Bet in the Dark by Rachel Higginson Read Free Book Online

Fin Hunter separated himself from his own version of a long-legged entourage and smiled up at me.
                  “See you later, Lacey,” he waved over his shoulder at the brunette in leggings and a low cut tunic top.
                  “Bye, Fin,” she called back with a confused look on her face.
                  I didn’t blame her. I would be confused too if I looked like her and was suddenly dismissed for something like me. It was very disconcerting to be the object of Fin Hunter’s energy and focus, expected for a girl like her, a bit traumatizing for a girl like me.
                  He sauntered over to me, with a lazy stride and casual arms gripping at a backpack he wasn’t wearing earlier. The late evening sun was low in the sky, but still shining bright enough so that it wasn’t close to dark. Fin Hunter looked perfect in this lighting and I found myself annoyed at the realization. His smile was crooked and easy and his eyes had that same laughing quality that irritated me so much yesterday.
                  It still annoyed me today.
                  This was going to be a long night.
                  “The boss is never late.” He stopped directly in front of me, looking down at me from those dark brown eyes. “You work for me, remember?”
                  “Work for you?” I gaped. “Work for you? What? ”
                  “Our agreement,” he explained just as casually as he was standing there, all relaxed ease, no hurry, no concern, just complete comfort. “You’re going to work for me until you come up with my money. I need a secretary. You want to help. Plus, you owe me all that money. Plus , I’ll deduct your hours from the total of the amount you owe as we go. Isn’t that generous of me?”
    My mouth fell open. Fell open, as in just dropped wide and shocked without my permission. Three sEconds in and I was left completely speechless. He laughed at me lightly and then used his upturned hand to gently close my mouth. His fingers brushed the underside of my jaw and his thumb rubbed against my chin, one time, two times, three times.
    “Come on,” he smiled down at me, his eyes filling with that amusement again.
    Finally I found words, “Come on where?”
    “My apartment.”
    “But you said to meet you at the library?” I reminded him in confusion. I should have probably said a hundred different things, including “I’m getting a lawyer so this whole personal assistant/secretary thing isn’t really working out for me.” But instead I just looked at him.
    “Obviously, we cannot run an illegal underground poker game from the middle of campus,” he sighed like I was s illy for even thinking that and turned to walk away.
    “Illegal?” I whisper ed and then repeated on a croak That was a fact I was really hoping was part of the urban legend side of him. “Illegal?”
    “Come on, Ellie,” he called in a singsong voice.
    And like an idiot, I followed him. So much for that whole liberated woman thing.
     
    ----
     
                  Fin Hunter’s apartment was on the opposite side of campus than mine, but similar in a lot of ways. His building housed mostly college students, just like mine. It was seven stories, just like mine. He lived on the sixth floor, although I live on the third, but the staircase was very similar. Although Fin’s was like an upgraded version of my building, it was obvious his rent was more, the tenants were of a higher, probably quieter standard and the super probably fixed things the same day they were broken. However, the only substantial difference between our living places was he lived alone in his one bedroom space while I lived with a roommate in my two bedroom.
                  Wait. Scratch that. We both live alone.
                  I wasn’t surprised at all by the layout, or location of his living space, but I was