Chapter 25
I tapped the tip of my heel against the floor mat of Verity’s car.
“I’m so glad you were there; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to leave.”
Her eyes widened, and her head whipped toward me. “He would have forced you to stay?”
“Eyes on the road.” I squeaked from her swerving into the right-hand merging lane. I slapped my hand on my heaving chest.
“Sorry,” she said sheepishly and straightened the car.
“And, no, I wouldn’t have been able to because I don’t know how to drive.”
“Oh,” she muttered.
I snorted under my breath. She really saw Lucian as a villain.
Stalling, she pulled up to the front of the hotel.
“Do you need me to pick you up?”
“No,” I replied, unbuckling.
“Okay,” she chirped as I slid out of her car.
“Thanks!” I leaned in and lowered my voice. “Also, come by the house whenever. If anyone tries to stop you, say you’re looking for the Alpha.”
The valet, Corwin, hovered behind me.
“Good to see you, Mrs. Wilder,” he announced. The title took me completely off guard—again. “Do you need anything?”
“No, but thanks.” I moved past him, and he hastened to open the glass door for me.
He was extra polite when he previously never really paid me any mind.
I eyed him and my heels clicked on the tile as I moved toward the granite counter where Sasha and Karol helped patrons.
Stopping at the end of the line, I waited.
Sasha finished first, damn.
I approached the counter.
“Welcome to Hotel Crescent, how can I—Oh, Luna,” she mumbled, her eyes peeling wide.
“Sasha.”
She stared at me directly for a split second and dropped her gaze just as quickly. I had zero urge to buckle under her dominance.
“Yes, Mrs. Wilder,” Sasha mumbled, her eyes downcast. “How can I help?” The one-eighty took me completely by surprise, and it took me a moment to unstick my tongue.
“Can I speak to Ms. Zhao?”
“Of course.” Sasha grabbed the phone and dialed the supervisor’s extension. While she waited, I peeked over at Karol as she finished helping a woman with her young son. Her attention swung to me with a huge grin.
“Josephine,” she crowed and shuffled around the counter. She moved so fast, coming at me quickly, and she rested her hands on my forearms. “Girl, when I heard what happened, I was flabbergasted.”
“You and me both,” I mumbled.
“You’re seriously the savior, I swear. I always hated Cierra strutting around like she was Luna,” she sneered. She stopped talking and eyed me. “Are you okay? There’s a mass hunt for Cierra, any able-bodied shifter is searching for that bitch.”
“I’m alive, despite her best attempts.”
Karol shook her head, lips in a thin line.
“What are you doing here then?”
“I came to see if Zhao will give me my job back, what?” Karol had started laughing.
“Don’t look behind you, but I think your mate is here.” Her smile grew. I tensed, but immediately rolled my shoulders, hooking my arm with hers. Unfucking-believable.
“Let’s go behind the counter, don’t let him know you saw him.” He’d followed me. Of course, he’d followed me. I wanted to smack my forehead, but I kept myself contained. “Tell me, what is he doing?”
“It was so quick, but I’m positive that was his car. He parked in one of the valet slots.” We rounded to the back of the counter. Sasha kept glancing over at us.
“What’s with her ass-kissing?”
“She’s not stupid, well, at least not completely.” Karol rolled her eyes. “She knows better than to disrespect you. Enough about the wannabe Luna, how have you been?”
That’s right, she’d crowed about fucking Lucian. Anger flooded my stomach. I slashed my glare toward Sasha, who’d been staring at me. Her eyes widened, and she yanked her gaze away from mine.
“Great, enjoying my mate and how well he fucks,” I said it loud enough for her to hear. I didn’t remove my eyes from the side of Sasha’s face. Her head lowered an inch or two. She’d definitely heard me.
“Something that Sasha has experience with, right, Sasha?” I called out. She turned toward me, her face pale.
“N-not at all, Luna,” she croaked. “I spoke out of turn. I apologize.” I curled my fingers into my palm. It was so shitty that she would treat me badly if I weren’t Lucian’s mate. I stepped forward until I was an arm’s length away. She faced me, but with her shoulders hunched with a visible quiver.
She needed to be brought down a few pegs.
“You should consider that before you start spitting your venom.”
“I swear, Luna, we hooked up in high school,” she whispered, her eyes dropped. “It was so long ago.”
Gritting my teeth, I struggled to breathe. Lucian had a past. I’d known it. But by Moon, I wanted to punt-kick him in the throat for leaving me vulnerable to his prior lovers.
I didn’t move my eyes from her face even though she refused to look up. She whined, the sound soft and weak.
I huffed. I wasn’t above bullying the bully.
“Anyway.” I whipped my hair over my shoulder. The tips of the waves smacked her face, and I walked away from her to return to Karol.
She gawked at me, her eyes bright.
“You’re a hero.” She slow-clapped. “I didn’t know you had that in you.”
“It wasn’t because I didn’t have it in me, it was because I didn’t want to lose my job,” I huffed and swiped my hands on my slacks.
“I would embrace it, girl. So, what type of job are you looking for?”
“My old one, but not if he’s going to be watching me the entire time.” I shook my head. I barely stopped myself from looking toward his car. I didn’t want him to know that I’d clocked what the hell he was doing.
The door leading to the back creaked, and Ms. Zhao stepped out.
“Mrs. Wilder, it’s so lovely to see you.
” She approached, and I took her hand in a quick shake.
“You let me know what you’d like and I will provide it to you.
” She must have seen the confusion splashed on my face.
“Mr. Wilder called and let me know that you are to be treated as if he were standing here.”
I blinked quickly.
You know what, I will embrace it .
“Can you come to Lucian’s office with me? I have a few questions.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Joey or Josephine is fine.” I cleared my throat, uncomfortable.
Ms. Zhao suppressed her smile. She seemed a bit more relaxed, yet no less stiff.
I followed her around the counter, taking a sliver of a second to peek out of the glass windows. That was definitely him sitting in his car. He shouldn’t be driving, that stubborn man; he should be resting.
Ms. Zhao matched my stride to the elevator.
“I was hoping to come talk to you to get my job back,” I admitted and pressed the elevator button.
“Whatever you please, Ms. Wilder.”
That was what I was realizing. Lucian would have a thumb in every pie of my life, but I didn’t want that. I wanted something for me .
“Would you like me to get your employee packet together? Your salary will obviously be increased.”
“Why? I’d be doing the same job?”
Ms. Zhao gave me a look. The elevators dinged and swung shut, enclosing us in it.
“Well, because you own the building.”
“Lucian owns it, not me.”
Her lips twitched, and she finally said, “He made it very clear that what is his is yours. Unequivocally.”
“I figured.” I sighed, decided. I wouldn’t return to work here. “I believe it’s best I don’t return then.”
Her eyes widened.
“I hope it was nothing I said.” For the first time, the unflappable Mrs. Zhao seemed on edge.
“Not at all, it’s Lucian.” She relaxed, and I could tell she was mustering up the courage to say something, but just as she opened her mouth, her cell phone rang.
“Hello?” Her eyes incrementally widened as she listened, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ll handle it.” With that, she hung up and pressed the button of the second-highest floor.
If I thought she was on edge before, it was nothing to the current expression.
“Is everything okay?”
She peeked at me and, seeming to debate, came to a decision.
“Mr. Wilder’s been staying here for a few weeks now.” I stiffened, slowing. My brain struggled to make sense of her words. “Mr. Wilder Senior,” she blurted. “He hasn’t left the room, and we keep receiving complaints from the suite next to his about the noise.”
She rubbed her temples.
“I’ll go with you.” I thought about Henry Wilder. He’d been nice, a saint, in comparison to his wife.
“Thank you.” Ms. Zhao sighed. She seemed less stuck up now. I had to admire her; she obviously held herself to a standard when speaking to employees, so there were no blurred lines.
“So, since Lucian said to treat me as if it were him. Would you answer all my questions?” I started. We stepped into the hall with a matched stride. I followed behind an inch all the way down the long hall.
“Yes.” She slowed, and looked over at me.
“How many times did he have ‘ visits’ ?” I emphasized the last word.
Her eyes widened, and just in case she wasn’t getting what I was asking, I added, “Like the scented towel deliveries?”
Her mouth dropped, and she stopped walking entirely.
“How do you know about that?” she whispered, sweeping her eyes down the hall.
“You can’t answer?”
She cleared her throat and clasped her hands in front of her.
“Yes, of course, only a very select few know about his little rendezvous, so I am a bit surprised. We have been incredibly careful.” She cleared her throat again. “To be frank, he had me prepare the room once a month these last three years.”
My heart stuttered.
That, in itself, was thirty-six months. At a minimum, thirty-six lovers. I was going to vomit. No, I was going to explode.
Now, I was in a full-on spiral.
“Are you okay?” She gripped my arm, and it managed to snap me out of holding my breath. I sucked in oxygen, filling my lungs.
“I’m okay.” I straightened, trying not to collapse into the wall. I didn’t want to scare the poor woman more than she already was.
The loud thumping returned, seeping through the walls. Zhao turned toward the door at the end of the hall and then back to me, her expression screwed tight.