Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 103918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Lex let out a few sniffles before he said, "He said he was glad he no longer had to pretend that touching me turned him on and that he’d had to think about his boyfriend to even get it up."
It was all I could do not to pull Lex across the console of my truck and into my arms. I wanted to beat the shit out of the man who'd hurt Lex so cruelly. It was clear from how deeply the episode still affected him that Lex had really and truly cared for Grady.
"I'm sorry, Lex," I whispered and then I ignored all protocol and, despite the console between us, I pulled him against my chest. Lex was stiff for a moment, then he let out a soft sob and relaxed into me as his arms wound around my neck. I cradled the back of his head with one of my hands and whispered nonsensical things into his ear. I wasn't sure how long I held him for before he pulled back and wiped at his face.
"Sorry," he mumbled as he tried to right himself. I almost told him he had nothing to be sorry for because I was the one who’d pulled him into my arms. But I held my tongue when Lex continued with his story.
"I tried to leave Grady's apartment, but he and his boyfriend wouldn’t let me go. They wanted money. Grady called it a small business loan and said I owed him for all the time he'd spent with me. I just… I wanted to get out of there more than anything in the world, so I gave him all the cash I had. I wrote him a check too. He warned me not to stop payment on the check after I left. But that was exactly what I did as soon as they let me leave."
Lex pulled in a few breaths to steady himself. "Grady followed me back to LA when I refused to answer his calls or respond to his texts. I thought if I just ignored him, he'd go away. But then he confronted me in the parking garage outside my office one night."
"Did he hurt you?" I asked. My hands were already fisting in anticipation of his response.
Lex shook his head. "He didn't have to. He had all the ammunition he needed against me. He just needed to figure out how to use it."
"What do you mean?"
"He knew about the power struggle I was going through with the board of my company. He used that to his advantage. He threatened to go to them and tell them I was losing my vision unless I paid him a hundred grand to go away."
"How would the board knowing that information change anything?" I asked. "Blind people run companies every day. They may need some accommodations here and there, but just because they can't see doesn't mean that they can't run a business."
"A lot of companies have clauses about their executives being healthy enough to run the business. It has to do with not risking the loss of profits if the head of the company has some kind of mental or physical limitation. Since I hadn't yet started to lose my sight, I wasn't obligated to tell anyone. I was going to use the time to buy back more of the company so I could maintain control of it. If the board had found out I was going blind, they could've invoked that clause and tried to force me out. My company designs video games. A CEO who can't see the games that their company is putting out is a hard sell to other organizations that might be interested in a merger or even a buyout."
Lex's explanation made sense. I'd never been in the business world myself, but it was like any other reality… there was always someone waiting in line to grab power wherever and however they could get it. I considered what Lex had told me and said, "Grady didn't go away, did he?"
Lex shook his head. "He was back within a few weeks. I paid him again, then again a couple months later. Each time, he swore it would be the last, but he kept coming back. I think part of me still didn't want to believe he'd intentionally used me. I started doing some digging on him and found out that his boyfriend had a sister who worked for one of my competitors. That company had been trying to acquire mine for years, but for pennies on the dollar. When I realized the whole thing had been a setup from the get-go, I cut Grady off for good. I didn't care what he said he’d do."
"But it didn't end there," I observed.
"No, it didn't. Grady showed up at my house one night. He was enraged and demanding money. When I told him no, he hit me. I told him to get out, but he just hit me again. And again. He said I was ruining everything. I was sure he was going to kill me."