Uncovering You 3: Resistance Read Online Free PDF Page A

trying to breathe in space.
    I’m going up against one of the most ruthless business minds in the country. I’m sure he’s planned for every contingency.
    Despair threatens to consume me. What can I do against him? Nothing. What chance do I really have? None!
    No. Stop it.
    I can’t wallow in self-pity. I cannot—absolutely cannot —give up now. Aren’t I in a much better position than I was even a week ago? Yes, I still have the collar around my neck. But, I’m not confined to the pillar in the sunroom anymore. I’m free to roam where I want.
    Nobody is perfect. I know that. Stonehart is definitely, definitely not. Even though he seems like a dispassionate monster, he is still human.
    Very much so.
    I refuse to believe that he has no weakness. He will make a mistake, somewhere along the way. And when he does… that’s when I’ll pounce.
    He mentioned the private gala at the end of the month. He wants me there with him. That means he has to give me enough TGBs to go… and grant me all the successive freedoms in the process: The ability to go outside. The ability to read newspapers to keep up-to-date with current events. Internet access.
    Monitored internet access, I should say… but still. I can be in a much, much stronger position in thirty short days.
    And what is thirty days compared to the five-year term of my contract?
    I know what I have to do from now until the end of the month. I have to do everything in my power to earn enough TGBs to be allowed to go with him.
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    Anticipation courses through me with every heartbeat. Stonehart said he would come and find me tonight, but already, I’ve been alone for two hours.
    It’s dark outside. The lights from the ceiling reflect my image against the black glass. I’m restless, moving from the bed to the armchair and back again with nothing, really, to do but wait.
    I wish I had a laptop. I scoff in derision. A laptop? Stonehart wouldn’t give me that. But maybe, a few books…?
    I need some sort of mental stimulation. It’s infuriating to be stuck with my own thoughts for company. Books would be nice. Books are safe. I can’t do anything with them to break his rules. And they would do wonders for my mental state.
    Maybe I can ask him for some? He did tell me I’m allowed to make requests. And this one is certainly reasonable…
    Never in my life have I had so much time to myself. Sometimes at Yale, I wished for nothing more than a week-long reprieve from all the work. A week I could just veg out in bed, munching on a few heavenly chocolate bars as I let my brain lie fallow with a movie playing in the background.
    It’s ironic how things work. Once, I would have given anything for a little break. Now, I have absolutely nothing to do with all the time given to me. All I can do is wait on pins and needles for Stonehart’s imminent arrival.
    The autonomy has been ripped from my life. I am entirely at his beck and call.
    I sit on the edge of the chair, back straight, and watch the entrance to the room.
    Where are you, Stonehart?
    I look to the bed and consider lying down, then think better of it. I can’t go to sleep. Not without seeing him. Maybe he meant for me to find him?
    But, no. When I think back to the end of dinner, I distinctly remember him saying that he’ll come for me .
    So, I’m caught here waiting for him, not daring to close my eyes for fear of missing his arrival.
    I start tapping my foot against the floor. Tap-tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap.
    I notice what I’m doing and grimace. I force my foot to stop moving. Fidgeting like that is a bad habit I’ve never been able to break.
    I wonder what Stonehart wants from me tonight. Actually, no, I don’t. I know perfectly well what he wants. It’s all laid out in the contract.
    So all I can do is sit and wait, with that growing sense of foreboding darkening my thoughts.
    Who am I to Stonehart? A man like him—with his money, his power, and his looks—should be able to get