“Do the other subcontractors know?”
He shrugs. “I don’t think they know everything, but it’s no secret that I’ve been given preferential treatment around here. That’s definitely pissed them off.”
That complicates things. A lot. If the other workers hate him, I doubt many would hesitate to sell him out if they learned the truth. Ward needs to get out of here before all hell breaks loose.
“One thing I still don’t get.” I lay my hand gently on his chest. “Why are you here? You’re obviously still angry with Carolson—for good reason. Why did you agree to this?”
“As I said, I was broke.” His hand closes over mine. “He offered me a lot of money to come down here. Basically double what I would’ve expected on a job like this. By the time this project is done, I’ll have enough for almost two years of school.” He squeezes my fingers. “But as I said before, that’s just the excuse I’ve been making to myself. The truth is, I spent my whole life wondering about my biological father. Hating him, yes, but I think there’s a part of me that was always hoping he’d come find me one day. That he’d want to be a part of my life. And in a sense, that’s what he did. He told me he wanted to make up for the things he’d done. He offered to pay my way through school, but there’s no way in hell I would’ve just accepted money from that man. So he told me he had a job for me down here.”
I have no words for him, so I just continue to stroke his chest.
“I thought…” he says. “Honestly, I don’t know what I thought. I certainly wasn’t stupid enough to think we’d be one big happy family or something. But I thought we might have the chance to… I don’t know.” He shakes his head. “But then I realized what a fraud he was. He’s a businessman. He sells you what you want to hear whenever it serves him in some way. He never had any interest in getting to know me. This was all just his way of dealing with a guilty conscience. He wanted to throw cash at me and feel like he’d done his duty toward me and my mom. He thinks that money solves everything. That it’s the answer to all of life’s problems. It’s bullshit.”
It’s certainly not hard to see where his hatred of the wealthy came from. I lie down next to him again and snuggle up against his side. He pulls me close to him.
“Why haven’t you quit?” I ask.
“I’ve thought about it. A lot.” He sighs. “I don’t know why I can’t. Obviously I’ve tried to get my ass fired a few times, but you can see how well that’s worked. Maybe I just…”
“You’re still holding out hope that he might show some normal human compassion?”
“No. I gave that up a while ago.”
We lie there in silence for a while.
“Does his family know?” I say finally.
“Only Troy, I think. Carolson’s pulled him into the family business and he noticed that I was getting a much larger salary than was normal. So the last time he and his father came down here, he sought me out.”
“And you told him?”
“Didn’t have to. He figured it out on his own. Apparently he’s well aware of his father’s many… indiscretions. Sometimes I think he hates his father almost as much as I do. I almost believe there’s a chance he might escape turning into that asshole one day.”
I smile, but it’s hard to enjoy the fact that he’s acknowledged a rich guy might be a decent person right now.
“One of the reporters suspects something,” I say. There’s no point in holding it back at this point.
Ward stiffens. “What do you mean?”
I sit up straight, suddenly feeling awkward. But I need to tell him.
“One of the reporters—Asher Julian—approached me and asked about your connection to Carolson. He saw that Carolson had brought you in from Chicago and he couldn’t figure out why.”
I watch Ward register this information. Even by the fluorescent lights, I can read the concern and confusion in his face.
“Why would he go to you?” he asks finally. “Do you think he’s talked to other people, too?”
“I don’t know about other people,” I say. “But he came to me because he somehow knows we’ve been… friendly. I don’t know when he saw us. But he thought I might know something.”
“And, what? He thought you’d just spit it out?”
There’s a brief flicker of joy at the realization that his first thought wasn’t to question whether or not I’d shared anything. He trusts me.
And that’s what makes this next part so hard.
Just do it, Lou. Just say it.
“He has some leverage against me,” I say.
That gets Ward’s attention. He sits up next to me, concerned. His fingers slip beneath my chin, and he turns my face toward his.
“What kind of leverage?” he says. “What did he do?”
I can sense the anger in his touch, see it in his eyes—but it’s not directed at me. It’s for me. On my behalf. He’s upset that Asher’s blackmailing me.
Just spit it out. Just tell him.
But it’s hard to admit to my lie when he’s looking at me like that. I pull away from him and stand up. I’m very fully aware that I’m still naked, but there’s nothing I can do about that now. Ward is watching me, but I don’t look at him. I just let the burn of his gaze sink into my skin.
“You’ve explained to me why you stay here, even though you hate it,” I say finally. “But I never gave you my reasons.”
He doesn’t say anything, just continues to stare. I’ve started pacing, trying to find the right words.
Say it, Lou.
“The truth is…” I begin, closing my eyes.
SAY IT.
“The truth is, this used to be my home.” The words are hardly more than a whisper.
He continues to be silent for what feels like an eternity. My stomach is one giant knot as I slowly peel my eyes open again.
“What do you mean by that?” he says, though I can tell the wheels are already working in his head.
“I grew up here,” I say. “Addison Thomas isn’t my real name. It’s Louisa Cunningham.”
Though I know he’s arrived at that answer before I say it out loud, my words confirm his fears. His entire demeanor changes.
“You’re…”
“Louisa Cunningham,” I say again. “Though most people I know call me Lou.”