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“I don’t have anything sexy, if that’s what you mean.”
“Ah, then, we’ll have to rectify that.” Warm lips press into mine again, his tongue dipping past my teeth. “In the meantime, wear something expendable.”
“Expendable? As in, I don’t care if something happens to it?”
“Exactly.”
“Can I ask what for?”
“You can ask, but I’m not going to tell you.” He bends forward and seizes my mouth in yet another kiss. “I’ll see you tonight.”
As he pulls away, I reach for his arm. “Hey, do you have any idea why Rand called us down?”
Glancing toward his reflection in the elevator wall, he straightens his tie and jacket. “Yes. I’m firing Nell.” The playful tone from seconds ago dulls with indifference, as if her firing doesn’t matter to him, one way, or the other.
“Wait. What?”
“I can’t have someone in this house who constantly accuses me of murdering my wife and son. Call it a conflict of interest.”
“But what I told you … I didn’t want her to know.”
“She won’t know.”
“Well, it’s, like, obvious.”
Gaze shifting back to me, he plants his palm against the wall as he leans in. “And if her accusations were directed at you, what would do?”
“Confront her.”
“Which is the purpose of this meeting. The outcome depends on her response. Either way, it’s out of my hands.” He straightens again, rolling his shoulders back. “Rand does the hiring and firing for me.”
“And if it were me?”
“What about you?”
I cast my attention from his impervious stare that suddenly has me feeling childish and insignificant. “Never mind. It was a stupid question.”
“You’re trying to navigate what this is. If I’d treat you like an employee, or the girl I’m fucking.”
“Like I said, it was dumb.”
“In my experience, the two have always been one and the same. But with you …” His jaw tics, eyes on my lips. “I’d find it very difficult to let you go. My confrontation with you would be on a much more personal level.”
Another cryptic response that doesn’t fit the sex only rules I’ve come to know with other guys. “Then, I trust you won’t stand me up tonight.”
“It would take an act of God to keep me away.” Another small kiss, before he pushes the button to open the elevator door and exits toward the front entrance, while I make my way toward the office.
When I enter the room, Laura is parked in her wheelchair beside Nell, who sits with her hands fidgeting in her lap. Offering a stilted smile, Rand gestures toward the empty chair beside Nell, and my stomach flips over on itself as I plop down beside her. Now that I know the purpose of this meeting, all I want to do is disappear.
Clearing his throat, Rand entwines his fingers and stares over the top of his spectacles. “It’s come to my attention that there has been some discussion regarding Master Blackthorne’s involvement in the disappearance of his son.”
The moment the words are out in the air, I can feel Nell’s stare burning into the side of my face.
“As you were made aware, when you first took the position here, the master values his privacy above all else. Gossip, of any kind, is frowned upon.” As he prattles on, my mind is spi
“If this is about me, I haven’t said shit.” Nell crosses her arms, sinking down into her chair.
I shoot her a glare. If she thinks she’s going to pin this on me, she’s wrong. Lucian knows the truth.
“And what about you, Miss Qui
“What happened with his son was before my time here. From what I have come to know of Lu--um, Mister Blackthorne, I’ve no reason to believe he’s harmed anyone.”
“Of course you wouldn’t,” Nell bites back, the anger radiating off of her. “Not when your lips are practically sewn together.”
Cheeks heating with embarrassment, I avoid looking at Rand, and Laura, in particular. “What I do is none of your business.”
“If you don’t want anyone in your business, perhaps you should be a bit more discreet.” If I didn’t happen to know she’s terrified of Lucian, I’d think the bite in Nell’s tone screamed of jealousy.
“It’s fu
At first, I think it’s the night I went to check on Laura that first week, but I notice Lucian’s tie is burgundy in this clip, not black like before.
“In an effort to be thorough, I’ve done some digging around, and I found this.” He fast-forwards the video, and from the corner of my eye, I catch Nell shifting in her seat.
In time lapse, another figure enters the room onscreen, and Rand plays the video at normal speed once again.
Lucian appears to be passed out, where he lies back on the couch, his hand covering his face. The second figure is Nell, who stands over him with her head tipped, as if curiously watching him. When she kneels down between his thighs, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I can’t bring myself to look at her, as I sit paralyzed, watching her make a move on him in his sleep.
Nell shifts again and clears her throat. “We get it. I fucked up, okay?” The nervous edge in her voice is as unca
“Ah, well, I think it’s important to establish a motive in these cases,” Rand says, his attention seemingly fixed on the screen.
As she unzips his pants and springs his cock free on camera, I feel compelled to look away. It’s like watching something forbidden take place. Something I shouldn’t be privy to, but I can’t stop watching because I need to know how far she goes. The moment she takes Lucian in hand, he startles awake.
“What are you doing?” The slur in his voice confirms that he’s drunk. “Stop.”
“Shhhh,” she says, swatting his hand away when he reaches for her arm. “Just relax.”
“Get the fuck off of me!” He shoves her hard enough to send her tumbling backward onto her ass, and fumbles to zip up his pants. Pushing up from the couch, he stands over her, swaying a bit. “You ever touch me again, I’ll make sure you never work another job on this island,” he says, before striding off, out of the camera’s view.
Rand pauses the video, and when he turns around, there’s a smirk twisting his lips. “It seems rejection is a rather touchy thing for you, Ms. Anders.”
“He came onto me first, before that video.”
“No, I don’t think that’s true. Master Blackthorne has remained ever professional in his interactions with you. It is you who have behaved inappropriately.”
“Is that what he told you?”
“He’s not told me anything regarding this incident. I had to find it myself. And on the grounds that you have failed to uphold your end of the contract, I’m afraid we’ll be letting you go.”