I glare at him and fold my arms over my chest. “You’re an arrogant asshole if you think I’m here because I can’t breathe without you. I’m never doing that again.”
The smile fades from Nate’s face. “Not every guy is like him, you know.”
“I don’t know that. I don’t know you, and I’m not getting my heart ripped out of my chest again.”
“So why are you here?”
“For the view, obviously. Your ceiling is sublime in this light.” I pause and glance up at him out of the corner of my eye. “Why are you sitting in the dark?”
He sighs, running a hand down the back of his neck and turning toward his desk. He strides over and plucks a paper from the to
p, then tosses it to me. The note lands on my face. I lift it and scan it to see what’s got him so upset.
It’s a letter from the fracking company. I hold the letter over my face as I read and blurt out, “Holy shit! They offered you over half a million bucks!” I spin around on my butt and criss-cross my legs. I stare at the letter for a moment longer and then lift it up to him.
Nate is leaning against his desk, his long legs crossed at the ankle, his hands resting on either side of his trim hips. “What would you do?”
“With half a million dollars? I’d tell my family to fuck off and finish college. I could do whatever I wanted. That money is freedom.”
He shakes his head. “That money is tainted.”
“What do you mean?” I lower my hand when he doesn’t take the note and look at the paper.
“It’s from fracking. They’re destroying the world and completely disregarding future generations. Only two states have banned it, but the damage it does is horrendous. Even if it didn’t crack apart the ground and create earthquakes, look at what happened in San Antonio. A machine failed, filling a neighborhood's streets with hydraulic fracking fluid. It’s poisonous, Kerry. I can’t look the other way. Accepting this money is like being part of it.” Frown lines crease his forehead as he turns away from me.
“But you want to sell?” I’m not stupid. I owe Ferro a debt and Nate is in his crosshairs. I need to make sure he hands over that house.
“I could use the money. I spent my savings on Dad's funeral and paying off the rest of his accounts. I have nothing.” He lifts his blue gaze and meets mine. “What would you do?”
I swallow hard, caught between a debt and the truth. “I don’t know. I can’t tell you. I haven't been in your position.”
He kicks the toe of his shoe against the carpet and folds his arms across his chest. “It’s a lot of money, more than I need.”
I’m quiet, listening to him stumble around with his thoughts.
“I have a job. Over time, I’ll be able to save up again.”
“Yeah, but your house will be in the middle of a fracking zone.”
“They can’t start drilling until I’m gone. The area has to be rezoned, and the city won’t do it if there’s still a resident in the area.”
“Nate, do you really want to be the last man standing? Isn’t there another way to go up against them?”
He frowns at me. “So you’re pro-fracking?”
I scoff, “I’m not pro anything. I don’t like the idea of fracking. Dallas has had earthquakes because of it. I think it’s dangerous and wish the government would grow some balls and do what needs to be done, not just with this, but also with lots of other things. I honestly don't know what I’d do in your shoes.”
Nate watches me for a moment but doesn’t move off the desk. I stand and step toward him, offering the letter back. He takes it from me and lays it on the desk behind him. When he turns back to me, he’s inches away. My fingers are burning, wanting to touch him. The desire to feel his skin under my palms rushes through me, making me hot.
“I wish things were simpler.” The statement hangs in the air, and I know he’s not just talking about the offer.
“Me, too.”
His gaze locks on my eyes, and the intensity of his stare makes my stomach flip. I step back and clear my throat, managing to avoid his eyes. “I better get going.”
“Going home?”
I want to lie and say yes, that I’m going back to the dorm. I watch him carefully and shake my head. “No. I was going to find a friend.”