Page 27 of Wrong For Me

“Miss Ransome. Rose,” he clarifies. “She’s supposed to go over this with any…acquaintances she might spend time with.”

Something about the way he stresses the word acquaintances has my stomach sinking. I have a bad feeling about this.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say flatly.

The guy puts his palm over the stack of papers. “It’s very simple, Mr. Malone, no need to worry. This is a standard non-disclosure agreement. We ask this of every—”

“A what?” I blurt out, sure that I didn’t hear him correctly.

“A non-disclosure agreement,” he says, annunciating each word. “It means that you agree not to disclose any information about whatever may have transpired between you and Miss Ransome last night.”

“Damn,” Bodhi mutters next to me. I’m too shocked to speak. “You want him to sign an NDA?”

“It’s fairly standard.”

“What, you think he’s going to like, talk to tabloids?” Bodhi is clearly getting more pissed on my behalf the longer the dude continues to sit there at our table. “Leo isn’t like that, man. He’s not an asshole.”

“With all due respect, the Ransome family doesn’t know what Leo is like at all. This document merely protects Rose—and her father—from anyone who might wish to take advantage of her.”

Bodhi swears loudly at my side. I’m too busy gaping at the guy in disbelief to register how very unlike my friend to drop quite that many f-bombs in such a short amount of time. But I can’t really concentrate on that right now because the meaning of what this dude is saying is starting to dawn on me.

“I’m sorry,” I say, raising a hand to silence them both. “Does Rose know you’re here?”

He studies me for a long moment. “Of course, Mr. Malone. This is for Rose’s protection more than anyone.”

Well, fuck. So much for that connection I’d thought we’d had. Apparently, to Rose, I wasn’t anything more than anacquaintanceshe neededprotectionfrom.

A burning sensation slices through my chest, much stronger than the anger and confusion I’ve been feeling up until this point. Rose knew about this. Knew that I’d be opening my door to her father’s lawyer, or whoever the hell this guy is. She knew, and she hadn’t told me about it. Hadn’t talked to me.

And fuck if that doesn’t hurt way more than it should.

“This isn’t exactly uncommon,” the guy at my kitchen table is saying. “As I said, the paperwork is very standard, and we do this with anyone Miss Ransome spends time with.” His eyes flick around our shitty little kitchen. “Particularly with those acquaintances we haven’t had a chance to, um, vet.”

Isn’t exactly uncommon.I can read between the lines. I’m just one of many guys who have been in this position before. Nothing special. An acquaintance. A liability.

And she didn’t even have the courtesy to tell me herself. That’s what really hurts. Whatever I thought was happening between us last night was obviously one-sided. All in my head. For Rose Ransome, I was just a bit of fun. A vacation fling after Daddy’s big concert.

I had been stupid to ever think it might have been more than that.

“I’m not signing anything,” I say, my voice flat. Emotionless. I’m already carefully moving my walls into place, gathering up the anger and pain that’s swirling in my chest into a carefully constructed little box, locked down so no one can see. Not Bodhi. Certainly not this asshole at my table.

“Mr. Malone, I think you should reconsider,” Gibbs says as I turn to leave the kitchen. “I’m prepared to offer you a substantial incentive.”

I freeze. “An incentive?”

“Of course. It’s very important to the Ransome family that this paperwork be signed this morning.”

“So you’re going to pay him off?” Bodhi asks, sounding disgusted. I turn around to face the suit, locking eyes with him.

“I merely wish to ensure that we all walk away from this with our needs met.” His voice is soft and knowing, a threat hovering just below the words. “The Ransome family needs you to sign these papers. I’m sure that there are things you might need as well, Mr. Malone.” His gaze sharpens. “Graduate school can’t be cheap. Especially for someone of your…background.”

My entire body goes rigid as we stare at each other. “You had a busy morning,” I finally say. “How long did it take you to look into me?”

He shrugs. “I’m merely doing my job.”

I wonder what Rose would have had to tell this guy to get him searching in the right direction. My name, obviously. My address. That’s probably all he would need to figure out that a guy with mybackgroundwould obviously be in search of a big payout.

“You can tell Rose she doesn’t have anything to worry about,” I say tightly, and it’s everything I can do to keep from slamming my fist into the cheap drywall at my side. “I’m not going to talk to anyone. And I don’t want her fucking money. You can see yourself out.”

I barrel down the hall to my bedroom, ignoring his calls to reconsider. My door gives a satisfying loud thud when I slam it shut, muffling the sounds of Bodhi kicking that asshole out of our apartment.

I only wish it could be so easy to block out the memory of ever meeting Rose Ransome.