“I’m sorry dad, but I can’t be around you right now.”
I turn back towards Kyle who is again holding the car door open for me. I climb in, tossing my bag onto the backseat. I stare dead ahead, not allowing myself to look my dad. Kyle climbs in next to me and starts the engine.
I can see my dad out of the corner of my eye, standing next to the car. As we pull away, I can’t stop myself from glancing back at him and I instantly regret it.
He looks completely deflated. We drive away. Tears flow freely down my cheeks for most of the ride back.
Chapter 11
Hayley
The next day blends into the one after that, both Kyle and me doing our own things, Kyle spends most of his days in his study, on his laptop, his voice occasionally seeping through the walls as he speaks into his phone.
My days consists of staring out the window, watching the people below, small enough that they look like ants as they scurry through the winding streets of Manhattan, watching TV or spending hours on end with my nose in a book. Suffice it to say, I’ve never been so bored in my life.
I’ve always liked the indoors, never having had to struggle to find something to keep my mind occupied, but being here, it’s difficult. Although I’m not technically a prisoner here, that’s what it’s beginning to feel like. I might as well be locked up in a cage.
I’ve hardly seen Kyle at all, save for some awkward mealtimes consisting of mostly silence and small talk. Why did he demand having me here for the whole week, only for him to ignore me, to stay hidden away, tucked into his study for the majority of the time since I arrived here? It doesn’t make any sense. The thing is, if he insists I be here, I at least want to talk to someone, the loneliness is driving me insane.
I’m sat on the couch in front of the blank TV when my phone buzzes beside me, and I pick it up without looking at who it is.
“Hello?”
“Hayley? What the hell is going on?” Aaron shouts.
I sigh. “Aaron, like I told Gwen, it’s too long a story to get into right now.”
“Oh I see, so you speak to Gwen but not me? Are you in danger? Are you alright at least? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for the past three days and you’ve been ignoring me, dodging all of my calls? What the fuck?”
“I’m sorry, okay?”
“No, sorry isn’t okay, we’re supposed to be friends. Hayley, I’m worried…”
I hear a door open and Kyle enters the space.
“Aaron, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you soon, I promise.” I hang up before he can answer.
I look up at Kyle who’s standing by the doorway. “Who’s Aaron, you’re boyfriend?”
“No,” I snap.
“I’m going out for a little while, problem at the office. Will you be alright?”
“Well I’ve managed on my own so far, what’s another few hours?” I reply sarcastically, tearing my eyes away from his, folding my arms across my chest.
He sighs deeply. “I should be done around noon, we’ll go out for food, okay?”
I say nothing.
After a few moments he turns and stalks out of the apartment with a loud bang as the door closed behind him.
I’m alone, again.
Chapter 12
Kyle
She hates me, I can sense it. But who could blame her? After all, I did in effect buy her from her dad in exchange for money, used his desperation for money for the sole purpose of getting close to her, to have her.
Fuck, I sound like such an asshole, I guess I am what they say I am.
But I don’t want to be, not anymore.
I know I’ve been a dick to her, pushing her away and insisting she stay with me only for me to pretty much avoid her since she got here, spending most of my days hiding out in my office like a pussy.
It’s not the fact that I don’t want to be around her, because I do. Hell, that’s why I tracked her down in the first place after seeing her that first time in my casino.
I'd traced her father in our system, John Roberts has been a member at my casino for just over three years, so I decided to start there. Soon enough I found her, trawled through her social media, and found out she worked at her Uncle’s diner in Queens. I wasn’t expecting much when I walked through the door, I was only hoping to catch a glimpse of her, to sit and watch her work.
I left the poker chip for her, not just as just an excuse to see her again, to see if she felt anything towards me that would make her want to come back to the casino, but to put the first piece of my plan in motion; bring her and her father together and give him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
A sharp stab of guilt cuts through me at the thought of the game. She’s completely right, I use my money and power to exploit people, to get what I want. In this case, to get her.
Since the first night in the casino, I can get this girl out of my head, she’s in my thoughts morning, noon, and night, I can’t for the life of me figure out why.
Why her?
That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out for the past few days.
Why her?
Aside from burying my head in my work, I couldn’t help but poke my head out of my office every now and then to see her sat in the armchair, her legs dangling over one arm as she straddles it sideways, deep into the pages of one of the books from my study. I couldn’t help but notice how her lips moved silently as she read each word, how her brows would knit together, deep in concentration, how her face would
