Since the news report came out, Lucien went on a rampage. We are staying in a hotel for now, and though it’s only been a day, it feels like a week already. As soon as someone says you can’t do something, that’s all you can fucking think about.
He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Not until we know where’s safe and where isn’t. I don’t want that sick bastard seeing you naked.”
“What if we stay fully dressed and you just push my panties aside? My skirt will cover anything. Seriously, you have a perfectly good desk going to waste right here,” I gesture emphatically and he growls.
“It’s been a day, I’m sure you can live. I’ve held out for years before you came along. Trust me, dying from blue balls is not a thing.” He speaks with conviction, not even cracking a smile.
“No wonder you’re so high strung,” I mutter under my breath, but he obviously hears me.
“Anyway,” he draws out, effectively changing the conversation. “I pulled all of our files off of the computers at home and switched them to a flash drive locked in the safe.”
“We have a safe?” I’m lounging in my chair, legs thrown over the arm, but Luce doesn’t even bat an eye.
“Of course,” he replies easily enough. “But I’m treating this office the same way I am home for now, so no point asking me where it’s at or what’s in it.”
Well if that doesn’t just make my little fae heart light up with curiosity and excitement. It’s like Christmas- murder mystery edition.
“That, and you still have your petty theft problem. I’m not an idiot,” he finishes and I sulk, much to his amusement.
We carry on most of the day with me reading or playing on my phone while Lucien works. As the hours drag by at a snail’s pace, I’m about ready to bang my head against the wall.
“Can I at least go help Belinda with some of the front desk work? I’m so bored I could scream. A bored f-“ I reword at his pointed look, “ffffemale employee is bound to get into trouble. It’s in our genetics.”
Lucien rubs his temple. “It would be best if you weren’t subjected to the interrogation she would no doubt give you about the whole ordeal. How about I print off a few reports and you can assist me in searching for discrepancies?” I suppress my groan, because that doesn’t sound any better. Worse actually, but I take him up on it since it’s better than nothing.
As he’s printing way more papers than I anticipated and I start mentally preparing excuses, I finally ask, “What is it you actuallydo?”
He gives me an incredulous look. “You worked here for how many days now at the front desk? How do you not know?”
I shrug. “That was mostly scheduling appointments and referencing people’s calendars. I didn’t actually answer the phone or talk to anyone besides Belinda. I just cross matched available time slots and plugged people into them or color coded things without rhyme or reason.”
He passes me a short novel’s worth of documents and sits back on his side of the desk. “Putting it simply, it’s an investment firm. We handle large companies as well as individual investment portfolios, but we have our hands in a little bit of everything; banking, tax preparation, insurance. It also means I have plenty of people that owe me favors in just about every industry due to some dealing or another with their company.”
“Wow, that sounds,” I try to find a suitable word, but finally settle on the truth. “Really boring, but also incredibly impressive.”
The corner of his mouth twitches behind his computer and my heart lurches. “A fair assessment.”
Before I dive into the paperwork that makes me consider gouging out my eyes with a rusty spoon, I ask one last question. Whether it’s because I’m honestly curious or just procrastinating, we may never know.
“So what’s Victor’s deal?”
Lucien raps his fingers across his desk while considering how to answer. “He had the only other investment firm in the area before I started this company. As I garnered success rather rapidly for my clients, people started to switch their funds from his company to mine. The more clients he lost, the riskier he started to gamble in the stock market.
“When he lost nearly all of their money, his company almost went belly up. He brought it back from the brink of bankruptcy, but it was never clear where he received the funds to salvage it.
“Since then, he’s made a point to try and find something to destroy my name and business. His latest tactic of using his niece as an investor in the upscale restaurant you and Atlas just finished being one of the most recent examples. He tries to find ways to weasel his way in so he can find anything he can sabotage or exploit.”
I take the highlighter he offers me and tap it against my chin as a thought hits me. “You think it was his niece that took one for the team with Nick so that he could attack Dorian’s shop?”
His eyes widen a fraction and he frowns. “But why?”
I shrug. “He’s the only weakness Victor could find? You aren’t close to anyone except him and Atlas, so if he couldn’t get to you directly, maybe he got tired of waiting and wanted to feel like he finally managed a win.”
The air around Lucien practically drops and a chill works down my spine. He looks positively murderous, and I get my first real glimpse of the man Dorian and Atlas spoke of. It speaks volumes about how little I care about my life, because instead of being afraid like any sane person, it just makes me that much more turned on than I already am.
“I’ll have someone look into her,” he dismisses and it’s clear the conversation is closed.
We sit there for hours, pouring over every paper as we hunt for each stray penny. I start doodling in the corners, trying to curb that instinctual need to cause some sort of trouble that’s simmering in my veins. It’s like an actual compulsion, one that has me jittery and restless.
