Read Reach Me for Free Online Page A

small box, flipping it over and examining it like it might contain a bomb. It has no markings on the outside, no label, nothing. I set in on my table and snatch a knife up from the kitchen counter. I cut the seal on the box and flip it open. There is an envelope with my name written in black ink. Lindsay.
    I turn the letter over and my heart pounds away in my chest. The embossing on the back of the envelope is raised and clear. I run my fingertips over the elegant letters pressed into the paper. LRB
    “Russ,” I whisper. My hands open the envelope of their own volition and flip open the letter inside.
     
    Linds,
    Please forgive me for being an ass today. I hate that I have upset you but I don’t hate that we have met in person. I wouldn’t give that back for anything. We need to talk. I am a businessman and I have a proposition for you. Just hear me out. You know how to reach me.
    -Russ
     
    I ran across these today and couldn’t resist. You look amazing in dark blue. Please accept them.
     
    I peek down into the box and see another small box. I crack it open and gasp. Inside is a pair of teardrop sapphire earrings that would make the crummy navy blue shirt I wore today look like a paper sack. I don’t have any valuable jewelry of my own and my heart speeds and swells at the same time. They’re beautiful and I feel an undeniable tug at my heart. My iron will may have met its match. I reread the letter for the third time and run my fingers over his signed name. The way he said he has “a proposition for me” has me feeling both nauseated and cheap. If he thinks he can buy sex from me, he’s got another think coming. The anger I felt earlier today comes rushing back in. I snap the small box closed and storm to my room to send a message to a certain gorgeous asshole.
     

     
    My fingers graze easily over the keys, tapping out my message. I grab hold of the anger I feel and let it coax out some confidence. It does the trick.
     
    LNZ84: I’m not interested in your “proposition,” nor am I up for sale. I’ll be returning the earrings. Find someone else to buy.
     
    I stare at the screen and jump when my computer dings, notifying me of a response.
     
    Russ_00: Come on, Linds. You know that’s not what I mean by the letter or the gift. You know me better than that.
     
    LNZ84: That’s where you’re wrong. I don’t know you at all. You proved that today.
     
    My words seem clear, but they’re anything but. I’m torn. Part of me wants to believe him, but my common sense knows better. It’s like Russ and the man I met today are two entirely different men. Then again, who can fake the funk for nearly ten years? If he’s been pretending to be something he’s not, then he deserves a freakin’ Oscar.
     
    Russ_00: You do know me. You know me better than anyone else. You know I’m right. Don’t over think this. Meet me tomorrow. Hear me out.
     
    LNZ84: And why would I do that? You hardly heard me out today.
     
    Russ_00: Agreed. Let me apologize in person. I’ll keep asking. I don’t accept defeat easily.
     
    I sigh heavily and lean back against my headboard, knowing that I’m backed into a corner. If I entertain his request, maybe I can buy myself more time before I have to move us to another place. My only other option is in the form of a larger version of Trey and I am not contacting Jonathan. I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a fork than open that proverbial can of worms. Russ is definitely the lesser of the two evils.
    My index finger pecks out my short response.
     
    LNZ84: Fine.
     
    I close my laptop with a slam and reach for my journal.
     
    Journal,
    IOU.
    -L

 
     
    A loud knocking at my apartment door has me stumbling out of bed to answer it. I’m half asleep and rubbing the sleep from my eyes when I swing the door open and blink rapidly at him. Him.
    All at once my mouth gets even drier. I hastily fold my arms over my braless breasts. He just stands there for a moment and I watch hazily as