A

undred

ers were too big and the reality was too sm

wenty-first century. "Pfft... Five hundred million? Dad, ple

out on my forehead. My voice dropped to a wh

the stocks? Tell me he's talking about the business. Tell

. He was too busy burying his face in his hands, acting like if h

ck at Silas, and my stomach did a slow, sick fl

is a prank, right? Wh

d in the room as I searched the corners of the ceiling, looking for a lens o

over! Ha! Very funny, Dad! You really got me with th

w to pop out from behind the curtains and tell me I was the star of a new reality show

t watched my meltdown with a calm, steady gaze

e reach

im in the eye. His skin was warm, but his grip was absolute. It wasn't the kind of hol

g through the silence of the office

as if he were already figuri

murmured. "After all... Da

asp

yers. Call the fucking lawye

didn't get traded like stocks in the twenty-first centu

m. It's the best option," my father whi

ooked at the man I called my father, who was c

e were no lawyers coming to save me. There was

ed. He wasn't asking me to follow him. He was

his happen

erwater," Silas replied. "You aren't a daughter today, Maya.

ld the sails to pay for his booze and the oars to pay for his

swallowed hard, the reality of it clawing a

to my lips. "Now I own the r

"Although, I'm still weighing my options. With a mouth as sharp as

so abruptly my head s

t's

d those plans definitely don't involv

ace hovering so close to mine that his breath was warm against my lips. "Th

in my life, I could

d. "Do try not to die in the first week. I

errifying level of nonchalance, as if he hadn't

n into his touch of its own accord, drawn to the very man who was ruining me. He didn't

His eyes met mine for a split second before he looked at the floor. He

e flinch. It was a jolt of the real world hitting me at the worst po

booked the table at that Italian place I like

with a sob I ref

apartment to wipe off my makeup and forget this day ever happen

eing co

look like the kind of man w