Free Despite the Gentleman's Riches: Sweet Billionaire Romance (For Richer or Poorer Book 1) by Aimee Easterling

suddenly acquired an interest in living, and would at least be clocking paid hours in the more likely scenario where the teenager continued to ignore my existence for the rest of the day and week.
    But I couldn't do it. Nobody was this closed off due to mere teenage sullenness—Lena was hurting and her silence was a plea for help. I'd never averted my gaze and walked past a cold and shivering puppy on the pavement, even if the animal had fallen into a dumpster and reeked to high heaven, and I certainly didn't plan to start now.
    Meanwhile, if I were being entirely honest with myself, I also knew that I wanted to prove to Jack that I was more than just a low-wage checker from a backwoods grocery store. For both those reasons, and because I had been nearly as closed off myself soon after my parents died, I got up from the couch, walked across the room, and slid the remote out of my companion's hands. It was time for some tough love.
    "Hey!"
    When I hit the power button, the ensuing silence was so gratifying that I stood for a moment and reveled in the absence of television blare. Plus, a dramatic pause was useful since I had definitely captured Lena's attention. Now to see if I could keep it.
    "What do you think you're doing?" my irate charge demanded when the puddle of calm had lengthened into a river. For the last five minutes, we'd been watching a nature documentary that I was pretty sure had made even Lena yawn, so she was obviously reacting to my take-charge attitude rather than to the interruption of her so-called entertainment. But would the teenager admit that I'd finally gotten on her nerves? There was only one way to find out.
    "I'm turning off the TV," I told the girl, "to give us some peace and quiet. And because we need to talk."
     
     

Chapter 8
    We didn't talk. At first, I thought for sure Lena would erupt into complaints, her jaw clenching in preparation just like Jack's had last night when I'd pretended to dislike his sister. And, even though I knew the ensuing conflict wouldn't be pleasant, I was actually hoping to get chewed out. I wanted Lena to admit that I'd riled her up, that she was too old for a babysitter. In fact, I hoped the teenager's ire might even tempt her to let slip a clue or two to help me decipher the real root of her anger, allowing us to get started on lancing that wound. The metaphorical pus that oozed out wouldn't be pretty, but Lena would feel better once it was gone.
    So I thought I'd gotten lucky when my charge leapt to her feet, fists clenched in anger. If we'd been cartoon characters, steam would have come pouring out of the girl's ears as she opened her mouth...only to close it again with a snap as she turned her eyes back to the silent television.
    To my dismay, I realized that the teenager was shutting back down, the spark in her eyes diminishing by the second. Soon, I'd be just another dust mote in her otherwise impeccably clean house, and I had a feeling that if Lena dismissed me now, I might never break through her walls.
    But at least she was currently standing. So I grabbed the girl's hand and tugged, pulling her behind me down the long hallway that should have been covered with family photos, past the entryway that should have been clogged with dirty boots and forgotten hats, and out the door that should have been scuffed from the inevitable coming and going of a busy family. I didn't look back, knowing that if I did, Lena would quickly don an impenetrable mask of disdain. Instead, I hoped that the actual expression on her face, when no one was looking and she was nearly sliding down the polished wooden floors in an effort to keep pace with me, might be akin to glee.
    Outside, I breathed deeply for the first time since setting foot in the Reynolds mansion that morning. The additional oxygen made me giddy, and I couldn't help succumbing to silliness, waving one arm toward my rust bucket of a car and announcing, "Your chariot awaits, my lady."
    It was inevitable that Lena