Page 18 of Bastard In A Suit, Vol. 3

Chapter 10

I’ve barely caughtmy breath before Duke begins to re-dress. Socks, briefs, trousers—his movements are mechanical. Cold. I pull the sheets up over my chest and watch, working hard not to cry. No matter how much I crave his touch, I shouldn’t have allowed this. Not today. Now more than ever it’s clear I’m nothing more than a convenient fuck. You’re so much better than this, Hailey.

I clear my throat. “I was offered a job today.”

Duke scoffs. “You have a job.”

His dismissal stings. “You mean as a glorified secretary at Kingston Industries?”

Duke tenses. “For someone your age, that should be enough.”

Now I’m pissed. It’s bad enough that he comes to my apartment and uses me for sex, but to keep bringing up my age? That act is getting old. “I want out of my contract.”

He turns his head and scowls. “So you can go work at some two-bit company? We’ve talked about this. I’m not releasing you.”

“FuturePlay is not some two-bit company,” I fire back.

Duke chuckles. “They wouldn’t touch you with a fire hose. Not with the scandal hanging over you.”

Technically, the scandal is tied to Kingston Industries since he bought us out, but in Duke’s current mood, that distinction will fall on deaf ears. “Alan Prentiss called me himself.”

Duke’s jaw twitches. “Why am I just now hearing about this?”

To be fair, he didn’t give me much chance to talk, but that isn’t the only reason I’ve waited to discuss the call. With each passing second, it’s evident I mean nothing to Duke. I don’t just want out of the company, I want out of this too. Whatever this is.

Or maybe I just want to hurt him. Right now, I don’t care which is the real answer.

“What matters is that I want to do real work, not fetch your coffee and do your filing.” Nor do I want to be your BDSM sex slave, I consider saying. Instead, I keep things professional—which is how I should have played this from the beginning. “FuturePlay has an opportunity and I want to take it.”

“Prentiss probably wants to fuck you,” Duke spits out.

My adrenaline spikes. “Fuck you.” I tear off the sheets and wiggle into my leggings. Throw on my tank. “I think it’s time for you to go.”

Duke’s face grows red, his expression darkens. “Hot date with Prentiss?”

Anger, resentment and deep hurt ball at the base of my throat. Tears spring to my eyes but I swat them away with the back of my hand. I march toward the front door and throw it open. “Go.”

Duke shrugs into his jacket. “Prentiss is just trying to scoop you so he can have one up on me,” he says. “It’s business, Hailey. And he’s as cut throat as they come.”

“Get off your high horse,” I say, snarling. My back straightens, even though I’m close to crumbling. I have to get Duke to leave before I have a meltdown. “Not everything revolves around you.”

“He’ll use you,” Duke says, hovering at the entrance. One shove and I could have him out of my apartment. I ball one hand into a fist and squeeze so hard my nails dig into my palm.

“I sure as hell hope so,” I say. “Maybe then I’ll have a chance to use my skills.”

“I’m not releasing you from your contact.”

Blood rushes to my head. “Go to hell.”

“We can talk about this when you’ve calmed down,” Duke says.

He reaches toward me but I take a large step back. “Don’t touch me.” My voice trembles. “Don’t ever touch me again. This. Us. It’s over. I’m done.”

I register his look of shock just as I slam the door in his face. I deadbolt the lock and then lean against the door, chest heaving, eyes brimming with tears. It takes everything I have not to beg him to come back. When at last I hear the elevator leave, I let myself cry. My shoulders shake. I lower myself to the ground and curl my head into my chest, sobbing until my voice grows hoarse.

My cat curls into my lap. “Oh, Onyx, what the hell have I done?”

Pain spider webs across my chest. Even if Duke doesn’t release me from my contract, I can’t ever show my face at Kingston Industries again. I’m sure my hurt is stamped to my forehead, a neon sign telling everyone that I am just like every other girl the mighty Duke Kingston has ever fucked…and fucked over.