Chapter 225

All of a sudden, Jared jerked awake, and before I could react, he lunged at me, wrapping his arms around me in a death grip. I was so embarrassed. I could feel those employees staring, their eyes full of gossip.

“Jared, let go,” I said, my voice sharp with anger.

“Victoria,” he mumbled. “Nightmare… Just let me hold you for a second, please?”

“Get off me,” I snapped, done playing nice. I dug my nails hard into the back of his hand.

Jared’s eyes fluttered open, and he stared at me, his gaze clouded and bloodshot. “Aren’t you going to ask what I dreamed about?”

“I don’t care,” I said coldly.

Jared suddenly spun my chair around so I was facing him. He pressed his face into my chest and said in this raspy voice, “I dreamed… you were dead.”

Those words hit me like a punch to the gut. “Screw you,” I spat, my voice shaking with anger. “Don’t you dare wish that on me.”

Just then, Ryan walked in with some other employees. He could see us reflected in the glass–me and Jared in this weird embrace. Ryan stopped dead in his tracks, then turned and ran out.

Burning with shame, I shoved Jared away. “Get off me. What the hell is wrong with you, pulling this stunt at my office?”

Jared just slumped back in his chair, his face blank as he watched me. I got up and walked out. As long as he was in there, I wasn’t going back.

My head was a mess. I headed for a quiet path in the small park next to the building, and after a few steps, I spotted Ryan under a tree.

Five or six men had him surrounded. I was too far to hear, but from their postures, it looked like a heated argument.

My stomach dropped. “Hey,” I shouted, marching over. “What the hell’s going on here?”

They all turned. Ryan looked shocked to see me. It was obvious these guys were trouble. They all had these hard, scary faces.

Ryan looked from me to the men, his voice tight with panic. “Look, I keep telling you, I’ll get you your money. Just stop following me.”

The men’s faces were all frozen in shock. When I heard “money,” alarm bells went off. I moved to stand in front of Ryan, facing them down. “He works for me,” I said. “How much does he owe?”

The group of burly men looked at each other awkwardly. The one who looked like the leader, a middle-aged guy, finally mumbled, “It’s… a lot.”

“Ms. Murphy, it’s fine,” Ryan said quickly, trying to wave me off. “I can handle it.”

Ryan was just some college kid working a summer job for beer money. Whatever he owed, he definitely couldn’t pay it.

“Don’t worry about it. Were these guys planning to drag you away from here?” I said, my eyes locked on these muscle-bound men.

These guys looked like professional thugs. They had him backed into a secluded spot. They could have easily bundled him into a car, and anything could have happened.

The leader’s voice turned hard. “He owes a debt. If he doesn’t pay, we collect. Simple as that.”

“Ryan, how much is it?” I demanded. “What do you owe them?” I couldn’t just watch them drag him off somewhere.

“150 thousand,” Ryan mumbled, staring down at his shoes. “My grandpa owed it to them. When he couldn’t pay, they came for me.”

The thugs just stood there, looking stunned. 150 thousand wasn’t a big deal to me, but for Ryan, that kind of money would destroy his life.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll cover it,” I said, making a split-second decision, "Just sign an IOU. You can pay me back when you’re able," but I wasn’t gonna let these thugs hurt him over it.

Ryan’s mouth fell open. The tough guys looked just as stunned.

“Ms. Murphy, why are you doing this?” Ryan finally asked, his voice low and serious. “Ms. Murphy, what if I’m running some kind of scam! What’s to stop me from taking the money and just disappearing?”

I gave him a look. “Then I’d report you to the police. It’s that simple.”