Free INDISPENSABLE: Part 1: A Billionaire Romance by Maryann Barnett Page A

and yet she knew it would tear her apart. This part of her life had been in lockdown for five years.
    “I went to visit your parents.”
    “God.” Breathe. Don’t shut down. Breathe. They aren’t here; they can’t hurt you.
    “They asked me to pass them on to you.”
    “This is so not okay.”
    “Sarah, believe me. I’m trying to make you happy. I want to see you happy. They said the same. Said they were sorry for the pain they’d caused you and your brother.”
    “When hell is serving ice cream cones, I’ll believe that.”
    “This has backfired in a major way for me.”
    “Just for the record, you can’t ever make me happy by violating my privacy. It’s way over the line.”
    “You’re right. It is. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I’m sorry, Sarah. If I’d known how upset you’d be…”
    “How much did you pay for them?”
    “Nothing.”
    “If you are going to invade every facet of my life, at least give me the common courtesy of not lying to me. My parents would not let them go for nothing. That’s not their MO.”
    “One million.”
    Sarah needed to sit. “My life used to be shit, but right now…it’s mega-shit.”
    “It’s not that bad.”
    “Really? Stalker boss buys off parents for dead brother’s paintings they’ve hidden for years as punishment for not paying them off to fund their drug habit. Are you hearing how that is smack-bang on the middle of Crazytown?”
    “Drug habit?”
    “Yes. My childhood was being a parent to my two incapable parents. Trying to sell drugs to my friends so they could afford their next hit. I never had friends. I couldn’t.”
    “Well, they are out of your life now.”
    Sarah gave a raw laugh laced with disbelief. “No. No, they aren’t. You’ve just given them a golden ticket straight back into my world because now they know you care enough about me to pay for these.” She indicated the beautifully mounted paintings. “They know they can exploit you for more because of me, and believe me they’ll know how much you are worth. It’s been all over the news.”
    “I made an agreement with them.”
    “Good luck with that. Agreements are for honest people”
    “I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’ll sort it out when it happens. The question is, are you going to sign this lease? You can hate me all you want, but this place is perfect and you know it.”
    “I’ll give you six months here. By then Bella and I will decide if we want to move on, but you have to promise this is the very last thing you will ever do to interfere with my life without my input.”
    “I promise.”
    “If you micro-manage me one more time, I’ll walk away from everything, including the job. I make my own decisions.”
    “Deal. And to prove I mean it, I’ll let you take me out to lunch. Your choice of restaurant. No pressure.”
    Sarah stared at him. “You’re impossible.”

Chapter Eleven
    “You know, you can afford not to eat at a fast food restaurant now.”
    Sarah smiled across at him, clearly enjoying him being folded into the back of the slim booth. “I haven’t had my first pay yet. How was your burger?”
    “I actually quite enjoyed it. I think next time I’ll get Harry to bring the limo through the drive through. He has to take up three parking spaces out there. He’s copping some flak for it.”
    “I’ll take him an ice cream cone. He’ll love it. I haven’t had one of these burgers for months.”
    “I haven’t had one since I was ten.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah. Amazingly, it all tastes exactly as I remember.”
    “There’s something to be said for product guarantee. You know how it will look, how it will taste, how much it will cost, and it’s available anytime. It isn’t fine dining, but it is the most popular way to eat out in this country. Possibly the western world.”
    “Great business model for sure.”
    “So where did you grow up?”
    Brock hesitated in answering for a moment. Should he tell her the truth or the version he