ecause she didn’t like him and the thought of being indebted to a man she loathed was abhorrent? Because any man who could single-handedly close down a large, foreign website was to be treated with caution and she didn’t trust him an inch? She could hardly tell him any of that. He was still her boss.
‘It’s too much,’ she said instead.
‘Not from my perspective.’
‘Still no.’
‘Where else are you going to get the money?’
‘I’ll think of something.’ Hadn’t her brief foray into the shady world of online escorts proved that? Surely she’d be able to come up with a workable solution, one that didn’t involve seedy sex or overbearing men.
‘It sounds like you’d better think of it quickly.’
Well, yes, there was that. She was running out of time. Fast. How much longer did she have? How much more could she take? She was so tired of worrying about the money. About the debt and the reduced quality of life her sister might have if she had to move because she—Kate—had failed. About losing her home and the precious memories she had of her brother. The responsibilities she now had, which landed entirely on her shoulders, were crushing, bewildering, overwhelming. Sometimes she wished she could just go to bed for a month and cry.
‘Just out of interest, what would you want in return?’ she asked, because even if she had been considering it, which she wasn’t, surely that amount of money would come with strings.
‘Nothing.’
She stared at him. ‘Nothing?’
He gave a brief nod. ‘That’s right.’
‘Why not?’
‘Do I need a reason?’
‘I would. You’re in the business of deal-making. No one ever gets something for nothing. Even I know that.’
‘You have my word.’
‘I don’t know what your word is worth.’ What if hypothetically she agreed and he suddenly decided that his money gave him the right to influence Milly’s future? What if at some point he decided to stop?
‘I’ll have a contract drawn up,’ he said, clearly able to read the scepticism that must have been written all over her face. ‘You can state the terms. I won’t challenge them.’
‘Things that sound too good to be true generally are.’
His jaw tightened. ‘Just accept my offer, Kate. It’s the only one on the table.’
True. But—‘I’d never be able to repay you.’
‘There’d be no need.’
‘I’d feel a need.’
‘Then I suggest you get over it,’ he said tersely, ‘because you should know that I will be doing this, with or without your consent. Your agreement will merely speed things up.’
And quite suddenly, in the face of such intransigence, what remained of Kate’s resistance suddenly crumbled. Why was she still fighting this? She was running on fumes and at her wits’ end. What Theo was proposing would obliterate all her worries and stresses overnight. So if he could afford it and wanted to help, why shouldn’t she let him? Maybe he did feel something after all. Maybe he and Mike had been good friends. Ultimately, did it even matter? She didn’t need to like him, and his motivations were none of her concern. He was offering her a ‘no strings attached’ deal, which would get the debt collectors off her back and, more importantly, ensure Milly’s comfort for the rest of her life as well as the best treatments available. So despite feeling as though she might be making a deal with the devil, she couldn’t not accept his help. She just couldn’t.
‘Okay, fine,’ she said with a brief nod. ‘You win.’
CHAPTER TWO
HE’D WON, HAD HE?
Hmm...
Theo wasn’t so sure. He might have achieved the outcome he’d been intent on getting, but in reality, given the massive debt he owed Mike, the provision of financial support for Kate and her sister was long overdue and it certainly didn’t lessen the crushing omnipresent guilt he felt over the part he’d played in their brother’s death. If anything, it made it worse because he hadn’t known about the loans and he should have.