reputation as a credible human being far more than It would
ever affect me. I buried those contracts under shell companies.
There is no address listed. I protected myself. No one could
ever trace this back to me, but your father would suffer. If
you’re lonely, you only had to ask to have your friends over
here. Now that they know the truth, they’re more than
welcome to come visit and
see that you’re not being harmed in
any way. You are an adult, the last time I checked, and I’d like
you to start acting like one. Please take responsibility for your
actions. You need to learn to be thoughtful and consider other
people’s feelings and their time. Snake didn’t have to take you
to the mall, but he did, and you vanished without warning. He
thought you had been taken at first. He called me and I
convinced him that you had probably just ditched him and
were still around somewhere. He searched very thoroughly. I
know you weren’t trying to break the agreement because you
knew he’d come for you eventually, but the whole thing was
just childish and could have been handled in a much different
way.”
“Oh really?” Haley was seething. She was angry now, and
the red painting her cheeks was stunning. “That’s rich coming
from someone who made the most fucked-up agreement in the
entire world. You could have loaned my father money in a
different way.”
“Or not at all,” Claire said. Her tone was light and happy.
The words were harder without the expected bite to them.
Haley concentrated hard on Claire’s face. She must have
figured that she was fighting a battle she wasn’t going to win,
and she sighed, clenching her hands harder as her face paled.