Everything & More (Book 1 in the E.C.N Series)

Chapter 78 - Ryan

🚨For those of you that already read this chapter, sorry for one of the muddled paragraphs. I'm doing this on my computer and when I transferred the chapter over the bullet points didn't and I never noticed it. BUT it is fixed now!🚨

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It's pretty simple honestly...leave.

I huffed, "Simple my ass."

Those words have been pounding against my brain for the past few hours.

I knew what he wanted, he laid it out for me. I hid a part of my life; an issue that the local law enforcement made go away because they felt sorry for the towns little orphan and now it was going to bite me in the ass. I didn't think I needed to tell Mr. Moralez because I was a minor, the record should have been sealed. Jonathan proved me wrong.

Mr. Moralez, is straight and narrow and he lets nothing get in the way of his business. If he finds out my past is coming to haunt me it would make him think twice about bringing me on. Even if I went to Mr. Haufman, Jonathan would still have that card to play and we both would be screwed.

After that shit show of dealing with Jonathan, I went to the garage. Working on cars used to clear my head. Now balancing that with all the paperwork that was piled on my desk, it's just another reminder that I have a decision to make. 

The terms were clear, leave. Jonathan knew our interaction would be limited once I appointed someone else to handle logistics for the company and we would only come face to face when it was necessary for the sake of the company. Which meant I could handle and run the company from anywhere. That's what he wanted, he wanted me out of town and away from Martha, away from Paige.

The countless scenarios already went through my mind:

1. Tell Mr. Haufman about Jonathan's personal vendetta; Jonathan tells Mr. Moralez and we are both out of job; and Jonathan still takes Martha to court

2. Comply with what Jonathan wants, leave and handle the company from somewhere else while breaking things off with Martha. Jonathan then stops dragging out the divorce proceedings.

3. Tell Martha Jonathan is black mailing me only for Jonathan to drag Paige into court for a custody battle; Jonathan still telling Mr. Moralez, me being let go and Martha realizing I'm not worth putting her little girl through that.

The only one that makes the most sense would be option 2. It was the lesser of the 3 evils I had conjured up. Though that involved me breaking Martha's heart. Which I'm sure the bastard's banking on to ensure Martha would never want me around again.

I'm brought out of my thoughts as Martha stirs in her sleep. Soft chocolate brown hair spread out all over my bare chest. Small even breaths leaving her body brushing against my skin as I held her. After our eventful shower we came downstairs to lay down, eat and kiss here and there. Nothing more happened, I knew Martha didn't want to have another man in that bed with memories of Jonathan already floating around this house. My body woke me up around 5 am like I had to be at work and I've been staring at the ceiling ever since. For the 100th time a wave of guilt comes over me. I was only meant to be here for a few hours before heading home to shower. We were being playful, laughing, flirting, nothing different than how we normally are together. Except this time it was different. A more serious look came over her face and when she initiated the kiss... she was purposeful, and made it very clear what she wanted.

I should have just left...

Yea make her think you don't want her when you actually do

I might end up hurting her