𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.✓ completed

Untitled Part 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Beck

I wake up the next morning with Willow's head resting on my chest, my knee tucked between her legs, and my phone ringing insanely. I make no move to answer it, not wanting to ruin this peaceful moment that managed to carry all the way from last night.

When the damn thing refuses to shut the fuck up, I give up and collect it off my nightstand. When Dad flashes across the screen, I grimace.

"Who is it?" Willow asks, looking up at me.

"My dad." I reject the call, toss the phone down, and pull her close until her body is flush with mine.

"What do you think he wants?" she asks through a yawn.

For me to come to the office. I hesitate to tell her, knowing she'll worry, and that's the last thing she needs right now.

Sensing my tension, she lifts her head and blinks down at me, her hair tickling my face. "What did he do?"

I slip my hands around her waist, urging her to lie back down. "Nothing he hasn't done before."

"Beck ..." she warns. "I know when you're lying."

"Oh, you do, do you? Then tell me if I'm lying right now," I say, letting my fingers sneak under the shirt she's wearing. "I want to put my fingers inside you again and watch you moan."

Her cheeks flush, but her gaze never wavers from mine. "Don't try to distract me. Tell me what he did."

I trace my fingers back and forth across her waist, paying extra attention to that diamond in her belly button. "You really want me to tell you instead of doing this?"

Her lips part, but no words leave her mouth as I trail my fingers down between her legs. Right as I'm about to slip them inside her, she captures my hand.

"We can do that later," she says breathlessly. "Right now, I want to know what your dad's done to you. I can tell he's done something."

"Oh, fine." I sulk, hoping that will win her over, but apparently, my baby blue-eyed charm doesn't work on her. All she does is give me a tolerant look. "He blackmailed me into working at his firm."

She pushes back to look down at me. "Blackmailed?"

I sigh and give her a recap of what happened. I also tell her about the files I found on his computer. When she asks if she can see the files, I hand over my phone.

She slips out of the covers, giving me a great view of her long legs as she stretches out and rests against the headboard. She starts searching through files, growing more intrigued with each one.

"I'm pretty sure he's committing some tax fraud," she remarks, examining the screen closely. "At least, he did this year."

"Really?" I ask. "I wasn't positive."

"Well, I took a few accounting classes so I could help the owner of that grocery store I worked at during senior year, and I learned enough to know that not all of these numbers are matching up on some of the documents. Plus, I'm pretty sure some of these accounts don't exist unless your dad owns a dance club in Hawaii, which I'm fairly sure he doesn't."

"He doesn't," I say, stretching out beside her.

"That's what I thought." She looks up at me and hands me my phone. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know yet." I scratch my chest.

I left my shirt off last night but put on a pair of drawstring pyjama bottoms. Usually, I sleep naked. But I didn't want to make her uncomfortable her first night here. I'll save the nakedness for later when she wants to strip down with me. Well, as long as she doesn't freak out again and put an end to us, something I'm still a little concerned about.

"What do you think I should do? Honestly, I want to blackmail him back, but I'd like the opinion of a more level headed thinker."

"You think I'm a level headed thinker?" she questions, hugging her knees to her chest.

I tug on a strand of her hair. "You talked me out of thinking we were living in a canvas, didn't you?"

"I almost forgot about that ... Still, I'm not sure if I should tell you what to do with this one." She rests her chin on her knees. "If you want my opinion, though, I'll give it to you."

I nod, moving in front of her. "I want your opinion more than anyone else's."

Another smile. Another prize I feel like I've won.

She stretches out her legs, putting one on each side of me before scooting closer to me. "Well, I think I can probably give you the same speech you've been giving me for the last few months, only insert mom with dad. So here goes." She clears her throat. "You need to get away from your dad. He's never been good to you, and him trying to control what you do isn't right."

"Yeah, but what if he's right? What if I need direction in my life?"

"You bought your first house when you were eighteen. I'm pretty sure you're on the right path."

I waver. "Or I'm just another spoiled rich kid."

"Trust me; you are in no way, shape, or form like Titzi." She slides closer until her ass is between my legs and her hands are on my shoulders. "That girl is stupid. Your father is stupid. Anyone who has ever doubted you is just plain stupid."

And there it is, the reason I fell in love with her.

I roll my tongue in my mouth. "Fine. I get what you're saying, but I just have one more question."

"Okay. What?"

"Can I keep you, like, forever?"

Her eyes widen. "Beck ..."

"What?" I give her my best innocent look. "It's a reasonable question, especially when you're so damn valuable. Why would I ever want to give you up?"

She rolls her eyes. "Now you're just being cheesy."

"Admit it. You like my cheesiness."

"Maybe just a little."

We're both smiling like idiots, but I put a stop to the goofiness as I go in for a kiss, dragging her into my lap.

By the time our lips part again, my dad has tried to call me seventeen times.

"Do you want to do the honors?" I ask Willow with my phone in my hand. "Or should I?"

"I think this is something you should do. It'll be therapeutic after all those years he's beaten you down."

I feel restless as I stare at my dad's name in my contact list.

"You'll be okay," she insists, kneeling on the bed in front of me. "Just call him up and tell him you have some of his files that you'd really like him to see. And do it in your best mobster voice."

Nodding, I press my finger to his name then put the phone to my ear. He answers after two rings and immediately starts screaming that I'm supposed to be at the office. When he finally takes a breath, I tell him what I need to, and for the first time in my life, he listens.

In the middle of the conversation, Willow gets up off the bed and heads across my room toward the door. Worry builds in my chest that she'll walk out and never come back or that she'll come back with a list. And these last five years of getting us to this point will be destroyed. When she reaches the doorway, though, she turns around and smiles.

"I'll be right back. I'm just going to go make breakfast while you finish breaking up with your father." She giggles, amused with herself.

T

he pressure in my chest cracks as I realize that she might be okay.

I might be okay.

We might be okay.