Finn (Blue-Collar Billionaires 2)

He shakes her hand. "Well, I can see you've done a great job."

Rissa beams at the compliment. "Thank you. Welcome to the building."

While the other man walks around and explores the apartment, Rissa comes up at my elbow. “Did you do this just so I don’t have to come up to your place again?”

I don't even have to answer that question. She's always been clever so I don't try to pretend. “You should never have to be afraid, Rissa."

Major Halliwell turns from where he stands at the window. “I want to thank you for this Mr. Marshall. This is much more than I was expecting.”

I switch my cane to my left hand and extend my right hand to shake. “No, thank you for your years of service. We’ll leave now so you can get settled.”

Rissa follows me out into the hallway. We walk in companionable silence. As we pass one of the other units, she pokes her head in to check on her crew.

“They’ve made a lot of progress,” I remark. And they have. I never could have guessed when I hired Rissa that this entire floor would be ready so fast.

“Yeah, they have. I have some of the best crews out there. I always choose the ones that really want it. The ones that others turn down because they have a disability or because they have children. So many people think that these things slow you down on the job but those same things also make my crew more determined. I remember how hard it was for my mom. She got fired from so many jobs because she needed to be there for me when I got sick. I promised myself that one day I would be the boss and that I would never be like that.”

We get on the elevator and I push the button for the lobby. “I can see what kind of boss you are. You’re amazing."

She waves the compliment away. "We all cover for each other when needed."

Once the elevator stops moving, she peers at the elevator panel, as if just realizing that we’ve gone down instead of up. “Aren’t we going back to your place? I still haven’t cleaned.”

I shake my head. “You don’t need to. We both know that wasn't why I hired you."

She doesn't exit the elevator so I sigh and walk out into the lobby. If she won't leave then I will. I can hear her shoes squeaking on the floor as she hurries behind me.

"Mr. Stevens originally told me that the entire buil

ding had gone through a recent upgrade and redesign. I assumed the owner was planning to sell the building not keep it. But there's no way normal people could afford this kind of real estate."

"You're right. The people who most deserve these apartments can't afford them. Not without a little help, anyway."

“That’s why you’ve been renovating this building. You’re donating all these apartments?” She turns to me, her eyes bright. "That’s why you insisted that we concentrate on one floor at a time. You've been lining up tenants and scheduling them to move in."

“Not all of them will be donated but at least a third. I know what it’s like to leave the military and wonder if you can make it.”

“That’s really nice of you.”

I grunt at that. “I’m not a nice guy. Don’t fool yourself. I brought you here to get payback for how you left me. My plan was to hurt you and I succeeded. I’m not a nice guy. I’m an asshole.”

She shakes her head. "Don't try to make it seem like you were just pretending this whole time. I know you and you meant every single thing you said to me. You love me."

It would be kinder to just lie to her. To pretend that this was all part of my plan from the beginning and to make her hate me. Then she could go on with her life without a backward glance. But when I look over at her, her eyes glow with knowledge. She smiles like she knows what I'm about to do and is already amused by it.

She always sees everything.

"You're right. I meant every word. That doesn't mean that I'm good for you though. We need to slow down and I definitely need to figure my shit out. Because I can't take the chance that I'll ever scare you like that again. Or that I might hurt you. I'm more determined now but I'm also more cautious. I'm not as reckless as I used to be because I know now how much I have to lose."

"You told me that you weren't going to let me go so easily this time. Was that a lie, too?"

Now that bothers me so I take her by the arm and pull her over to the small lobby area so we aren't giving the concierge such a show. "I wasn't lying. I've never lied to you. I'm just taking a step away."

She shakes her head. Her disappointment cuts like a knife. “I never thought I'd see the day when you gave up without a fight. Did I make you this way, Finn?”

“Losing you made me a lot of things, angel. But none of that is your fault."

CHAPTER TWELVE