're not sick to your stomach from sharing the same air as me. I know you're hating every minute, because I'm hating every minute."
    From the laughter that trickled from the kitchen, I knew Rachel's volume wasn't nearly as confidential as I’d first thought. I didn't bother with trying to contest the truth. She'd called my bluff.
    Rachel scooted backward in her seat. She mimicked the awkward hand over hand position I was locked in. Her smile was long gone.
    "Now that we're clear and being honest with one another," she continued, her voice filled with vehemence. "Get the hell out of my house."

Chapter Ten
    "W hat do you mean she said 'get out'?"
    If I wasn't already practically going into cardiac arrest and singularly focused on sweating out the awful confrontation with Rachel, I would have popped my head in Megan's direction and given her the most incredulous look I could muster. But it was a miracle that I hadn't become a cautionary tale about what happens when a klutz operates a treadmill. One misstep and I'd go flying from the thing.
    So I just let silence be my answer. I was already breaking a cardinal rule by discussing any of this with her in public in the first place. I rationalized it for two reasons. One: it was 11PM and Megan and I were the sole users of the machines, except for a beefy looking dude