But if I knew my brother, then he would have had Jenner followed. At least for a while, just to see if Jenner knew where I was.
And I couldn’t risk that.
I pulled my knitted hat from my head and held it to my chest, crumpling it in hand. “I wanted to—”
“Your brother is making me look for you.”
“What?”
Jenner straightened and narrowed his eyes. He suddenly seemed cold, as if I were just another client he was having a conversation with.
“He wants you found. The Hudson property near Castle Ridge is in your name, and he needs you to sign it over to him.”
My heart felt like it was being shredded by a knife. I was just another client to him.
I blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. Did he forget what we had? I guess if enough time passed, a guy would forget about you, or maybe that was just Jenner.
“Oh.” I turned my head as my voice caught in my throat.
Jenner stood there, glaring at me. What did he want? For me to smile and happily let him take me to my brother? That would not happen.
“I have a place to live. I—” I stopped myself from revealing too much.
I pursed my lips, trying to hold back the anger that was welling up inside me. I had missed Jenner and Eric so much. There wasn’t a day that went by where I hadn’t second-guessed my decision to run. When I looked into my baby’s striking brown eyes, it hurt knowing she had never met her family.
Now, standing in front of the only man I ever willingly gave my heart to, I realized that running was the best decision I ever made.
“I’m glad, but you should know that your brother—”
“There you are.”
I turned to discover Marika standing behind me with a quizzical look on her face, her eyes darting between Jenner and me.
“I’m sorry for leaving, but I ran into an old friend.” I waved a hand toward Jenner and gave a stiff smile.
“Hello, I’m Marika, Lola’s boss.”
He reached out his hand, shaking hers. “I’m Jenner. Did you say you’re her boss?” Jenner tilted his head. “Why would you have a job, Lola? You’ve got plenty of money—”
“Oh, look at the time.” I raised my voice, hoping Marika wouldn’t hear Jenner. “I think we’re running late for that meeting you talked about.”
Marika took her phone out of her pocket and nodded. “You’re right. We’ve got to go.”
I cleared my throat and lifted my eyes to Jenner. “It was nice to see you again, Jenner. But I have responsibilities now. If you see my brother, just, uh... just tell him I’ll contact him.”
His jaw tightened, but he nodded. He was obviously angry that I would not follow him like a puppy.
That was the old Lola, the one who naively fell for the guy who protected her. Since living on my own and becoming a mom, I had to learn to protect myself and take care of a little girl. I couldn’t be his guileless girlfriend, even if I wanted to.
I realized now he never protected me from those greedy men. He was keeping them away so he could have me, so he could take advantage of me.
I walked away and desperately wanted to glance back but refused. Jenner needed to know that I was stronger and wiser now. I didn’t need him anymore.
Chapter 5
Jenner
“What just happened?” I muttered to myself as I watched Lola saunter off with her boss.