CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

ELLA'S POV

"Ella, please tell me it wasn't you that told him!"

"Come on, you know I would never betray your trust like that!" I said earnestly. Shooting a glare at Trent, I added "If I wanted to tell anyone about this mess, the last person would be this arrogant jerk over here."

Trent cleared his throat loudly. "Uh, said arrogant jerk is still standing right here, ladies."

Susan and I both turned to him, exclaiming in unison "Shut up, Trent!"

He held up his hands in mock surrender, a smirk still playing on his lips. "Sorry, but I gotta defend myself here too, did you really expect me to fork over a ton of cash without taking precautions to know what it's actually funding?"

He gestured to himself arrogantly. "After all, it is my hard-earned money we're talking about."

Susan sighed, a bitter edge to her voice. "This is exactly why I warned Ella not to get you involved! Now you know about my..." She trailed off, unable to bring herself to finish the sentence.

"Look Susan, I know you're