Terms of Service by Emma Nichols Read Free Book Online Page A

lifestyle, surrounded by wealth, content to be arm candy for the first willing guy she met.”
    “And that’s not me?”  Her voice was hard, defensive.
    “No, Hannah!”  He exclaimed, struggling to explain.  “You told me you are a good person, despite what it seemed, and I could tell that already.  You’ve just been handed a really raw deal and are making the best of a bad situation.”  He sighed.  “The system isn’t helping you.  Playing by the rules hasn’t worked.  And so, you have made an unconventional choice.”  
    “You said you had a ‘solution of sorts’ for me?”  She said with an edge in her voice.  She was more than ready to conclude this conversation.
    “Yes.  About that…well, my editor found your story fascinating.  Despite your problems, you are a success story, a story of hope…”
    Before he could offer more explanation, she interrupted.  “I’m a story of hope!  I have been hanging on by a thread.  For six months I have struggled with little money, few possessions, and with only the love and support of my parents and best friend to sustain me.”  She shook her head vehemently.  “I can’t take care of my kids, the most important things in my life.”  Tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffled.
    “Hannah,” Rick said gently, “you have a roof over your head.  You’re still sane.  You didn’t turn to drugs or alcohol.  You have never taken your anger out on your children.  If anything, this has made you stronger.  That is inspiring.  That’s the story I’d like to tell.  That’s the story Charlotte would love to read.”
    “What are you talking about?”  She asked exasperatedly.
    “Let me write about you and your experiences.  It would be a serial, running for as long as your adventures.”  He softened his voice as he added, “We’d pay you for it.”
    For a brief moment, Hannah thought about it.  Share with the world her deepest hurt, greatest shame, divulge her husband left her for a stripper and deserted her kids. Tell the world how he not only left them to fend for themselves financially, but he took everything with him.  How could she reveal that and ever show her face again?
    “I can’t,” she said, her voice a mere whisper.  “I can’t tell anyone about my past, and I swore not to reveal where I would be living or the nature of the contract I signed with the man who has become my guardian angel.”
    “We’d keep it completely confidential; change your name, the details, to protect you.”  He seemed desperate for her to agree.  “Think about it,” Rick said.  “And keep my number in case you change your mind.  Maybe in a few months…”
    “Of course,” Hannah murmured.  She couldn’t see into the future.  Her ability to plan more than a few days in advance had been one of the first casualties of Brett’s departure.  It would be foolish to turn his offer down completely when her circumstances could vary at a moment’s notice.  “We’ll see.”  Then she hung up the phone, unplugged it from the wall, and dropped it into the nearest box.
     

Chapter Four
     
    The last Saturday of March, a mere two days before April was to begin, Hannah left her children with their father for a few hours, despite his muted protests, and prepared to move into Gavin’s home.
    “I’ll be back to pick them up at five,” she explained, walking rapidly toward her beat up SUV, overflowing with boxes and suitcases.  “I have to move, thanks to you.”  Hannah glared at him and he squirmed slightly.  “The least you can do, and I mean the very least you can do, is take care of your children for a few hours while I do it,” she snapped.
    He sighed.  “Okay, but we have plans tonight.  No later than five.”  He placed his hands on his hips as though delivering some edict.
    Her eyes narrowed.  “Or else?”  She crossed her hands over her chest.  She could hardly stand the idea of the kids being around the stripper