Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
My eyes widened. “So you took a plea deal to keep the person who set you up from going to jail?”
He smiled sadly. “How’s that for irony?”
Emotion surged inside me. Sadness. Guilt. Anger. Pity. Surprise. Fear. I was afraid to believe him, even though somewhere deep down, I knew he was telling me the truth.
“You could have told me…”
“I was embarrassed. And you were nervous about getting too close to me to begin with. I didn’t want to scare you away with any of this shit—an ex-wife, how gullible I was. I just wanted to move on with my life and not look back anymore.”
“When did you realize it was Max who had set you up?”
“About a month after I started my sentence, a buddy of mine came to visit. He’d been on the subway and happened to see Max, only she didn’t see him. She was too busy sucking face with Aiden Warren.”
“So you got suspicious because she was cheating?”
“Aiden Warren was the guy who we thought set us up.”
My eyes widened again. “Shit. So the two of them set you up together?”
“More than ten million in profits from insider trades went into and out of an account with my name on it—none of it was ever found or recovered. I had my buddy hire an investigator and dig on Aiden. Apparently the two of them had been a couple since before I hired him as an employee.”
“Can you prove all of this? Did you consult with your lawyer about getting the guilty plea withdrawn?”
“My lawyer said it’s tough to get any guilty plea overturned once you’ve been sentenced—even tougher after the sentence has been served. We have some evidence, and I’m still working on it, but I’m not even sure I want to waste time fighting that battle.”
“But getting it overturned means you wouldn’t have the uphill battle to get your Series 7 license back.”
“I know.” He nodded. “I had thirty-nine months to do nothing but think about my life. I was born with money. My father ran a successful investment firm, and I was on track to follow in his footsteps. Always working. Never home. No amount of money ever being enough. I married a woman because it was convenient with my job. My father didn’t pick women he worked with. After my mother died, he picked women who didn’t care if he was home and were happy spending his money. But eventually they got bored being alone, and he’d get divorced again. He was married five times by the time he was fifty. He died alone of a heart attack at fifty-nine while I was serving my last month in prison.”
“I’m sorry.”
Gray gave me a sad smile. “Thank you. Those years in Otisville made me realize I don’t want to wind up like him. The market burns people out anyway—I was halfway there. My father left me enough money to pay restitution and still start my own company. I have a chance to start over. I’m going to take it.”
“Wow. It sounds like you’ve really done a lot of soul searching.”
“It’s amazing what years of having nothing to do but replay your life over and over in your head will do—makes you realize what’s important.”
My chest ached for him. If everything he said was true, which my gut thought it was, then he’d lost three years of his life, his business, his father, and had suffered the ultimate betrayal by the woman he’d married and obviously trusted. Yet he didn’t sound bitter. While the saying is when life hands you lemons…make lemonade, I’m pretty sure I’d be using the lemons to peg people in the head if I were in his shoes.
I’d leaned on the armrest between us. Gray reached over and gently stroked my arm.
“I’m sorry I hurt you, Layla. I know it will take time for you to trust me. But I’m going to earn that back.”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I chose not to. Although removing my arm from the armrest probably said more than any words would have.
Regret clouded his eyes. “Do you love this Oliver guy?”
“He’s a good guy. We’re good together.”
He searched my face. “Didn’t hear the word love.”
“It doesn’t matter.” I waved my hand back and forth between the two of us. “We’re not going to happen, Gray.”
A slow smile stretched across his handsome face. “Yes, we are. You can fight it all you want.” He leaned his face to mine.
Our noses were practically touching. My body tingled feeling his hot breath on my skin.
“In fact, I want you to fight it. Fight it tooth and nail. It will make it that much better for both of us when you finally give in.”
Chapter 7
* * *
Gray
It was impossible to concentrate all day.
Half the time, I stared across the table at Layla while she spoke, not hearing a goddamn word but knowing that each time she made the th sound, I’d get a glimpse of her wet, pink tongue as it peeked out between her bright red, painted lips and pearly white teeth. When she half smiled, it was always on the left, and the slightest little crow’s feet dented her porcelain skin.