The Arrangement (unenhanced Edition) by AnnaRCase (books to read now .txt) 📖

Amberleigh could do nothing more than wander the city aimlessly for an hour afterwards and try and get her head together.  The day had started out so fucking well and had gone so fucking wrong along the way. It was too much to take in and absorb at once. She tried to sift through the jagged pieces of a very fucked up puzzle and not lose her shit any further.

                She’d wanted the truth. Had been after it since she knew the billionaire had been hiding something. And it was a whooper of secret as well. The God’s of the city, who saved millions with their supplies carted across a broken, dangerous country, couldn’t save them fucking selves.  Not even with all the money in the world at their fingertips, rubbing elbows with the CEO of the LEDA pharmaceutical Corporation, they were both fucked regardless. Money couldn’t solve all their problems after all.

                She didn’t know the name of the disease slowly killing Grayson and Cole Godwin, but she knew enough. It was awful, fucked up, non-curable, and fatal. And it was a well- kept secret. She wondered if Mr. Duvall even knew. She understood they were trying to protect their company’s image and it wasn’t the whole world’s fucking business anyway.  She got that.

                 But even as her heart went out to both of them, for it was truly awful, she couldn’t help be mad as hell either. Because rather than doing a surrogacy through the proper channels and ensuring a healthy embryo was implanted, they were willing to take the chance of a having a child afflicted with the same disease to try and keep their fucking dirty, little secret.  This shady deal all made sense now. Well fuck those selfish bastards!

                Amberleigh was done. No fucking way in hell would she now willingly let Grayson Godwin impregnate her now! He knew what would be in store for a child he passed his disease onto and still he was willing to risk it. Just what the fuck were the odds of him passing it onto his children?

                She needed to have it out with the billionaire no doubt.  Confront him and demand an answer to why? She didn’t give a fuck he’d be angry about her invading his privacy and following him. Shit like I got an incurable, fatal disease should have been disclosed upfront. Like hell would she had ever signed that fucking piece of paper if she’d known. Most people in their right mind wouldn’t though plenty of selfish bitches out there would. Amberleigh maybe a whore, but she wasn’t a heartless bitch without feelings or a conscience.

                She’d heard from Grayson’s own mouth how awful this disease was.  He was getting tremors, having mood swings, and would lose his ability to walk. So why the fuck would he ever subject a child to that kind of suffering? It blew her mind. She wanted to punch his fucking, straight white teeth in. Right now she knew if she latched onto anything besides her anger, she would fall apart.

                Right now she needed a fucking friend. She couldn’t call Ebony. There was only one person she could vent to and confide in at a moment like this. Someone else who knew the truth. She didn’t even hesitate as she dialed Leo’s number on her smart watch. Leo would know shit was real, because they barely even looked at each other these days and the only other time she’d straight up dialed his number was when Grayson passed out in the kitchen.

                She slunk back into an alley to call the chef. She paced, cursed, and kicked an empty foam coffee cup, as she waited for him to answer. She needed him to answer. She needed Leo right now so fucking bad or she was going to lose her fuckin mind.

                “Hello? Amber are you okay? Is something wrong?” came Leo’s rushed voice.

                She sniffled loudly, “I need you to pick me up Leo. Please”

                “Ok?  Where the hell are you right now? Are you hurt?”

                She stuck her head out of the alley to try and get a bearing on her location. She was in downtown she realized, not all that far from the Cobra Club. It wasn’t surprising she’d unconsciously walked towards the only real home she’d ever really known.

                “Near that deli that only serves vegan shit on Broadway Street.”

                “Okay, hang tight. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Wait for me. What the hell  happened Amber?”

                She could hear Leo rev his engine and do what sounded suspiciously like a U-turn by the angry honking of horns and squealing of tires. She loved his loyalty and enthusiasm, but needed him to arrive in one piece for more reasons than one. He was probably speculating something had happened to Grayson. And now she understood why he would. Why he was so concerned about his friends health and making sure Grayson ate and rested properly.

                “Leo, be careful for fuck sake. Grayson is fine. I just need you,” she explained.

                She knew one of those statements was a fucking lie. Grayson was far from fine, but she couldn’t think about that right now. She couldn’t just break down in the sidewalk in downtown Omega City. And a part of her feared, if she started crying again, she wouldn’t be able to stop.

                “Okay. I’m headed your way now.  You sound upset. Did you and Grayson have a fight?”

                “Not yet,” she answered honestly, “But I’ll talk to you when you get here Leo. See you soon.”

                She knew it was a shitty thing to do, hanging up on the chef, but right now she wasn’t up for talking out in the open. So she crossed the street and waited for Leo in front of the deli. Tried to focus her mind on anything else, save the elephant that had not only came charging in that fucking graveyard, it had also sat upon her chest.  Even now it still felt hard to breathe. She tried to people watch, but knew she must have looked like she was on something to those passing by.