From Doormat to Doomsday Billionaire!

Chapter 28: Even

Rhys stopped.

Through the metal door, the argument leaked out like gas from a cracked pipe.

Rhys listened carefully, and the last piece slid into place.

So that’s it. Paul had borrowed money from a loan shark. Sara had found out. And she was handling it for him.

“I’ve already sorted out the money,” Sara snapped inside. “So you can stop breathing down my neck.”

“You’ve sorted it out?” Paul’s voice cracked with disbelief. “How? Where the hell does a woman like you get that kind of cash?”

She hadn’t answered yet when Rhys knocked.

The shouting stopped.

A moment later, the door swung open. Paul stood there, red-eyed, reeking of liquor, still wearing the swelling on his lip from the elevator.

Rhys looked past him, straight at Sara.

“That last payment was just to cover your debt,” he said calmly. “I haven’t paid you for the other thing yet.”

Paul went rigid.

Then his face twisted.

“What money? What other thing? What did you two do?” he demanded.

Rhys raised both hands with a smile so innocent.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. We didn’t do anything.”

Paul didn’t believe a word.

If nothing happened, why was this man handing his wife money? And why was he standing here in a bathrobe?

He whipped around.

“Why is he paying you? What were you doing when you sneaked out?”

Sara knew exactly what Rhys was doing. He was repaying her for the trick she’d played. She forced herself to stay calm, though her knuckles were white against the doorframe.

“I went to ask him for a loan. He wanted something else in return, and I refused. Now he’s bitter, so he’s trying to wreck us.”

Rhys chuckled.

“If I just wanted to cause trouble, would I be handing over actual money?”

He tapped his phone.

A notification chimed on Sara’s.

Paul snatched the phone out of her hand and his face darkened as he read.

“Five thousand dollars. He just sent you another five thousand!” His voice cracked into a roar. “What the hell did you do with him? Did you fuck him?”

“Paul, listen to me! Nothing happened! He’s doing this so you’ll think something did!”

“Don’t you dare lie to me!”

Rhys winked at her.

“I had a very good time,” he said. “Come see me again sometime.”

Then he turned and walked toward the stairwell, hands in the pockets of his robe, whistling softly.

Even after the fire door swung shut behind him, he could still hear Paul bellowing.

“First you borrow from a loan shark behind my back, and now this? You think I’m stupid? I want a divorce!”

“Paul! Please! He’s lying, I swear!”

“You’re a whore! A lying, thieving whore!”

“And you’re a drunk! You’re the reason we’re in this mess!”

Their voices tangled together and clattered down the stairwell. Rhys smiled faintly.

She tricked me out of a hundred thousand. Now I’ve played a trick of my own.

We’re even.

That night, he drove Duke to a veterinary hospital.

It took some searching to find an emergency clinic open twenty-four hours. When he finally found one, he carried the dog inside wrapped in a blanket and set him gently on the exam table.

“Whatever it costs, save him.” Rhys told the vet.

The vet examined Duke carefully, probing his ribs, checking his gums, shaking his head slowly at the bruising along his side. 

Rhys stood beside the table with his arms crossed. Whoever did this didn’t think anyone was watching.

On the table, Duke lifted his head. His tail gave one weak wag. His warm, rough tongue licked Rhys’s hand.

Something in Rhys’s heart softened.

He reached down and gently stroked the dog’s head.

“It’s all right, You’re safe now.”

He didn’t know if it was true. He didn’t know if the dog would be loyal, or useful, or even survive the night. Trust like that had to be earned in time.

But as the vet wheeled Duke toward the operating room, Rhys found himself watching the dog’s tail, still wagging softly, all the way to the swinging doors.

Perhaps, without even realizing it, he had just found a buddy to face the apocalypse with.