Fugitive Millionaire (Fugitive Millionaire Book One) Read Online Free

these days.”
    Claire detects a hint of sadness in Fabian’s voice. Maybe things aren’t as fabulous for him as she thought they were. She empathizes with him by revealing her own less than ideal living arrangement.
    “Wish I had a place to escape from my neighbors when they get too noisy. I usually turn up the TV to drown them out. Sometimes we have noise wars.”
    “Noise wars? What’s that?”
    “It’s like this unspoken challenge to see who can be the most annoyingly noisy neighbor. It doesn’t happen too often, but it can get crazy at times.”
    “I’ve never had that problem. Fortunate, I guess.”
    Claire can see why Fabian likes it here. The garden has a peaceful serenity that is calming. She can hear the party chatter and music in the distance, but it isn’t ruining her enjoyment of the garden’s charm.
    “Must be nice having all this space to yourself. Without a care in the world you can simply hang out and play loud music or curl up and quietly read a book. Wanna trade places? I’ll move in here and you can get a taste of my neighborhood.”
    “Nah, that’s alright. The old man gets on my nerves, but you’re right. There’s plenty of space between the two of us. Sometimes we don’t even see each other for days at a time. It’s always been that way with Gray.”
    Fabian looks out into the distance. His mood has turned somber. Mentioning his father seems to have brought on this change. Claire is now curious about their father son relationship.
    “I’ve only seen your father in pictures, but I always imagined he was this fun, adventurous type of dad that comes back from trips telling interesting stories and bringing the family cool gifts.”
    “Well, that’s partly true. Gray can be generous when he wants. We’ve all gotten some pretty nice gifts over the years.”
    Claire wants Fabian to lay it all out there. “But…”
    “But…he and I always seem to clash. We’ve never had a close, loving relationship.”
    Claire is both glad and sad that Fabian was able to make this painful admission to her. On the one hand, it shows that he already trusts her enough to reveal this intimate detail about is life. However, she feels bad for him. Fabian has never enjoyed the kind of relationship she has with her dad. Scott Decker is the epitome of the doting father. He’s always been interested in what she does and showers her with plenty of affection.
    “I’m sure he loves you, regardless,” Claire reassures him. “Some people have a hard time expressing their feelings.”
    Fabian shakes his head. “That’s not his problem. We’re just polar opposites. I’m a free-spirited guy that loves doing my own thing. Gray finds that disappointing and lets me know every chance he gets.”
    “Well, he’s really missing out on something special.”
    She’s glad to see Fabian crack a smile.
    “Is your free-spirited lifestyle the reason why you don’t have a girlfriend?”
    Fabian is more than happy to answer. “That probably has something to do with it. I’m not ready to settle down just yet. Haven’t found the right person that makes me wanna do the whole house and kids thing. What about you? Why are you single?”
    Claire shrugs. She could go into a long spiel about how hard it is to meet the right guy when you’re in a city of millions, but is sure she would bore him to death. “Career is more important right now.”
    Fabian reacts with surprise. “Oh, so you’re focused on climbing the ladder of success at CE?”
    Now it’s her time to open up. “You know, before I got there I wasn’t ambitious at all. I just wanted a decent job that would let me move out of my parent’s place. Now, though, I’m seeing that I can have a real path to better things working there.”
    Fabian is studying Claire intensely. She wonders if she’s letting the air out of the relationship balloon before it even starts. Oh well, she’s always going to be honest about her life, regardless of the