In the end, I couldn’t stand the idea of the amusement park being anything less than perfect. This


    ce was my dad’s dream–a promise he made before he died in that car ident. I needed it to be


    wless, so I agreed to help.


    But now, instead of being an official part of the team, I was just some unpaid consultant, working


    behind the scenes.


    Whatever, as long as the amusement park turned out amazing in the end.


    This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    Besides, I had nothing better to do. Staying busy was way better than just sitting around.


    That evening, I headed to the Holiday Inn to meet Hayden about the amusement park project. As I


    was leaving, I noticed the door across the hall was locked up tight. The idea of some random guy


    moving in there soon gave me the creeps.


    Then it hit me: why not rent that apartment?


    Luckily, thendlord’s name and number were right on the door. I called her up right away, but


    when I pitched my idea, she hesitated. “Well… I already took a deposit from someone else. I can’t


    just back out now.”


    “Ms. Brown, give him his deposit back–double it. I’ll cover the difference, and I’ll pay more rent than


    he’s offering,” I said, not even hesitating. A little extra cash for peace of mind? Worth it.


    You know what they say: “money talks.”


    Having money was pretty awesome–it bought you peace of mind and made other people bend the


    rules,


    Ms. Brown, clearly tempted by the extra cash, quickly agreed to talk to the current tenant and


    promised to get back to me.


    After hanging up, I drove over to the Holiday Inn. But just as I stepped into the lobby, I spotted


    Tanya. Yeah, it’s a hotel–she could be here for any reason. But my gut was telling me she was here


    for me. And sure enough, she looked up as soon as she heard my footsteps and called out, “Ms.


    Kay.” Waiting for me? She must really need to talk.


    “If you’re here to talk about work, you’ve got the wrong person. I already quit,” I snapped before she


    could even start, not bothering to hide my annoyance.


    Honestly, I was still salty. My resignation was partly her fault. I’d thought about letting it go since she


    was pregnant, but now that she wasing to me, why should I hold back?


    “I’m here to talk to you about that,” Tanya said softly.


    I’d gone head–to–head with Tanya more than once. She could y any part–sweet and charming


    one rninute, cold and calcting the next–and I never held back. But I didn’t expect her to show up


    again, still trying to pull off the whole innocent act.


    No, she wasn’t just ying the innocent victim; she was more like one of those girls who’d flirt with


    anyone who gave her attention, shamelessly doing whatever it took to get what she wanted.


    “Oh? Then I’m all ears,” I said, dropping into the chair across from her.


    “I was only at the amusement park for work. That’s it. You’re reading too much into it,” she started,


    trying to sound all innocent.


    I let out a sarcasticugh. “But it seems like you were the one reading too much into things. I asked


    you to work with Wayne and get familiar with the park, and you thought that meant you should run


    and tattle to Jace?”


    She quickly shook her head. “I didn’t tattle. Jace called me, and I just mentioned it. I didn’t expect


    him to…


    She trailed off, but I knew exactly where she was going with that.


    Jace, in a fit of rage, had fired me–me, his former fiancée and, quite frankly, his right–hand woman-


    because of her.


    So, she wasn’t here to clear the air; she was here to rub it in my face.


    “He’s got tunnel vision when ites to love. Once his hormones kick in, he does all kinds of dumb


    things. Nothing surprising there,” I said, watching as Tanya’s expression soured, But I just smiled.


    “You probably don’t know this, but his close friends have a nickname for him. They call him a ‘dumb


    husky‘.”