“Alicia, be quiet,” Cain repeated.
I immediately dropped my head and clasped my hands in front of me. Nervously, I kept twisting them together. My shoulders rounded, and I prepared for a lecture.
“What the fuck?” the bodyguard exclaimed as Cain began cursing.
“Alicia, look at me,” he ordered. I raised my head a little but didn’t make eye contact. That meant bad things.
“Jesus, Cain…” the guy muttered.
“Mace.Alicia, look into my eyes, honey. I’m not angry. You were upsetting yourself, which is why I said, ‘shut up’. There’s no reason to be upset; you’ve done nothing wrong. In fact, it could be claimed that I sexually harassed you. My cock was quite happy to say hello,” Cain quipped, and I rocked backwards on my heels. A hand caught and steadied me before swiftly releasing me.
“That’s not what happened,” I whispered, finally looking up. There was anger in Cain’s eyes, despite him trying to keep his voice relaxed. Why was Cain angry? I was out of my comfort zone; Cain wasn’t reacting the way he should be. I stared, unsure of what he wanted.
“Honey, Mace is going to drive you home. You’ve had a bad upset and a fright. Tomorrow, join me at Samuel’s at one?” Cain asked.
I nodded, obeying immediately.
“Alicia, would you like to have lunch with me, or are you agreeing because that’s what you’ve been trained to do?” Cain inquired softly.
“Want to.”
“Go with Mace and don’t worry. You did nothing wrong,” Cain repeated, squeezing my hands.
“Okay.” I turned and left quickly. Somehow, I knew I’d been bad, but I wasn’t sure how. Cain hadn’t liked my listening stance. An inner voice ridiculed my thoughts. That was what Oliver had drummed into me: my reaction wasn’t normal; some part of me understood that. But the other part argued that it wasmy normal. Which side was right?
Cain
“What the hell was that about earlier?” Mace demanded after entering my home office without invitation.
“That’s called emotional abuse and conditioning. Maybe even Stockholm Syndrome. Oliver Kensington really fucked his wife up.”
“What’s your plan with Alicia, boss? Alicia Kensington isn’t your usual go-to. She’s nowhere near experienced enough to attract you,” Mace challenged.
Mace wasn’t wrong. Alicia wasn’t a supermodel or a famous actress. Those I dated knew the score. We’d have some fun, and that was it. Naturally, a few had thought to force or trap me into putting a ring on their finger. That was a mistake, and they paid the price. I was my own man, and nobody ruled me. But Alicia had drawn me from the moment I set eyes on her.
At first, it seemed she and Kensington had a perfect marriage, but a deep dive proved many things a lie. Kensington had cheated multiple times during their relationship, starting six months after they’d wed. The man disgusted me on all levels. Ever since he’d landed the investment from the Founding Five, as Aaron, Brock, Dax, Ryder, and Jude were known, Oliver had grown too arrogant. Even my cancelling two contracts hadn’t stopped the asshole.
The one thing I didn’t like was being brushed aside, and Kensington was doing exactly that. That was his mistake. I was quite happy to watch his empire crumble piece by piece. I just needed to reach Oliver’s cash cow. The mysterious Miss Mystique. I couldn’t find anything about her. If I could get Mystique, Eliganz would crash. She was the top designer, and Kensington didn’t have any backup. Only a damn idiot would throw all their eggs into one basket.
The only thing I knew about Mystique was she was local and friends with the Founding Fives wives and Alicia. Nobody wastalking, not even with threats. Last time I tried, Winona openly laughed at me and patted my cheek.
My guards even attempted to trail Mystique, and putting a PI on her also failed. Mystique’s real identity was a closely guarded secret, and I had to wonder why. I wanted answers and was unused to not getting them.
“Boss,” Dillion caught my attention.
“Yeah?”
“The vehicle is registered to Eliganz as a pool car.”
Alert, I sat up straight. “Sure?”
“Yes, and it wasn’t signed out today. We’ve no idea who was driving,” Dillion replied.
“No cameras?”
“No. They were down for maintenance. How convenient,” Dillion quipped.
“Indeed.” I steepled my fingers and sat back in my chair. Only Kensington and Eve at Eliganz wanted Alicia gone, but did I act without proof? And Kensington had the authority to order the cameras turned off. Yeah. That fucker was mine.
