Chapter 2

That evening, one of Grant's oldest friends hosted a dinner in the private room of an exclusive downtown restaurant.

Grant texted me an order to attend.

"Everyone is here. Do not show up with an attitude."

I took a cab to the restaurant. When I opened the door to the private dining room, Grant occupied the seat of honor.

Vanessa sat at his right hand in the chair that had always been mine.

Conversation stopped for a beat when I entered.

Vanessa rose with a sweet smile. "Claire, you made it. Come sit down."

She pointed to the empty chair at the far end of the long table, as far from Grant as possible.

I walked over and sat.

A server brought out a platter of king crab. Vanessa stared at the shells and pouted.

"Grant, these are so hard. I cannot get them open."

Without a word, he pulled on disposable gloves and picked up the shears. He extracted the meat, arranged it neatly on a small plate, and slid it toward her.

"Here. Be careful not to cut your mouth."

His friends began to tease him.

"Look at Prescott work."

"Vanessa comes back to town, and suddenly Grant remembers how to be charming."

"Relax, Claire. Those two have always been close."

Every face turned toward me, waiting for the scene they were sure I would make.

I took out my phone, opened my chat with Grant, typed a message, and pressed send.

His phone vibrated on the table. The moment he read the screen, his face darkened.

"Have you lost your mind?" He slammed a palm against the table.

I had sent him an invoice.

"Crab service: thirty thousand dollars. Fee for sitting through this performance without causing a scene: fifteen thousand. Total due: forty five thousand dollars."

I met his eyes calmly.

"Settle the bill, Grant."

Vanessa leaned over to read the screen and covered her mouth in shock.

"What are you doing, Claire? He only peeled some crab for me. Why would you charge him for that? Are you short on money? You could have told me. You do not need to treat Grant this way."

Her eyes filled with tears, as though I had wounded her beyond repair.

Grant ripped off the gloves and flung them onto the table.

"Have you gone insane over money? It is bad enough when you pull this nonsense at home. Now you have to humiliate me in public too?"

I leaned back and folded my arms.

"No one forced you to buy. If the price was too high, you could have left the crab alone. You used the service, so you pay for it. Or is the CEO of Prescott Holdings planning to stiff me over forty five thousand dollars?"

His friends exchanged uneasy looks. The room went frigid.

Grant stared at me as if he wanted to tear me apart. Then he snatched up his phone and made the transfer.

My phone chimed. Forty five thousand dollars.

"You have your money. Now get out."

I stood and picked up my purse.

"Pleasure doing business with you. Call anytime."

As I left the room, I heard Vanessa crying behind me.

"I am so sorry, Grant. This is all my fault. I upset her."

He soothed her in a low voice. "It has nothing to do with you. She is completely irrational."

Irrational?

I glanced at the extra forty five thousand in my account and smiled without humor.

For the right price, I could be anything he wanted.

The night air was cool outside the restaurant. I hailed a cab and went straight to the hospital.

Evan's attending physician met me outside the ICU and handed me a bill.

"Ms. Morgan, your brother's medication authorization is due for renewal. We also reached Dr. Adrian Mercer, the neurosurgeon in Boston. He will be in New York next week. If he agrees to operate, your brother's chances improve considerably. Between the surgery and his fee, you would need at least seven hundred fifty thousand dollars."

Seven hundred fifty thousand dollars.

I tightened my grip on the invoice.

"Secure the appointment. I will find the money."

Seven hundred fifty thousand dollars was nothing.

I would make Grant hand it over willingly.