Capture Me: Alpha Billionaire Romance (Hollywood Dreams) by C.J. Thomas
Authors: C.J. Thomas
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I wanted her to say.
Though I wouldn’t have an answer for her.
I looked at Betsy. Her eyes pleaded with me to tell her what happened. She knew it was something bad, but there was no chance in hell I could deliver this news to her.
From outside the room, an annoying, high-pitched grinding of metal on metal broke the silence.
A courier stepped into the waiting room wheeling an overflowing cart of letters. The faulty wheel scraped the side of the frame to the point that it overpowered any relaxation the fountain could ever achieve. The courier took one look at me, slid to a stop, tossed a package onto the desk, and did the fastest about-face I’d ever seen.
I left the room on his heels.
Everything had just been turned upside down, and I didn’t know what was next for me in this game called life.
CHAPTER 11
Tessa
The drive from my father’s office to our family estate in Connecticut felt like the longest hour of my life. Though I traveled to a different state, Greenwich was just on the other side of the New York border.
At the time, I hadn’t thought about calling the car service, but it probably would’ve been faster than hailing the taxi. It was clear the driver probably preferred to stay around New York City, so I dished out a couple hundreds. I didn’t care. I just wanted to get home.
Besides each other, the one thing my sister and I did still have was money.
I could see the flashing lights as we entered the gated community. Until that moment, there was a part of me that had hoped Dani had lost it. That she was going through some serious teenage issues and just needed her big sister there.
Red lights flashed against the white columns of our house and the driver offered me a short, black umbrella. I looked outside and realized that the rain had followed me here. It splashed onto the concrete and gathered into puddles. It fell on the cheeks of the crowd that had gathered on the lawn and in the streets. Curious neighbors, officers, firefighters, and who knows who else. It seemed like more people lingered than there should be in a gated community.
I needed to get out of the cab but my legs refused to move. The driver held the door open, I couldn’t even look at him. I knew that the moment I got out, I’d face a crowd of strangers with pity in their eyes.
Then all of this would be real—Mom and Dad would be gone forever.
“Miss.” The driver stood at my door as the rain beat down on his head. “You do have my umbrella.”
I looked at him for the first time. He was younger than I expected. Early twenties, with skin fairer than mine. His shoulder-length blond hair reminded me of Liam’s, except that the rain had plastered it down his face and neck.
Normally, I’d feel bad for carting the guy all the way out here when he probably had some class he needed to get to. But I couldn’t today, not when I didn’t want others to look at me that way.
The moment I unfolded myself from the car, Sadie came out of nowhere and pulled me into a big hug.
“I thought that was you. God, Tessa, I’m so sorry.” She wore a knee-length raincoat with ruching that hugged her hips in a very European way. The oversized hood kept her long hair from getting drenched. Always prepared, even in a rainstorm. “Tessa?” She cupped my cheeks in her hands. “Are you with me?”
“Sorry.” I shook my head. Some things were coming in clearly and others I couldn’t focus on at all. It was like my mind wasn’t sure what to think about. “My brain just isn’t working right.” I wondered if I had repeated myself, I had no idea what I’d said aloud.
“I completely understand. I’m here for you.”
“How . . . how did you get here before me?”
“We have the same lawyer, remember? I was going over some modeling contracts with him when he got the call.”
“Edward is here?” I craned my neck to see through the crowd but doubted I’d be able to find anyone who barely hit the five-foot mark through the
Though I wouldn’t have an answer for her.
I looked at Betsy. Her eyes pleaded with me to tell her what happened. She knew it was something bad, but there was no chance in hell I could deliver this news to her.
From outside the room, an annoying, high-pitched grinding of metal on metal broke the silence.
A courier stepped into the waiting room wheeling an overflowing cart of letters. The faulty wheel scraped the side of the frame to the point that it overpowered any relaxation the fountain could ever achieve. The courier took one look at me, slid to a stop, tossed a package onto the desk, and did the fastest about-face I’d ever seen.
I left the room on his heels.
Everything had just been turned upside down, and I didn’t know what was next for me in this game called life.
CHAPTER 11
Tessa
The drive from my father’s office to our family estate in Connecticut felt like the longest hour of my life. Though I traveled to a different state, Greenwich was just on the other side of the New York border.
At the time, I hadn’t thought about calling the car service, but it probably would’ve been faster than hailing the taxi. It was clear the driver probably preferred to stay around New York City, so I dished out a couple hundreds. I didn’t care. I just wanted to get home.
Besides each other, the one thing my sister and I did still have was money.
I could see the flashing lights as we entered the gated community. Until that moment, there was a part of me that had hoped Dani had lost it. That she was going through some serious teenage issues and just needed her big sister there.
Red lights flashed against the white columns of our house and the driver offered me a short, black umbrella. I looked outside and realized that the rain had followed me here. It splashed onto the concrete and gathered into puddles. It fell on the cheeks of the crowd that had gathered on the lawn and in the streets. Curious neighbors, officers, firefighters, and who knows who else. It seemed like more people lingered than there should be in a gated community.
I needed to get out of the cab but my legs refused to move. The driver held the door open, I couldn’t even look at him. I knew that the moment I got out, I’d face a crowd of strangers with pity in their eyes.
Then all of this would be real—Mom and Dad would be gone forever.
“Miss.” The driver stood at my door as the rain beat down on his head. “You do have my umbrella.”
I looked at him for the first time. He was younger than I expected. Early twenties, with skin fairer than mine. His shoulder-length blond hair reminded me of Liam’s, except that the rain had plastered it down his face and neck.
Normally, I’d feel bad for carting the guy all the way out here when he probably had some class he needed to get to. But I couldn’t today, not when I didn’t want others to look at me that way.
The moment I unfolded myself from the car, Sadie came out of nowhere and pulled me into a big hug.
“I thought that was you. God, Tessa, I’m so sorry.” She wore a knee-length raincoat with ruching that hugged her hips in a very European way. The oversized hood kept her long hair from getting drenched. Always prepared, even in a rainstorm. “Tessa?” She cupped my cheeks in her hands. “Are you with me?”
“Sorry.” I shook my head. Some things were coming in clearly and others I couldn’t focus on at all. It was like my mind wasn’t sure what to think about. “My brain just isn’t working right.” I wondered if I had repeated myself, I had no idea what I’d said aloud.
“I completely understand. I’m here for you.”
“How . . . how did you get here before me?”
“We have the same lawyer, remember? I was going over some modeling contracts with him when he got the call.”
“Edward is here?” I craned my neck to see through the crowd but doubted I’d be able to find anyone who barely hit the five-foot mark through the
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