38. Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Lili
“Where’s Grace?”
I startle at the sound of Victor’s voice and set my book aside as he walks into the living room and pulls his jacket off.
“She was tired and wanted to rest before you got home.”
Victor nods and drops onto the couch next to me, moving the book to the coffee table. “How would you feel about filing for divorce?”
My heart skips a beat as I stare at him. Has something happened that I don’t know about? I lift my hair off the back of my neck and contemplate his question.
“I guess we’re just jumping right in, then aren’t we? My day was just fine, thanks for asking.”
Victor frowns as he loosens his tie and pulls it off, setting it on top of my book.
“I apologize for the lack of social niceties, but this is urgent. Please answer the question, Spitfire.”
I tilt my head and observe his body language. No more tense than usual, but something is definitely different, and my gut tells me to humor him, so I tuck my legs under me and settle in for what is bound to be an interesting conversation. “I have a generally positive view of getting a divorce. But unless I want to face financial ruin on top of having my reputation dragged through the mud by the mayor and her precious son, I have to be strategic about it.”
Victor nods and picks up my hand. “I understand that. But we’re running out of ideas for drawing Phineas out, and the tabloids are starting to get unhinged with their stories and speculation about where you are. We also have a Hunter Novak problem.”
I raise an eyebrow. “That’s never a good problem to have. The tabloids can be ignored, Novak, not so much.”
He chuckles. “Tell me about it. We want to keep him on our good side, and Phineas is privately breathing down his neck and threatening some of his contracts with the city if he doesn’t get information on where you went after you left the casino that night.”
I lay my head against the back of the sofa. “And you think filing for divorce will somehow get Hunter off your back because it takes the heat off him and puts it on you all?”
Victor nods. “Something like that. Plus, we kind of implied to Hunter that you came to us for help leaving your husband. Filing for divorce would lend credence to that.”
I lift my head and raise an eyebrow at him. “Didn’t want to tell him you kidnapped me and carried me out of his casino naked at gunpoint, huh?”
He grimaces. “Yeah, I’m hoping we can keep that little detail just between us.”
“You’re lucky I like Grace so much,” I tease.
“I’m well aware of how lucky I am, Spitfire.”
The heat laced in his tone warms my core, and I squirm away from his intense gaze. “You’ve changed our lives, Liliana. And while my original intent in bringing you into our world was to take Phineas down once and for all, it has turned out to be so much more.”
Is he about to confess romantic feelings for me? I’ve never quite figured out where we stood. He’s all in favor of playing with me for Grace’s sake, but his focus is entirely on her. Not that I want it any other way, but something is different about the way he’s looking at me tonight, and I’m not sure how to feel about it. Would Grace be hurt if I fell for Victor? Could we make a complex relationship like that work?
“Lili?”
I blink, realizing I’ve zoned out to my thought spiral, and my face heats. “Sorry. There’s just a lot on my mind. What did you say?”
“I said, Grace is quite fond of you, and I want to make sure you’re safe and well taken care of after this is over, and make sure the two of you remain close if you wish.”
Ah. So, this is about Grace, and not his feelings for me. My barrage of thoughts about the future of our relationship seems silly now.
I smile and squeeze his hand before pulling mine back to my lap. “I appreciate that, Victor. Grace is special to me. You both are.”
There’s that heated gaze again. The one that almost convinces me he wants me just as much as I want him. I saw it in the club the other night, but I’m uncertain whether I can trust my perception.
Victor stands and pulls his phone from his pocket. The screen lights up and I spy Matteo’s name before he puts it to his ear.
“Excuse me, I need to take this.”
He walks toward the stairs, and I flop back onto the sofa as I contemplate what it might be like to file for divorce.
Am I ready to take that step? Can Victor and his friends really protect me the way they seem to think they can? I can tell they’re powerful and would do everything they could to take care of me, but I also have intimate knowledge of Phineas Draven and Claudia Brandt. The mayor, who remarried after Phineas’ father died, is vicious and has no problem destroying lives if it gets her where she wants to be. To the average Las Vegas citizen, she’s a business owner- turned politician who loves this city and wants what’s best for its people. To those in the know, she’s a monster who would drown every homeless person living in the tunnels beneath the strip if she could get away with it.
Grace interrupts my thoughts by calling my name from the top of the stairs. “Victor is asking for you.”
I smile at her and rise from the sofa. She waits for me at the top of the stairs and steps in close for a hug and a tender kiss. “I missed you,” she murmurs.
I brush hair from her face. “You could have asked me to join you. I was downstairs the whole time, lover.”
Grace blushes, but before she can respond, Victor steps out of his office.
“Liliana, stop playing kissy face with my girl and come in here, please.”
I wink at Grace and squeeze her shoulder before I stop around her and head toward Victor.
“We’ll find you in the den in ten minutes, butterfly,” Victor tells her as he motions me into the room.
I sit in the chair facing his desk and wait for him to speak.
“Are you open to the idea of divorce sooner rather than later?”
With a slow exhale, I wipe my palms on the thighs of my yoga pants and nod. “I think so. We would still need to be strategic about it. Hire the right attorney, and likely a PR firm to handle the fallout. It won’t be as easy as filling out some papers and hoping he signs them.”
Victor laughs. “I know that, but we have to strike soon if we’re going to catch him off guard. We can take another couple of weeks to get things in order, but that’s really all we can afford with Hunter Novak breathing down our necks.”
I nod. “OK. Let’s hash it out then.”
“It can hold for a few hours. Let’s go talk to Grace. I want to run something by her.”