Unfinished Business

Liam was broke, and I used my family’s connections to pressure him into being with me.

Someone told me they were interested in dating me. "Liam, you don't mind, right?"

He just chuckled, "Wouldn't have it any other way."

I stood outside the door, my fingertips icy.

Five years later, when we met again, Liam was a hotshot businessman, a real titan of industry. And he was going toe-to-toe with me.

“Liam, what do I even owe you?”

“Five years,” he said, his eyes dropping low. "You owe me five years, and I'm gonna collect, little by little.”

1

I never thought I’d see Liam again.

It was a networking dinner with some business partners. The VP mentioned I was the lead on the project.

Liam gave me a look, a real smoldering once-over. "Oh yeah?" he said, a teasing note in his voice. "What's your name?"

It was a deliberate jab, meant to make me squirm. Liam’s success had put him way ahead of me in the corporate world.

I just forced out, "It's Sarah Jones, Mr. Miller."

Liam didn't say a thing.

Someone changed the subject, "So, I heard Sarah broke it off with her boyfriend before she went overseas. Why was that?"

I paused, "Forgot about it."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Liam, eyes cold as ice. He was taking a drag on his cigarette, letting his date light it for him. Then, just for a second, his lips quirked up into a smirk. He was all swagger.

2

Everyone at the table was young-ish.

Someone joked, "Drinking is boring. Why don't we hear Liam's story about how he dumped his last girlfriend?"

A few seconds of silence passed.

Liam said quietly, "It was just a fling, don't even remember her."

He was staring right at me as he said it.

My fingers clenched up automatically, and my throat felt like it was full of cotton.

Then, his date, stepped in. She was also my half-sister, Tiffany.

"Back in college," she said, dripping sarcasm, "Sarah used some nasty tricks to get a guy who didn't want her. She's a selfish user, and I'm betting she's back in town for the same old drama."

I had no desire to even acknowledge her, but she was clearly trying to get under my skin.

I looked her straight in the face. "And who are you, some high-priced call girl? I don't think Dad knows about your side hustle."

3

Tiffany's face went red.

Everyone at the table was staring now.

My colleagues knew my temper, one gave my arm a nudge, trying to tell me to cool it.

I glanced over at Liam who was as cool as a cucumber. He hadn't even flinched.

He was just how I remembered him. Cold, almost heartless. I used to want to rip open his chest and see if his heart was actually made of stone.

4

The dinner ended pretty early.

On the way back from the restroom, I ran into Liam in the hallway.

We brushed past each other, and in that same instant, he grabbed my wrist. It had been years, but the heat of his touch was like something out of the past.

"Sarah Jones," he said, his voice low and husky.

I used to love the way he said my name. I loved the way he’d say...