This Love's Not for Sale by Ella Dominguez Page A

way. What could he do?
    Just keep up with the lie at all costs. This deal could set him up for the rest of his life and Tucker wasn’t about to let his feelings get in the way of that.
    Lilliana turned away and walked to his car when Tucker stood silently defenseless. Tucker wasn’t far behind her. When he entered, Lilliana was putting her seat-belt on and Tucker tried to assist her, but she batted his hands away.
    “ I’ve got this,” she snapped.
    The awkward silence in the car was deafening. Tucker kept replaying Lilliana’s words over and over. What exactly had Lilliana been warned about and by whom? Frustrated with Lilliana’s ostracizing him, Tucker tried to prompt her.
    “I don’t know what you were told about me and by whom, but I have a lot of enemies who would say just about anything. Including lies.”
    “Good, honest people don’t make enemies, Tucker, and someone who has a lot of enemies usually has them for a reason. I, for one, am not going to end up like the rest of the people you’ve stepped on to get what you want.”
    Tucker was, again, defenseless. He hated that Lilliana could see right through him. More than that, he despised the fact that she was right about him.
    Stopping in front of the main entrance to the dental office, Tucker started to say something but Lilliana was out the door before he could even get a word in.
    Back in his office, Tucker was having a difficult time concentrating. He was on an emotional roller-coaster thinking about the land deal and about what Lilliana had accused him of. Her sad and defensive eyes flashed in his mind. Who the hell had approached her at the restaurant and gave her pause about him?
    Tucker called the restaurant and spoke with his waiter who divulged the name. He had suspected maybe it was Edwards, but to his surprise, it was Darren Schumacher, the man who was once his business partner and confidant.
    He promptly dialed Darren ’s cell phone number. As soon as Darren’s voice came on the other end, Tucker ripped into him.
    “What the fuck did you tell Lilliana Norris?”
    “Nice of you to call, McG.”
    Tucker waited impatiently on the other end, about ready to blow a gasket. “What did you tell her?” he repeated.
    “Her who ? Oh, the brunette that owns Margo’s land? Nothing that wasn’t true. I just thought someone should warn her about your conniving ways.”
    “You asshole, this deal is mine. Do you fucking unders tand me? You stay away!”
    “From the land or the girl?” Darren asked condescendingly.
    “Both, you prick.”
    “So you think you can have that land, that sweet little slice of pie and eat her too?”
    “You bet your ass I ’m taking both and nothing, I mean nothing, is going to get in my way,” Tucker growled in a murderous voice.
    “Like the Newsom deal?”
    Tucker was seething mad that Darren would even bring up the dreaded Newsom deal. It was still a point of contention, and the memories of losing out on that deal were still fresh and raw.
    “How m any people are you going to step on to get what you want, McG? How many people have to suffer because of your greediness?”
    “Fuck you, Schumacher. You won that deal , so what are you bitching about?”
    “ Everything’s a contest with you, isn’t it? I only won that deal because I was honest and the Newsom’s were sick of your bullshit. It’s amazing how a little honesty goes a long way. You may want to try it sometime. Do you even know how to be truthful anymore? I remember a time when you did. You and me. Remember? We were going to take on the world, honestly. ”
    Tucker quickly hung up the phone. He didn’t want to be reminded of his past and how th ings had ended badly with Darren. They were once best friends and had even gone to college together. He missed Darren and their closeness. He even missed Darren’s cheesy, infectious sense of humor, and yes, his sincerity, too. Tucker was also known for his honesty, but it was his brutal honesty that set him