Sinful Pleasures

“Water.” She wasn’t willing to risk the acidity of the OJ.

She watched him work in the kitchen as he whipped up scrambled eggs for her and a huge omelet for himself overflowing with vegetables, chopped ham, and cheese. He joined her at the counter, settling into the chair beside hers. He took a few bites of his breakfast before he glanced at her and spoke.

“So, you’re working today, a Saturday, which I don’t agree with because I selfishly want you all to myself,” he said, his voice half-joking, half-serious. “Since I doubt I can convince you to take the day off, when can I see you again? I want to take you out, on a real date.”

She’d eaten about half of her scrambled eggs, and while her stomach felt fine, her appetite waned because she dreaded this conversation, but it was necessary and unavoidable. She set her fork on her plate and glanced at him, something in her chest twisting at the expectant way he was looking at her. God, if only she’d met him at a different time and place in her life, when she didn’t have difficult decisions to make that were going to undoubtedly add more turmoil and disruption to her life.

She exhaled a deep breath. “Hunter, I really like you. A lot . . .”

“But?” he pressed, his eyes holding hers over the rim of his coffee cup as he took a drink.

“But I’m not in a position to date anyone right now,” she said, rubbing her hands along the material of her skirt covering her thighs. “My life . . . it’s complicated.”

He tipped his head curiously. “How so?”

She weighed how much to tell him. On one hand, Hunter was incredibly easy to talk to, and she knew there would be no judgment from him, no matter what she revealed. On the other, did she really want him to be privy to the drama that was her daily life?

He placed a hand over one of hers on her thigh, stopping her anxious fidgeting. “At least make me understand why you can’t, or won’t, give us a chance.”

His request was a fair one, which ultimately made her be honest with him. “What I didn’t tell you about Helena last night at dinner is that, when my dad passed away, he left half of the realty business to me and half

to her . . . and she spends whatever her half of the profits is faster than it comes in, which puts me in a position to leave my half in the business account to keep us afloat, and it’s getting very difficult to make ends meet. My father also did the same thing with the house I grew up in . . . it’s a fifty-fifty split. Helena and I are co-owners, so between the business and the house, it makes it difficult for me to cut ties with her, but God, I wish I could. I still live in the house with her and Claire and Gwen, because right now I can’t afford half of a mortgage payment and to also pay for a place of my own. So for the foreseeable future, I’m stuck there, but she doesn’t make it easy . . . and with how hard I’m trying to save the company, not to mention the long hours and the stress I’m under, throwing in a relationship just wouldn’t be fair to you.”

He digested everything she said as he ate another couple bites of his omelet, and when he spoke again, she was surprised it wasn’t with an argument of why a relationship could work between them, but rather he seemed more concerned about the issue with her stepmother.

“Is Helena willing to sell her half of the business to you?” he asked, the question a serious one. “That might solve part of your predicament with her bleeding the company dry and you can build the company back up to where it was as sole owner.”

She shook her head sadly. “I’ve considered all that, but financially, I just don’t have the money to buy her out. I feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place, and I don’t have a good feeling about how all this is going to end with the business. It’s as though Helena doesn’t care that the company is on the verge of bankruptcy, she just wants whatever cash she can get out of it on a monthly basis.”

Finished with his breakfast, he set his fork on his plate and pushed it aside, then turned in his chair to more fully face her, his brows creased in contemplation. “What about the house you own with her? Why not sell it and split the proceeds? Depending on what your equity is, that would probably give you what you need to buy her out, and then the two of you could go your separate ways since the house would no longer be an issue, either. Kind of like a divorce,” he added with a light laugh.

She blinked at him, realizing how much sense that idea made. She’d been so wrapped up in saving the company and holding on to her childhood home that her mind hadn’t gone in that direction. Probably because Helena wouldn’t want to sell the home, which represented the lifestyle she adored. Any step Elle forced her to take would seem like a step down to her stepmother. On the other hand, Hunter was a businessman and also part owner of a multibillion-dollar tech company, so he definitely saw a bigger picture and could look at her situation less emotionally than she ever would. What he was suggesting could possibly work. If she approached Helena the right way and could get her to agree.

“When I checked the balance on the mortgage for the house almost six months ago, just to see what I had to work with if I needed the cash infusion, there was over four hundred thousand in equity,” she told him. “This past month, I’ve tried to talk to Helena about taking out a home equity loan to supplement the business, but she adamantly refuses, and I can’t do it without her signing off on everything.”

The furrow between Hunter’s dark brows deepened as he absently drummed his fingers on the countertop. “That’s odd for someone who likes to spend money,” he said thoughtfully. “That’s potentially a lot of cash and half of it would technically be hers, so why wouldn’t she agree?”

“I have no idea what she’s thinking,” Elle said, unable to understand any of Helena’s motives.

“Did your father have a life insurance policy when he died?” he asked curiously.

She nodded. “He did. It was for a quarter of a million dollars, but Helena was listed as sole beneficiary, so every penny went to her.”

“Why the hell would your father do that?” he asked incredulously.

“I have no idea.” She often wondered the same thing, but she had no answers, just her own theories. “I’m fairly certain Helena was somehow behind his decision, despite their rocky marriage, but I don’t have any proof. I’m just grateful I received half of the house and business.”

“Dare I ask what she did with all that money?” His voice vibrated with irritation on Elle’s behalf. “Clearly she’s done nothing to help you or the business.”

“No,” she agreed, fiddling with the fork on her plate. “As far as I know, she spent all of it on herself and her daughters. Nice cars, over-the-top expensive jewelry, designer clothes and accessories, lavish trips for her, Gwen, and Claire.” God, the purchases had been endless, as well as frivolous. “Considering how she keeps taking whatever she can from the company financially, I’m assuming what she received from my father’s life insurance policy is gone.”

“Selfish bitch,” Hunter said unapologetically, his jaw clenched in anger. “She’s off living an extravagant lifestyle she can’t really afford, while you’re working your ass off to make sure you don’t lose the company.”

Yep, pretty much. “The business means everything to me.” Emotionally, Darian Commercial Realty kept her connected to her mother and father and losing it would devastate her. “I think your idea of selling the house and using the equity to work out an agreement with Helena that would allow me to buy out her part of the company is a really good one.” In fact, the more Elle thought about it, the more she believed that could be her answer to ultimately saving the business and her walking away as sole owner, as it originally should have been.

“I have connections to good, reputable lawyers who can steer you in the right direction with all this, and I can help you though the process and at least be someone you can talk to or bounce ideas off of.”

Her heart swelled in her chest at this man’s kindness and caring. Reaching out, she placed her hand on his cheek, just to have that momentary connection with him. “Thank you, but this isn’t your problem to deal with. Trust me, you don’t want to involve yourself in this mess. It’s far more drama than anyone should have to deal with.”