“What happened?” he asked.
I didn’t want to tell him. I didn’t want to remind him of the kind of loser I was. Of the weak girl he’d attached himself to. I didn’t want to tell him I was fired for being with him. I didn’t want to tell him I was once again homeless and without a job. I didn’t want his pity or his advice. I wanted to be his equal. I wanted to be this independent woman that found her way in the world and could provide for herself without the help of a man.
Without the aid of a billionaire.
“I hate this place,” I said with a whisper.
Tears rushed my cheeks as my eyes panned up to his.
“I hate this place,” I said with fervor.
Then the bars dropped on my walls and the tears flowed. My shoulders shook with my sobs as Gray rushed from his chair. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me out of my seat, then sat down and dragged me into his lap. I buried my face into his neck, taking in his strength as I broke down against his muscles. He held me as close as he could get me, forcing the tears to flow with a mighty force.
“Shhh-sh-sh-sh,” he said. “It’s okay. I’m right here.”
“Why did I ever come to this place?” I asked.
“Let it out,” he said. “It’s okay.”
“Why did I ever hook up with Andy in the first place?” I asked.
I felt his arms tighten around me as his lips peppered my cheek in kisses.
“Cry all you want,” he said into my ear. “But once you settle down, you’re going to talk. Okay?”
And I nodded into his neck before a fresh batch of tears unleashed themselves onto his skin.
Chapter 25
Grayson
I held her in my arms, feeling the sheer amount of tears she had to cry drip onto my neck. My mind spun with a thousand different things. Had someone come into the diner and said something to her? Had her boss done something? Had Cecily done something? I rubbed her back and tried to calm her down as much as I could, but deep inside I was furious. Seething with anger. This beautiful woman, who had
eyes for me and only wanted to try and put together a life for herself, had been beaten down by the same community I ran from the best I could as a teenager.
Then, she unleashed.
“Brad fired me,” Michelle said.
I furrowed my brow as I placed my cheek on top of her head.
“Why?” I asked.
“He said he had to run a professional establishment and that he couldn’t have the entire diner talking about the love life of his waitress. I asked him what that meant, and he said if I didn’t know, then I’d know soon enough.”
“The hell does that even mean?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but I was fired on the spot for it. And I got a call from the landlord. He didn’t accept my references, so I’m not getting the house.”
“What?” I asked flatly.
I leaned back and watched as her eyes connected with him. I’d be calling that man and asking for some serious money back. Who the hell did he think he was? I greased his palms with a great deal of money upfront to secure that place for her. And if he thought for one second he was going to run off with my money and kick this woman out onto the street, he had another thing coming. I’d take him to court and rid him of everything he had to prove my point.
It made me wonder if his wife had even been in the hospital. Maybe they’d taken a trip with the money I gave them up front.
“I don’t know why everyone is so up in arms about us. I mean, I assume that’s what Brad’s talking about. People kept snickering and whispering about me at work. About the stranger from out-of-town.”
“That’s what they do here, Michelle. They talk about everyone else to fill their own pathetic lives.”