“You’re doing your laundry here, too? Wanna tell me what’s going on?” His jaw was clenched, and she could see the pulse at the base of his throat. And then he spotted it. The rolled up bundle in the corner consisting of a procured pillow and comforter. The evidence that she was currently bedding down on one of the loungers in the clinic.
He strode over and snatched it up in his hands. “You’re sleeping here?”
She jumped. Anyone would at that shout. But try as she might, the words just wouldn’t form on her lips.
Everything that was tumbling around in her head just sounded so pitiful. She didn’t want to say those words out loud. Because she knew exactly what he’d think of her once they were out there.
He was glaring at her, and it made her not only self-conscious, but a bit indignant, too. “Well, what do you expect? I was sleeping in one of the cottages, but you’ve hired them out to every D-list celebrity in town. Where was I supposed to go?”
“You were sleeping in the cottages? But why? Don’t you have a home to go to?”
His mouth was hanging open, disbelief in his eyes. A chill spread through her. What did he think? Was he disgusted by her? How did he feel about homeless people?
More importantly, how would he feel about her? Colt was the one person in this clinic who’d stuck his neck out for her. He’d given her a job when he could have sent for the police. He’d been the one batting in her corner when Helen didn’t trust her, or want her there. She might have made a few other friends since she’d started, but if Colt hadn’t given her the job in the first place, she would have been on the streets. She’d ruined everything.
She let out a sigh. The sheer and utter humiliation of the words she was about to say made her stomach clench tight. “No. I don’t have a home to go to. And I believe I told you that the day you stitched my head.” The shame was overwhelming. He already knew about her money troubles, but telling him about being homeless? She couldn’t even look him in the eye.
“You never said you didn’t have a place to stay. I assumed you had somewhere else to go.” There was genuine concern in his voice. But did that make her feel better, or worse?
Being part of Colt Travers’s pity party would be more humiliating than anything else.
She tried to stop the tears from trickling down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, but why would I tell you that? I hardly knew you. And then I went to pay and my credit cards were stopped. I’m working here to pay off my debt to the clinic. My borrowed car got towed. Do you think I’ve got an endless supply of money to go and rent some place else?”
Colt took a sharp breath and pulled back. His fists were clenched in anger and his jaw set. She could almost see the furious sparks shooting from his eyes directly at her. “Why didn’t you say anything? It’s not as if we haven’t spent time together.”
She let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, yeah. Tell me, when exactly did you want me to bring up the part that I was homeless—before or after my climax?” It wasn’t exactly appropriate, but the sheer exasperation of her whole situation was threatening to overwhelm her. She’d never wanted anyone in the world to know she was homeless. And it felt even more humiliating it was Colt that had found her. She couldn’t stop the sobs building up in her chest.
Colt sat down on the bench next to her and reached out to take her hand.
She flinched. She didn’t want him to touch her like that. She didn’t want his pity. What she wanted was to be left alone to sort out her laundry and find somewhere to stay for the night.
“Selena. Talk to me.”
“About what?” Her voice was almost a whisper. “About how I feel like I want to die right now? About how all of this is my own fault?”
He turned to face her. “About what you need to talk about. How did you end up like this? I know you fell out with Mark. But what about your credit cards? Why are they all maxed out? Didn’t you have some money put away to rent an apartment?” His blue eyes were fixed on her. “You’re an intelligent woman. How did your finances get in such a mess?”
This had to be the most humiliating moment of her life. Sitting there, half-naked, her life being laid bare to a man who had no concept of the world around him. No concept of hunting for a job that couldn’t be found. Sending out application after application to hear nothing at all. No concept of what it felt like to lose a six-figure salary at the snap of a finger. He had no idea about the other people who were out there, in exactly the same situation as herself.
The gulf between them was widening by the second.
…
Colt’s head was spinning. This was the last thing he had expected.
It was the last thing he wanted.
Because now his mind was taking him in a direction he didn’t want to go.
Finding her camped out here was more than a shock.
Realizing the extent of her financial problems was sending chills down his spine. She had some access to clinic finances—only for immediate staff expenses. And although she might have highlighted a few issues, it didn’t mean she couldn’t have caused some herself. Particularly when she was in such a tight spot.
He tried to shake the thoughts from his head.
How much did he really know about her? What if all the stories she’d told him about Mark and her accident were all a big fabrication—what if she really was a reporter in disguise?
No. He tried to be rational. She hadn’t been here when the first story had broken, and the problems with the accounts went back for months. Selena hadn’t been responsible for any of that. But it didn’t stop the seeds of doubt from crowding around his brain. He had to rein them in—along with the anger he was currently feeling.
This was Selena. The woman he’d made scream with pleasure a few nights ago.
She might have broken his trust, but there was no way she could be involved in any of this.
No matter how desperate she was.
“Everyone can get into financial difficulties—even you. What would happen if you lost your job tomorrow? What would happen if your big salary were no longer getting paid into your account? How would you pay for house, your car, your shopping? And try and imagine how you would feel if it happened out of the blue with no warning? What then?”
What then, indeed? He was beginning to calm down. And right now, he was definitely going to resist the temptation to tell her he had a savings account with a contingency fund. He was lucky. Lots of people didn’t have the kind of job he did.
“I think it would be struggle. I think it would take a lot of getting used to.”
She let out another sigh and rested her back against the wall. “The truth is I should have planned ahead, and I didn’t. I kept thinking I would get another job in a couple of weeks and everything would be fine.” She ran her hand through her hair. “Trouble is, everyone else was in the same situation I was. When I finally got a job it was as a barista a couple of days a week in a coffee bar. I’ve been for dozens of interviews meeting the same other applicants.” She shook her head. “Just no luck.”
He took her hand. This time she didn’t pull away. This time she let her fingers intertwine with his.
“I’m sorry, Selena.”
She had no idea how sorry. Helen Ridgeway had read him the riot act again that morning about reinstating their previous secretary. A lawsuit was imminent and she wanted to avoid it.
But taking on their previous secretary would mean letting Selena go…
And Colt couldn’t do that to her right now.
He tightened his grip on her hand. “How much longer do you need to work to pay off your bill?”
“Five days.” The words were automatic.
“And what are you going to do then?”
She hesitated and turned to face him. He could see the sheen of tears in her eyes. “I…I was going to ask you about that. Do you think there’s any chance I could stay on? There are lots of improvements that could be made around here—not least with the accounting system.”
&nbs
p; “You want to give us advice on our accounts?” There was a hint of humor in his voice at the irony of it all.
“I’m good with other people’s money,” she said quickly, “I’m just not so good with my own.”
How could he say it? How could he tell her no? It must have taken courage for her to ask him in the first place. “I’m not sure. The other partners had agreed to this as a temporary arrangement to allow you to pay off your bill.” He hesitated before adding, “It’s not only up to me.”
It was a cop out and he knew it, even if it was also true. And that was without even mentioning the fact the last employee was about to sue them.
Selena stood up and walked over to the washing machine, pulling out clothes and putting them in the dryer, her lips pressed together. Colt’s chest tightened. He hated this. He hated seeing her unhappy. Especially when he knew how happy she could look.
She shimmied behind the towel, putting on her underwear, then pulling on a pink, stretchy top and jeans. There were stress lines on her forehead and around her eyes, and they didn’t suit her. Selena’s face wasn’t designed to look stressed. And he hated seeing her like that.
He picked up the bag nearest to him. He couldn’t do anything about her job right now but there was something he could control. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?” For a second there was a look of panic on her face.
He touched her arm. “You can’t stay here. You can come back to my house.”
“No. I can’t do that.” The lines on her forehead deepened. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t want you to find out about this—truly, I didn’t. Please don’t feel obliged to try and help me. I got myself into this mess, and I’ve got to get myself out.”
Colt shook his head and walked over to her. He towered above her, and it reinforced his protective instinct. He slid an arm around her waist. “What do you say you stop fighting with me and let me help? We’re friends. I’m offering you a place to stay—on a temporary basis—with no strings attached.” She lifted her hand to speak but he wound one of his fingers around a strand of her hair. “A little help from a friend. That’s all this is.”
She flinched and shook her head. “Colt, that’s so sweet. But I should be doing this myself. Look what happened with Mark. I took advantage of someone who was good to me.” The pain in her eyes had never been so apparent. “I don’t want to be that person again.”