white wine I was drinking, and hastily swallowed it.
Tired of feeling helpless, I’d made dinner, and had let Hudson know it was ready. We’d pretty much eaten in silence, which had been pretty damn uncomfortable.
All of my anger had disappeared long before I’d called him for dinner.
I’d totally made a snap judgment about him, so I couldn’t really feel devastated that he’d done the same thing with me.
Hudson and I had a strange bond, but really, we didn’t know each other all that well.
We were judging each other on our previous life experiences, and on my part, that was going to stop.
I was going to learn more about him and his family, instead of trying to measure him beside every other rich guy I’d ever known.
Yeah, there had been a lot of trust fund pricks in Los Angeles who had looked down on the poorer kids while I was growing up, and more than enough attending Stanford, too. Maybe Hudson had more money than any of them could ever dream of having, but that didn’t mean the level of snobbery went up exponentially because Hudson was a billionaire. I couldn’t put every filthy rich person into the same mold.
“I’m sorry if I misjudged you,” I blurted out. “You’ve done way too much for me to deserve how I acted. I guess I was hurt, so I just…retreated.”
“So does that mean you’ll take the money?” he asked hopefully.
“Absolutely not,” I retorted.
“I was afraid you’d say that,” he answered, sounding disappointed. “It wasn’t some kind of payoff, Taylor. I want you to understand that. I didn’t expect or want you to sign a release, and it wasn’t meant to satisfy my guilt, either. All I really wanted to do was make your life easier. In my mind, you’ve had enough to deal with, and you don’t need financial worries. If I could take that off your plate for you with nothing more than a damn signature to wire the funds, why not do it? Everything else aside, you were working for Montgomery when it happened, so if we can ease your mind in some way, we owe that to you.”
I sighed. “Look at this from my perspective, Hudson. I’d be dead right now if you and Jax hadn’t shown up exactly when you did. You went way beyond what any company would do for an employee, and you’re still doing it. I know you meant well, but I can’t look at this as all business. It’s personal to me. I can’t keep taking from you. And really, I’ve had to watch my pennies my entire life. That’s the way I’ve always lived, and why I pushed my ass through school. I’m temporarily strapped because I made the decision to do an internship that I knew would give me invaluable experience before I took a permanent position, but I’m in a lot more of a powerful position than I’ve ever been in my entire. I can get a good job that will eventually lead to the extras I’ve never had, and I’ve done it on my own. Probably the most important thing to me is that all of this will happen while I’m able to work in a field that means something to me. I’m no different than you are. I want to make a difference in the world, too. If you go plop some five or six figure amount of money into my bank account, that pretty much disregards everything I’ve been working for all these years.”
“Seven figures,” he grumbled.
I rolled my eyes. Did Hudson always have to do everything in a big way? “I’m not taking it,” I warned him.
“I want to be assured that you’re safe, Taylor,” he said in a tight voice. “That’s all I’ve ever intended.”
My heart melted just a little. “And I appreciate the fact that you care as a friend now. Just knowing that you do is more valuable than any amount of money. But as your friend who never wants you to be taken for granted, it’s nauseating even to think about taking that kind of payment from you. Give me a chance to give back for God’s sake. This friendship has been all one-sided so far.”
“I’m not your friend, Taylor,” he answered abruptly. “I think that’s one of the most important things we need to get straight right now.”
My eyes widened as I turned my head to look at him. The sun was starting to set, and Hudson’s gaze was set on the horizon,