Read Wrong (Breaking the Rules) for Free Online Page B

This museum is my life. Of course I’m going to do the best that I can. No worries.”
    He smiled, flashing his perfect teeth, and left. My life was just too weird lately. It seemed to be unpredictable, and I was having a problem dealing with that aspect.

    I stroked Andi’s hair as she snored softly in my lap. Olive had fallen asleep on the other side of the couch. These were my girls. Andi had been through hell and back, and Jackson still dicked her around. It really pissed me off. Bray could be the biggest ass on the planet, but even he was more likeable than Jackson. When Bray cheated on her and sent her into a spiraling depression that almost killed her, I nearly killed him. But at least he tried to be a nice guy—unlike Jackson the Jackass. I hoped that either Andi would get over Jackson or he would snap out of it and really love her like she deserved to be loved.
    Olive’s long legs were stretched out over the coffee table. The girl was angelic-looking. Her light chocolate skin was perfect and unmarred. When Andi brought her to the apartment that night a while ago, I’d wanted to say no. I’d been happy with having Andi all to myself. She had been my only friend and I hadn’t needed some leggy goddess stealing her away from me. But when Olive looked at me with her doe-eyed, innocent expression that pleaded for human connection, something in my heart had acknowledged the kindred spirit. We’d brought her in under our wing, and it was the best decision we’d ever made.
    Olive was such a fragile being. I’d always thought that Andi was the one who’d needed protecting and taking care of, but that was until I’d met Olive. Olive was almost childlike in her innocence. The problem was that her ex, Drake, had done something to steal that innocence away. I could see it in her eyes every time she looked at me. Sure, she hid it with smiles and jokes. But I knew the truth.
    I thought that the reason the three of us had connected so well was because we all had been broken in some way. Andi had everything from her cold, distant family, the horrific breakup with Bray, and now the confusion that was Jackson to define the woman she had become. Olive had a prior abusive relationship—probably both physical and mental in nature—to define her as a woman. And me, I had to live with the fear of what Cole had almost done to me had Daddy not stopped it. It prevented me from being a normal person. Hell, I’d even embraced the shitty nickname he’d given me, preferring to use it over my own name. Every bit of what he’d managed to do to me in the span of such a short time defined me.
    I just hoped we would all make it out on the other side. Happy, loved, and unscathed. A girl can dream.
    My phone chimed, alerting me to a text. It was late so I was worried who might be messaging me at this hour. Pulling it from my pocket, I frowned once I realized it was from Jordan.
    Jordan : Pepper, I’m sorry I upset you. I just want to know you. J
    I wanted to say a lot of things back to him. I overreacted. Or mind your own fucking business. Or find someone else to fix. Or I want you to know me too. But instead, I just set my phone down and chose silence.

 
     

    Walking into the conference room at Jennings’s Holdings, I nodded at Lou and his attorney before sitting beside Joel.
    “Now that we’re all here, we need to discuss finalizing these negotiations,” Joel told everyone.
    “I’m sorry about your father,” Lou’s attorney began, “but he began some deals with my client that must be honored. As you know, Mr. Jennings is a wealthy man. He’s made his money by making good investments. One of his investments was in a venture your father started. Their other partner, who wishes to remain unnamed, also has a vested interest in what happens with this deal. Unfortunately, your father passed away before he could distribute the earnings properly.”
    I interrupted him because he was already pissing me off.
    “Yes, it is really