When the Billionaire Begs novel · Chapter 11 of 24

Chapter 11: The Cardiology Bill

"Yes," I told Carlton. "Him."

It was not true, not yet, and I said it anyway, because I wanted to see his face.

Carlton stared at me for a long moment.

Then he dropped the velvet box into the gutter and got into his car.

The Mercedes pulled out hard, and the roses were still lying on the hood when it turned the corner.

They slid off at the stop sign.

Stellan looked at the flowers in the road and then at me.

"You didn't have to say that."

"I know."

"Good night, Claire," he said, and got back into the Volvo.

I noticed that he did not meet my eyes.

I thought nothing of it until the next morning.

At nine I stood at the billing desk of St. Jude's with my payment schedule and a check for the first of the month.

"Ms. Farris, your account shows a zero balance," the clerk said.

"That's wrong. The cardiac ICU has an extra pharmacology charge. It's more than eighteen thousand dollars."

"It was paid last night." She turned her screen toward me. "Card on file, in full, at eleven forty. The name on the receipt is Bergstrom."

My ears began to ring.

I did not go to the studio.

I walked eight blocks to a brick building near the river with a brass plate on the door that said Harlow Fund, and I took the stairs two at a time.

Keep reading free with an account. Start When the Billionaire Begs from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.