The Tycoon

King Industries’ headquarters were in Dallas—that’s where his condo and his life were, too.

“I’ll be back,” he’d said at the end of the evening, standing at the door in his raincoat.

“Like the terminator?” I joked. So dumb. Beside me, Bea had groaned.

“Make sure she eats something,” Clayton had said to Bea.

Why the hell was he trying to feed me all the time? It was ridiculous. And made me even more self-conscious around him. But once he walked out the door I was able to take a deep breath again. When it felt like I hadn’t been able to all night.

Of course, once I got rid of my Spanx and put on my threadbare, never-used-for-yoga yoga pants, that helped, too.

The ranch housed only the King girls tonight. Even Sabrina had stayed.

I checked my phone for the millionth time but there was nothing there from my brother.

There was, however, a text from an unknown number.

Did you eat something?

Only one person was consumed with my eating something, and it felt for a moment like there were fireworks going off in my brain.

Clayton. I stabbed the screen keypad. How did you get this number?

I’ve had this number for years.

Bullshit.

This is the number you got when you first moved to Austin. We’ve already established I checked in on you.

Is that what you call stalking these days?

The phone rang in my hand and I nearly dropped it like it was white hot.

Of course, it was him.

I answered before it rang again.

“I could have you arrested,” I said.

“Not really.”

Talking to him on the phone in the quiet and dark was so familiar. It used to be one of the great excitements and comforts of my life.

I rejected the memories and bristled up like a porcupine.

“I’m trying to sleep,” I said. “What do you want?”

“You can’t sleep,” he said. “You never could when you were stressed. And hungry…”

Fuck. Him.

“You don’t know me so well,” I snapped.

“Am I wrong?”

He wasn’t. At all. I was hungry and stressed out, and sleep seemed a million miles away.

“Why did you keep the watch?” I asked and then winced. That was not what I wanted to say. And definitely not what I wanted to talk about. “You know, never mind—”

“I loved that watch,” he said.

“Stop.”

He was quiet for so long I wondered if he’d hung up.

“I’m so sorry, Veronica. You ran and I let you go—”

“You didn’t let me anything.” I wanted to make that very clear.

“I let you go without explaining,” he snapped back.”

“What could you have explained?” I asked. The memory came up out of the dark where I’d put it. It rose with teeth and claws bared, ready to shred me to pieces. “You told me it was exactly what I thought it was. My father sold me and you bought me.”

“Veronica. Nothing was that simple,” he said quietly. And I could hear in his voice he was going to try and reason with me. He was going to attempt to show me how nothing was what it seemed. That he wasn’t the villain in the story. Simply misunderstood.

“Ancient history. I don’t give a shit,” I said and hung up.

I lay in the darkness and let the old grief roll over me. The anger followed.

I was over this; I was over him. It had taken me a long time, but I’d done it.

The phone buzzed in my hand.

A text from Clayton.

Please, eat something.

The lights were on in the kitchen and I was surprised to see Sabrina sitting at the counter, a cup of water in front of her. Even rumpled and exhausted, she was beautiful.

Radiant. I resisted the urge to be angry or petty or small about that. The girl worked for her beauty.

“Couldn’t sleep?” I asked her.

“The beds here are the worst.”

“Yes, they are.”

“You want some tea, or…something?” she asked.

“I’m okay. Just hungry…” I pulled a banana off the bunch that sat in the small metal bowl beside the fridge.

“Those are pure sugar, you know? Like, the worst thing to eat before bed. It will literally make you fatter.” She caught sight of my face and winced. “Not that you’re fat or anything.”

“I think I’ll live,” I said and peeled the banana.

She had her phone in front of her, which was nothing new. She practically lived with her phone attached to her body. But as I sat down she pulled it closer so I couldn’t see what was on it.

“What’s got you up so late?” I asked.

“I’ve been thinking… Maybe it’s time for me to be done with the show.”

“What? For real?”

“Yeah. The fans are starting to freak me out. I get some crazy emails… Plus, I do have my pride, you know. I know the show is ridiculous, but I’m not. At least, not all the time.”

“Of course you’re not.”

“Tell Bea that.” She sighed. “And I’m…tired.” I put my arm over her shoulder because my bright and beautiful sister seemed so much more than tired.