Page 7 (2/2)

“Stay out of this, Arabella,” Gavin interjected, his tone condescending “None of this concerns you”

She strode the few steps it took to stand in front of where the other , her aniers flexed in front of her, as if she were holding back the temptation to slap him across the face for the superior way he talked to her “If it concerns ”

With that, she settled into one of the vacant chairs, while Maddux returned to his seat behind his desk, resisting the urge to applaud her gumption

“Let’s get back to business,” Maddux stated, leaning forward in his chair and clasping his hands on his desk

He glanced at Vincent, indicating he had the floor He’d been good friends with thebeside him for years It had actually been Vincent’s father, Christopher, who’d been a mentor to Maddux and had offered both financial advice and the capital to build his tech business Unlike Theodore, Maddux had paid off his debt a long ti, and never would

“As of tonight, I’ in your loan, Theodore,” Vincent said without preamble

“You can’t do that” Theodore’s voice was just short of begging

“According to the contract you signed, I can,” Vincent replied sly, and slid a piece of paper across Maddux’s desk that showed the other nature at the bottom “I just did”

“I needhairline and trickled down the sides of his face, even though it was a cool sixty-eight degrees in the room “

It’s not like I have one and a halfaround at home!”

Arabella gasped at that revelation, heramount She stared at Theodore in shock as the first of many truths started to unfold about her father

“Let’s be honest here,” Vincent said calh Maddux knew, beneath that cool co habit, you barely have two dollars to rub together and every line of credit you own is maxed out That’s a problem for a business at a rapid pace based on the principal you owe me”

Theodore started to breathe a little bit harder as he dabbed a handkerchief across his sweaty forehead “I’ve already signed over everything of value to you as collateral and a show of good faith,” he said angrily

Arabella led sound in the back of her throat when she realized as at stakeher and her father’s entire livelihood, not to mention every piece of property they owned “Fatherno”

“I want the cash,” Vincent deht Now”