“Nice to meet you,” Durand says in a ridiculously deep voice. Jeez, he sounds like Batman. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
He bows his head slightly and he’s just so fricking nice that it’d be rude to ignore him. I push my backpack out of the way and shake his outstretched hand. “Thank you.”
“Thank you as well, Durand.” Callum dismisses his driver and turns to me. “Let’s take our seats. I want to get home. It’s an hour plane ride to Bayview.”
“An hour? You brought a plane to go an hour?” I exclaim.
“It would have taken me six hours to drive and that was far too long. It’s already taken me nine weeks and an army of detectives to find you.”
Since I don’t have any other options right now, I follow Callum toward a set of plush cream leather seats facing each other, with a fancy black wooden table inlaid with silver situated between them. He settles into one, then gestures for me to take my place opposite him. A glass and a bottle are already set out, as if his staff knows he can’t function without a drink.
Across the aisle from Callum is another set of cushy chairs, and a sofa lies beyond that. I wonder if I could get a job as a flight attendant for him. This place is even nicer than his car. I could live here, no question.
I sit down and set my backpack between my feet.
“Nice watch,” he comments dryly.
“Thanks. My mom gave it to me. Said it was the only thing my dad left her besides his name and me.” There’s no point in lying anymore. If his army of private detectives led him to me in Kirkwood, he probably knows more about me and Mom than I do. He certainly seems to know a lot about my dad, and I find, against my better judgment, I’m starving for that information. “Where’s the letter?”
“At home. I’ll give it to you when we arrive.” He reaches for a leather portfolio and pulls out a stack of cash—the kind you see in movies with a white wrapper around it. “I want to make a deal with you, Ella.”
I know my eyes are as huge as saucers but I can’t help it. I’ve never seen so many hundred-dollar bills in my entire life.
He pushes the stack across the dark surface until the pile of bills sits in front of me. Maybe this is a game show or some kind of reality television competition? I snap my mouth shut and try to stiffen up. No one plays me for a fool.
“Let’s hear it,” I say, crossing my arms and looking at Callum with narrowed eyes.
“From what I can tell, you’re stripping to support yourself and get a high school diploma. From there, I presume you’d like to go to college and give up stripping and perhaps do something else. Maybe you’d like to be an accountant or doctor or lawyer. This money is a good faith gesture.” He taps the bills. “This stack contains ten thousand dollars. For every month you stay with me, I’ll give you a new stack—in cash—for the same amount. If you stay with me until you graduate from high school, you’ll receive a bonus of two hundred thousand. That will pay for your college education, housing, clothing, and food. If you graduate with a degree, you’ll receive another substantial bonus.”
“What’s the catch?” My hands itch to grab the money, find a parachute and escape from Callum Royal’s clutches before he can even say stock market.
Instead, I stay seated, waiting to hear what kind of sick deed I’ll have to do to get this money—and debating internally what my limits are.
“The catch is that you don’t fight. You don’t try to run away. You accept my guardianship. You live in my home. You treat my sons as your brothers. If you do that, you can have the life you’ve dreamed of.” He pauses. “The life Steve would have wanted you to have.”
“And what do I have to do for you?” I need the terms spelled out exactly.
Callum’s eyes widen and his face takes on a green cast. “Nothing for me. You’re a very pretty girl, Ella, but you are a girl and I’m a forty-two-year-old man with five sons. Rest assured, I have an attractive girlfriend who meets my every need.”
Ewww. I hold up a hand. “Okay, I don’t need any more explanation.”
Callum laughs with relief before his tone goes serious again. “I know I can’t replace your parents, but I’m here for you in any way that you would need them. You may have lost your family, but you’re not alone anymore, Ella. You’re a Royal now.”
4