Free Because of His Heart (For His Pleasure, Book 27) by Kelly Favor Page A

Chloe didn’t want to be the kind of person who did bad things out of spite.
    She would be the bigger person.
    She packed up the Birkin and hefted it in her hand, feeling its weight as she quickly exited her apartment and took the steps by two, getting downstairs and walking out the front door of the building.
    Once she came out, the door to the limousine opened and the driver emerged, a middle aged man with a cap, walking stiffly towards her, his hand outstretched. “The bag, please,” he said without so much as a smile.
    She stopped a few feet away. “I should give it directly to Liam or Grace,” she said.
    He shook his head once. “Afraid not.”
    “Why not?” she asked, peering suspiciously at the tinted back windows of the limo.
    Were they sitting inside, watching her, looking down their snooty noses at her? Judging her as not even worth a conversation, a moment of their time?
    The driver stepped forward. “The bag, ma’am. Hand it over.”
    His voice had taken on a distinctly less friendly tone. She sighed, knowing that to resist his instructions now would only make things worse.
    She gave him the Birkin Bag and he nodded at her. “Have a good day,” he told her, and then he got into his limousine and drove off.
    Chloe stood there, completely dumbstruck at how rude he and his employers had been in dealing with an honest citizen who’d saved them an awful lot of time and money by returning precious valuables to them.
    But eventually she had to accept that it was over.
    There would be no reward.
    There would not even be a thank you, or a smile.

----
    I t was later that evening when her cell phone rang and she saw the number was blocked.
    Chloe swallowed drily.
    Her heart was already pounding again, but she answered quickly. “Hello?” she said, her voice shaking.
    “Is this Chloe Reed?” the chipper female voice said.
    She swallowed. “Ummm…who is this?”
    “This is Grace. Grace Knowles-Houston.”
    Chloe couldn’t believe it. She sat down heavily on her rickety old recliner. “Oh. Hi. I’m Chloe, yes.”
    Grace laughed, her voice easy and confident. “I just thought I’d call and tell you how much we appreciated you contacting us. I pretty much freaked the heck out when our plane was in the air and I suddenly realized I’d left my brand new purse back at JFK. It was a wedding gift on top of everything. Anyway, you saved me a big headache to say the least, Chloe. You’re a good Samaritan.”
    Chloe found her voice. “When I saw that it was a Birkin—and especially that kind of Birkin—I knew I had to keep it and not just turn it into security.”
    “Yeah. That was smart,” Grace said. “I’d love to repay you for your help. I would’ve come and met you myself, but Liam and I are actually on our honeymoon right now.”
    “Oh God,” Chloe said, putting a hand to her mouth. She hadn’t even considered that as a possibility. “I’m so sorry you had to take time away from your honeymoon to call me.”
    “It’s my pleasure.” Grace took a moment and then spoke again. “Now, as I was saying, I’d love to repay you. Is there anything I can do—anything you need?”
    It was a loaded question.
    Part of her wanted to say, no, and just play the good girl.
    But another part of her knew that an opportunity like this would likely never come around again. And she didn’t want to blow it by being chicken.
    “A job would be nice,” she said, laughing, knowing how crazy it sounded. And she knew that what she’d done didn’t deserve that sort of repayment.
    “A job,” Grace echoed softly, her voice not amused or even annoyed. She seemed to be genuinely considering what Chloe had just said.
    “The thing is, I had a bit of a problem at my current place of business,” Chloe explained. “It’s a long story, but I think I’m about to be fired.”
    “Well, tell me what happened and I’ll see if I can’t help,” Grace replied.
    “Seriously?”
    “Seriously. Tell me what occurred,