Page 150 of High Reward

My brain short circuits for a moment and I don’t respond right away.

“Grace? Did I lose you?” Trinity says after a long silence.

“I… No. I’m here. How is you helping me get my book published a favor to you?”

Her melodic laughter relaxes my shoulders a fraction, and I lean back against the couch again.

“I’ve been wanting to get into a new industry. This wouldn’t be me micromanaging you or even having much of a stake in your business. The favor would be in letting me experiment on you. I have a lot of ideas and a lot of contacts.”

“Wow, Trinity. This is a big deal. Why me? You’ve never read my work. It could be terrible.”

I can practically hear that sly smile she gets as she speaks. “It could be, but Liliana tells me you’re quite talented, and something tells me she wouldn’t lie even if she is madly in love with you.”

I sigh. “Lili has a big mouth.”

“Perhaps. But are you interested?”

I glance at the laptop sitting on the coffee table. Am I ready to let others read my work?

“Yes.” I hear myself say before I’ve fully thought it through. “Yes, I’m interested.”

“Excellent,” Trinity exclaims. “Let’s get together next week and have lunch. I’ll invite someone who can get us in touch with the right people. Excuse me, my next appointment is here.”

We end the call and I just stare at the screen.

“Who was that, butterfly?”

I turn to find Victor standing at the bottom of the stairs watching me.

“Trinity Novak,” I say. “She… she wants to help me get my first book published.”

Victor grins and takes long strides to close the distance between us. When he reaches me, he bends down and presses a long kiss to my lips. “Congratulations, Grace. I’m proud of you.”

“So am I.” Victor steps back, and I see Lili coming down the stairs. But she’s carrying a suitcase.

“Going somewhere?” I ask quietly.

“Just for a little while.”

Victor scowls and reaches for her arm as she approaches, pulling her to him.

“What do you mean?”

“I need to think. Make sense of everything that’s happened in the past few weeks. Decide what I want my life to look like now that I’m a widow.”

“You can do that here,” Victor snaps.

Lili puts her hand on his chest and glances at me with a pleading look in her eyes.

“Vic. You know I can’t. I’m fucked up over a lot of things. And I can’t get that all over you and Grace. I’m not saying goodbye forever. Just asking for some space so I can sort things out.”

As much as I don’t want her to leave, I understand what she’s asking for, so I put my hand on Victor’s arm. “She’s right, Sir,” I whisper. “Let her have the space she needs.”

Turning my gaze to Lili, I ask, “When do you leave?”

“I need to be at the airport at ten tonight.”

Victor glances at his watch as his nostrils flare.