Chapter Five

Y A N A

I feel numb. I can’t believe I just did that. I can’t believe I just lost all the chances I have to make things better for Catori and my friends.

I slapped Mikhail Sartori, a billionaire.

Why the hell I’m not being escorted out of the building right now, I have no idea, but I have to assume that it’s a good thing because prison is the last place I wanna be right now.

As I go out of the conference room, my knees start to shake so badly that I have to prop my hand against the wall to stop myself from falling over. Some of the hopefuls see me walking out in this condition, and I vaguely register their faces going pale. Do they think that the single-man panel in there roasted the shit out of me? Because if they’re not stupid enough to slap the CEO, they would not be in my place.

In the distance, I can see Gwen getting to her feet and looking at me. I don’t dare meet her eyes. I know that if I do, I might just commit murder.

“Is everything okay, miss?” the desk lady asks me, but I just brush past her and head to the elevator, angrily pushing the buttons so I can get the hell out of there.

The events keep playing in my head as I find my car in the parking lot, and the moment I get inside, I dissolve into tears.

I’m screwed. I’m totally screwed.

Not only am I on the fast track to bankruptcy and debt, but I also took my best friends down the sinking ship with me. They signed the lease with me. I made them do it. And I just subjected them to a possible lifetime of paying for something that wasn’t even their dream.

For a second, I sit there and debate whether or not I should go back in there and beg for Mikhail’s help. He’s a multi-billionaire; surely he can spare a couple of thousand dollars. Maybe I should get back in there and give Gwen what she deserves too, which is an ass-whooping--

The rest of my thoughts screech to a halt when suddenly, my phone begins to ring in my glove compartment.

With shaking hands, I retrieve it, only to see Lily’s name and face flashing on my screen.

My body shrivels up as though I just got doused by freezing water.

However, I still force myself to answer.

“Hello,” I say in a fairly neutral tone. “What’s up?”

“How’s it going?” she asks excitedly. “Do you have any news?”

“No . . . no, I don’t,” I mumble. Oh god, she sounds so happy. I can hear Jason chirping in the background. “Um, I’ll call you later. This might actually be an all-day thing. And I have to go back to see my family for dinner this evening. You should close up shop.”

The way that my lies just flowed out of me makes me feel horrible, but Lily doesn’t suspect a thing. “No problem! Have fun with your family and don’t worry about a thing.”

“Thank you.” I swallow hard as tears stream down my cheeks. “I’ll see you soon!”

With that, I end the call. I can’t take one more second of it. My chest is going to explode.

The only thing left for me to answer is, how would I tell them?

* * *

A couple of hours later, I’m still asking myself this question.

I’m at Moon River now, a small bar in downtown LA with cheap drinks and even cheaper food. I’m nursing a gin and tonic and a big batch of nacho chips that never seem to run out no matter how much I stuff inside my mouth.

It’s probably a bad idea to spend even a bit of money on this stuff after what happened, but I have to borrow some strength from alcohol so I could break the news to Lily and Jason tonight.

I sigh, looking into the distance and thinking of what I would say. Should I ease them into it and say that I have a backup even though I don’t? Or should I just do it straight up and say that we’re fucked? Maybe I can have a real backup--

“Hi.”

The sudden greeting from a male voice beside me makes me jump. I nearly choke on my chips. I turn around and see a thirty-something dude with a cowboy hat sitting on the stool beside mine.

He smiles at me and holds out his hand. “I’m Tyler.”

“Yana,” I say after a pause, shaking his hand for a millisecond and then focusing back on my food.

I’m hoping that this sends a clear signal to him to fuck right off, but of course he just stays there and keeps talking. “I’ve been observing you. Seems like you need company tonight.”

“That’s not creepy at all.” I frown at him, not bothering to hide my sarcasm. “I’m not interested, sir. Please leave.”

He just chuckles. “Come on, now.” He turns to the bartender and winks. “One more gin and tonic for the lady.”

The bartender hurries to make the order, and that makes me snap at the Tyler dude. “Like I said, I’m not interested. Please leave me alone.”

“Well, you told me your name.” He takes a sip of his beer and sneers at me. “That tells me otherwise. Besides, it’s just an extra drink.”

I’m not dumb. I’ve heard all sorts of stories about girls getting roofied by creepy guys like this, so I don’t dare touch the drink that the bartender pushed to my side. I decide to not say anything anymore either. Maybe silence would be the best repellent for Tyler.

But he just settles comfortably and faces me again, sliding a napkin to my side of the counter. “Give me your number. We should hang out sometime.”

What? My number on a napkin? This isn’t the nineties, for god’s sake.

Again, I don’t anything. I eat more nachos and finish the drink I got earlier. I’m not drunk to the point where I can’t drive, so I just slide off my stool and head to the door.

However, halfway to the parking area, I hear heavy footsteps behind me.

My heart starts to hammer in my throat. I can feel it pumping a lot of blood and heat to my face. I don’t dare turn around in fear of what I can find there, so I just fumble for my keys and start walking faster as I see my car.

But the footsteps behind me start to go faster too.

I’m scared now. I can hear heavy breathing. Tears are filling my eyes for some reason, and I’m starting to trip in my heels.

Thankfully, I reach my car, climbing in as quickly as I can and drive off.

I exhale in relief as the bar’s sign gets smaller and smaller in my rear-view mirror. I wipe my eyes and steady myself, but then I see something else behind me.

Another car, a red pickup, following me.

At first I thought that maybe I’m just making shit up in my head, so I turn a corner randomly to check. The car is still behind me, following that turn smoothly. All my fear comes rushing back. I turn another corner, and the car does the same.

I really am being followed.

I reach for my phone to call the police, but between calling and driving and the rising panic in my chest, I find it hard to dial 911. I step on the accelerator and propel myself forward, heading to a narrow alleyway and hoping to lose the truck in the traffic. However, it just manages to emerge from the onslaught of cars and keep tailing me.

“Fuck,” I curse under my breath. My knuckles are white against the steering wheel. My face is drenched in sweat. All I can think about are the worst possible scenarios to come out of this, but surely I will pull through. . . .

But I didn’t.

I find myself facing a dead-end in a bad neighborhood with no one around.

And the truck pulls up right behind me, making sure I have no room to drive back. The driver turns off his lights. The place is so dark that I can’t make out his figure, but there’s no mistaking the outline of the cowboy hat.

It’s Tyler.

I lock all the doors in my car and shrink against the driver’s seat, scanning my dashboard to look for something I can use to defend myself. Nothing. There’s nothing.

Tyler crouches beside my window and smiles at me. “Hello, Yana.”