“What, Mrs. Langford?”
I roll my eyes.
“This isn’t a joke, you oaf,” Lucy snaps at him. “This is Ella’s life. And getting tangled up with Asher has made it a chaotic mess.”
“That’s not true,” I say, unable to help myself when it comes to defending Asher.
Lucy arches her brow again.
“Okay, so it’s a little true. But it’s fine. I knew what I was getting into when I signed that contract.”
“This has blown up so much more than you expected. You’ve admitted that much.”
I let out a long breath. “It has. But there’s no going back now. It is what it is.”
“We’re protecting her,” Declan says to Lucy. “We know our lives are crazy, but we’re doing everything we can to keep Ella safe. We won’t let anyone hurt her.”
“Her ex already did.”
I wince. “Well . . . I kind of ran away from my security, and that’s how Kyle got to me.”
Now Lucy’s hot glare lands on me. “You did not.”
I nod, grimacing.
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“It’s a long story.”
“What are we going to do with you, Ella?” Zahra asks, exasperated.
I hold up my hands as if in surrender. “I learned my lesson. I’ll never do it again.”
“You’d better not,” Lucy and Declan say in unison.
“Hey, at least you two agree on one thing.”
They both shoot me unamused looks.
At that moment, Pierre announces dinner, and I let out a relieved sigh. Saved by the chef.
Two hours later,Zahra and Lucy make their goodbyes, and I head into the office to see if Declan needs anything. Dinner was a stiff affair with Declan and Lucy shooting barbs at one another and Zahra and me trying to referee the two of them. As soon as dessert was finished, Declan practically ran to Asher’s office, and I haven’t seen him since.
I knock on the office door and crack it open.
“Dec?” I ask, using his nickname, a habit I’ve fallen into recently.
“Yeah, come in.”
“The girls just left. I thought I’d see how you’re doing. Do you need anything?”
Declan sets down a paper and rubs his eyes. “I’m good. I was just finishing up, anyway.”
“Can I ask you something?”
His brows raise. “Of course, what’s up?”
“I’ve been hesitant to ask Asher since he’s been gone, but what is Asher’s plan to deal with the Antonovs? He keeps telling me I don’t need to worry about it, but how can I not?”
