Free Take Me: Part 3 (Power Play #3) by Kelly Harper

close to you.”
    “I never said that I don’t want him getting close to me.”
    “Oh, please, Hannah. He’s obviously making an effort to take things to whatever the next level is, but you’re so preoccupied with your job that you can’t even see it.”
    “Why do you say it like that? Since when was taking your career seriously such a bad thing?”
    Tawny shakes her head.  
    “It’s not a bad thing… if you’re doing it for the right reasons.”
    “And you think I’m doing it for the wrong reasons? Someone has to pay for that expensive apartment we live in.”
    Her face hardens as she fixes me with another look.
    “You have the money to pay for that apartment, with or without your career . You’re not working at BMG because it’s your dream—you’re working there because it was your father’s dream.” She puts her hand on my shoulder, squeezing it softly. “When are you going to stop living your father’s life and start living your own?”
    Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. I stare at her for a long time, completely unsure and unable to make a response.
    Is she right? Have I just been chasing my father’s dreams all this time without paying any attention to what I might want? I don’t even have to ask myself the question to know the answer to it:
    Of course she’s right.
    Tawny gives me a soft look and runs her hand on my shoulder.
    “Answer one question for me,” she begins. “Have you ever thought about what you might be doing with your life if your father were still around? Have you ever considered what he would have wanted you to do?” The blank stare on my face is more of an answer than she even needs. “See? Maybe you should let yourself give Isaac a chance.”
    A tiny groan escapes my lips. I know she’s right. I should call him right that very minute and tell him that I want to run away with him. But it’s not just Isaac that Tawny is right about. She’s also right that I can’t keep trying to be the person I’ve always thought I was supposed to be, instead of the person that I actually am. It’s a hard thought to swallow, but I know it’s probably for the best.
    When I am finally able to recompose myself, we go back to doing some shopping and making small talk about what Tawny thinks is going to happen with Calvin. But we aren’t walking for long before something catches my eye. In the center of the Trump Tower shopping plaza is a little restaurant. A tiny, decorative fence separates the tables from the rest of the shopping area, and just on the other side of that divider I notice the familiar form of a man. It’s Declan. He’s sitting across from a lady, but from this distance it’s hard to get a good look at her. Still, there’s something familiar about her, something that immediately nags at me and sets me on edge.
    My feet bring me close to them without even realizing what I’m doing. And as I get closer, the familiar form of that lady begins to solidify.
    My heart sinks when I realize who it is.

Chapter 16

    “What the hell?” I say, not realizing I said it out loud until Tawny gives me a surprised look.  
    “What is it?”
    I don’t answer her. Instead, my feet carry me even closer to the two people sitting at the table—Declan, and a woman that I haven’t seen or heard from in years.
    My mother.
    Why in the world is Declan talking to her? How do they even know each other? Why didn’t Declan tell me that he was going to see my mother?
    My heart is pounding in my chest as I sneak up on them, slowly. I’m hoping they don’t notice me approaching, I want to hear what they’ could possibly be talking about without them knowing I’m there. It’s sneaky and deceptive of me, but none of it is making sense. There has to be some reason that Declan is talking to her. Groups of people are passing all around me—an endless flow of shoppers separates me from the table they’re sitting at. I think I can get pretty close before they see me. Maybe I’ll find out