The Billionaire Swap novel · Chapter 5 of 16

Chapter 5: The First Line

"Okay," I said.

He waited.

"Okay?"

"You asked a question. That's my answer."

He let go of the book.

Then he picked up a pen and pulled a black notebook out of his bag.

He opened it to the first page.

It was empty.

He wrote at the top, in careful block letters: ABIGAIL DRUMMOND. $11,400.

He turned the book so I could see it.

"First investor," he said. "First line."

"Is that a big deal?"

"Every deal I ever make will be written under that line."

I looked at my name.

Abigail Drummond.

I hadn't seen it written down before.

It looked good.

After that, the laptop stayed open on the table even when I was in the room.

He explained things to me at night.

Most of it went over my head.

But I learned that he needed twelve people with money to believe in him.

And I learned that none of them wanted to be seen near a Drummond.

"Victor's told every banker in Chicago that I'm radioactive," Stuart said.

"Are you?"

"A little."

I kissed the top of his head without thinking about it.

He went very still.

I went back to my book.

Neither of us said anything about it.

On Thursday, Meredith came to my office.

She walked onto the claims floor at Lakeshore Mutual in white sunglasses, with Trey behind her.

Everyone looked up from their desks.

"Surprise!" Meredith said. "We were in the neighborhood."

Nobody at Lakeshore Mutual is ever in the neighborhood.

She perched on the edge of my desk and knocked my pencil cup over.

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