The Billionaire Swap novel · Chapter 8 of 16

Chapter 8: The Check

Stuart looked down at Victor's hand on his chest.

Then he took it by the wrist and moved it away.

"Get off my boat," Victor said. "You and her both."

"Gladly," Stuart said.

He didn't argue.

He didn't look at Trey.

He took off his jacket, put it around my wet shoulders, and walked me down the gangway.

At the bottom I looked back.

Meredith was still crying on Trey's shoulder.

Mom was stroking her hair.

Nobody was looking at us.

In the car Stuart sat with his hands on the wheel and didn't start the engine.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I should have been there."

"You were busy."

"She hit you."

"She's done worse," I said. "When I was nine she cut my hair while I was asleep."

He turned to look at me.

"Why did nobody in your family ever stand up for you?"

I thought about it.

"I never asked them to."

He took my hand and pressed it to his mouth and held it there for a long time.

Then he started the car.

"Was Victor telling the truth? About the banks?"

"Yes."

"So what happens now?"

He pulled out of the harbor.

"Now I call people who don't live in Chicago."

He barely slept after that.

He quit QuickDrop.

He flew to Toronto on a cheap flight with Harriet and came back the same night.

He took calls at four in the morning from people in Singapore.

I made sure he ate.

I learned to make his noodles with two eggs.

On a hot Tuesday in late August, somebody knocked on our door.

I opened it.

Mom was standing on the landing, red in the face and out of breath.

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