Page 79 of The Damaged Billionaire's Obsession
I look at the closed laptop on my desk.
Did I do the right thing by pushing him away? What if I get the position with Xi-Gen?
I can’t even tell my friends about this job. I don't think I could take the grilling I know they’d give me, and it wouldn’t take long before I’d break down and confess everything.
Can I really move to Vancouver? Leave all my friends?
Your billionaire friends, you mean,the snarky voice accuses.
No, Stella is a normal girl. And come to think of it, so are Sabrina and Brooke. And Xavier and Jordan and Ethan. They all work their asses off! They don’t just laze around preying on the poor unlike the Sect wanted us to believe.
According to the Sect, “Poverty is piety and paradise is far from the corruption of wealth.”
Pah! I was dirt poor and closer to hell on the cold, dirty streets of Clonmel.
l get up and wander about the house, thinking of doing some evening grocery shopping.
Sabrina had been my go-to for comfort and exotic food. Cooking is one of her passions, and every so often, she’d make me one of her signature dishes. It was always satisfying having something from Sabrina to fall back on in case I didn’t feel like cooking or ordering in food.
Unfortunately, she’s been out of commission for the past few weeks, so I’m back to relying on my own food, which always tastes basic compared to the meatloaf, canalés, and filet mignons that my friend can whip out of thin air, or meals from nearby restaurants, which can get pricey fast.
I pop my head into the fridge, making a mental note of what I need when my phone rings.
It’s Twiggy.
“Yo, Twigs! What’s new?” I answer cheerfully.
“Siobhán.” He sighs. That’s weird, he hardly calls me that. His voice sounds flat and strained.
“Are you okay? What’s the matter, Twiggy?” I ask.
“Where are ya? Are ye home?”
Icy fingers of fear curl around my heart from his strange attitude. Twiggy is more than a friend. He's my brother and I know him like the back of my hand. Something is very wrong.
“Yes, I’m at home. What happened?”
Has he been caught hacking?I keep telling him to stop, seeing as how he doesn’t need to hack any more, but he won’t listen…
“Love, how quick can ye get here?”
My heart starts to pound even harder. “To Dublin? I’ll have to check, but Twiggy—”
“No, lass, not Dublin. Clonmel.”
And I instantly know.
No. , no! I was going to see her later this month. I’ve got my ticket booked and everything.
“Please tell me that she’s going to be okay.”
“I’m sorry, love. She fell, and no one was around to find her.”
Horrible tendrils of dread surround me. How could this have happened again? I thought we put in the proper precautions after last time.
“What about her panic button? She wears it around her neck all the time!” I scream into the phone.
“She fell while inside the shower,” Twiggy explains.