“Whooa, there's no way! Shit got out of hand when he took over The Residence, but he would never have…he was dodgy, Jack, but he wasn’t a monster.”
“I’m not talking about The Residence, Alex, I’m talking about the one my father owned before. The one he never told me about.”
“Jack, this is your dad we’re talking about. I may have lost a lot of respect for him, but he wasn’t capable of that.” He shares the same reaction I did, which has me feeling a little more at ease.
“I’m sorry to trouble you. Sounds like you need to get back to your family.” I hang up so I can quickly move on to my next call.
“Evening, Your Grace,” Albert answers, sounding half-pissed as usual.
“I need you to come here in the morning and bring all of my father’s accounts.”
“Your father had a lot of accounts. Would you care to save me some time and be a little more specific?” he chuckles.
“Sure.” I grip the phone in my hand, tight. “How about you bring me the ones from all the sex clubs he used to own? The ones no one seems to have told me about.” I hear the anger in my tone, and Albert must sense it too because he suddenly sounds very serious.
“Those clubs closed down almost two years ago,” he points out.
“Well, I’d like to know more about them. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I hang up before storming to my office so I can pour myself something strong and tell myself all the doubts in my head are wrong.
GRACE
“You're being pathetic.” I stare at my reflection and wipe away my tears. “You're here with a golden opportunity to change your life, and you're up here crying about the past.” I laugh at myself. Instead, I should be doing everything I can in my power to get things moving with this. The sooner I get pregnant, the sooner I can give Jack what he wants and get the hell away from here. Jack told me earlier that I’m ovulating, so we shouldn’t be wasting time with silly emotions and stories of the past. Fixing my hair and touching up my mascara, I head back downstairs wearing a much braver face. I fully expect Jack to be mad with me after everything I told him about his father, but if he wants to get this done, he’s just going to have to get over it. He isn’t in the dining room where I left him, and after checking the living room and the games room, I come to the conclusion that he must be in his office.
I don’t know what triggered me to share everything that I’d decided I was going to keep private with him tonight. I’m mad at myself because it was a silly risk to take. Jack just seems to have a way of enticing me to go against my better judgement.
All I can do now is hope that what I’ve said hasn’t changed his mind on anything. I knock on the office door, and when hecalls out for me to enter, I take a deep breath, twist the knob, and step inside.
“Hey.” He looks surprised to see me, and I can’t decide if he looks a little disappointed, too.
“Hey.” I move closer to his desk, perching on the edge of it and smiling. Jack says nothing, just stares at me like he’s trying to read the thoughts in my head, and I try to hide how vulnerable it makes me feel. Opening up, explaining things about my past, has given him the opportunity to hurt me, although something tells me he never would.
“I’m sorry for everything I said about your father; I should have had a little more tact.” I play with my fingers and blow out a breath. I have never been very good at making apologies. “I shouldn’t have trauma-dumped like that over dinner, I’m sure you?—”
“Don’t apologise for your past, none of it was your fault.” He pours himself another scotch from the bottle resting beside him.
“What you heard must have been?—”
“Are you sure?” he interrupts me, looking up with glassy eyes.
“I’m sorry, Jack,” is all I can say back to him.
“Stop apologising,” he growls through his teeth, before knocking his drink back. “I…I didn’t think he was like that. I know he wasn’t always on the right side of the law, but exploiting young girls…” His head shakes in disappointment. “It’s just not who I thought he was.”
“Sor—” I stop myself before I say it again and smile. “You're not like him.” I take his hand reassuringly.
“How can you say that? You don’t know me, Gracie.” He sounds bitter.
“You're kind, and you're thoughtful…You care a lot about other people.”
“How would you know that?” He stares back at me, confused.
“I’ve seen it every day since I’ve been here. You talk politely and respectfully to your staff; you put three girls who you met once, one of who spat at you, up in your fancy Mayfair apartment.” I nudge him playfully and manage to get a trace of a smile.
“You were worried about their safety; I don’t want you worrying about anything.” Grabbing my hip, he slides me across his desk and repositions me between his legs.
“Then there's the way you are with me,” I add, feeling my heart start beating a little faster. “I think it’s a shame you’re never going to give someone the opportunity to really be your wife.” I run my fingers through his hair and smile sadly.
“I’m not the person you think I am,” he warns, standing up so his body towers over mine.
