Finn (Blue-Collar Billionaires 2)

For some reason that thought causes a curl of dread to unfurl in my belly. "Well, this sucks for sure but maybe we can change the owner's mind. They might just be saying that because they want to keep their options open."

Daphne doesn't say anything and the dread in my stomach explodes. "Who is it, Daph? Who's the new owner?"

"Are you coming in? We have a lot of stuff to talk about."

It's a classic Daphne evasion tactic. She hates conflict and she'll do anything to avoid it. Tara and I have been teasing her for years that she could probably teach the military about escape and evade maneuvers. It's usually amusing but then again I'm usually not on the receiving end of it. I take a deep breath so I won't end up yelling at one of my best friends. Then she'll cry and I'll really feel like an ogre.

"You're avoiding the question, Daphne. That doesn't make me feel too good so just spit it out."

"I really think you should come in to the office," she squeaks.

"Daphne!"

She's quiet and then whispers, "I'm sure he has an explanation."

My head is still slightly fuzzy from my extended sleep from the night before. It takes a minute for what she's saying to even register and for me to realize what "he" she's even talking about. When I finally get it, I fall back onto the bed, my legs suddenly unable to hold up my weight anymore.

"Oh god. It’s not possible." That's truly how I feel. How could it be possible for Finn to have done something this underhanded? This manipulative.

I think back to what he said to me in the elevator earlier this week about not being a good guy. I'd taken it as a sign of self-deprecation but maybe he was trying to warn me. He told me he was an asshole and I didn't listen. I should have heeded the warning.

"I'm so sorry, honey." Daphne's sorrow comes over the line and blends with mine. She hates giving bad news and this is probably even worse for her since she knows how I feel about Finn.

"This just can't be real. Are you sure?"

"Tara said the new company's name is the same one on our paperwork when we did the deal with Finn. Unless this is all a really big coincidence."

"Or he's been playing me this whole time."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

RISSA

Daphne, Tara and I have closeted ourselves in my office. I've looked at the contract we've signed a dozen times, hoping that the letters on the page will rearrange somehow and form something else. But there's no denying that the name matches the new owner of Mercers.

The owners were super helpful when I called back and very apologetic about everything. I'm sure they know how important their contract is to our business so I could tell they felt bad about the effect this will have on us. But it's not their fault that I trusted the wrong man.

That's no one's fault but my own.

"Maybe it isn't what it looks like?" Daphne suggests. She's been hovering over me ever since I got here. I think she feels some sense of responsibility since she had to break the news to me. But it doesn't matter who told me or how I found out. All that matters is the bottom line.

Finn Marshall now owns me in truth.

"Or maybe it's exactly what it looks like." My head falls forward into my hands. Not only am I humiliated because I've been so stupid and so blind but also completely sick that I have let my two best friends down. They've done nothing but support me and now because of Finn's vendetta against me, they are going to be caught up in the crossfire.

"He warned me. He told me in the very beginning that he wanted revenge and that was his sole purpose in seeking me out."

"He actually said that?" Daphne asks, horrified.

Tara squeezes her arm. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. There may be another explanation. Maybe he was already in the process of buying Mercers before you guys reconnected?"

It's possible but in my heart I know it isn't true. My mom always told me not to trust pretty words from a man. To just take them at face value and I've never been good at that. If I had heeded that advice, then I would have run away the first time I saw Finn standing in the middle of his apartment looking so haunted.

"He would have told me about it if that were the case. It came up in conversation way too many times. No, this was deliberate. I know it was."

Finally Tara speaks what we're all thinking. "But if he's doing this for revenge, then that means we just lost two major contracts. And we can't meet payroll without at least one of them."

I nod, miserable. If I hadn't already done the paperwork to push a couple of our part-timers into full-time status it wouldn't be so bad. But we now have more salaries along with the resultant benefits and taxes to pay. Along with our next rent payment, we're screwed.