Chapter 8 #2
“I did,” Liam announced, shrugging.
“You should have let him rot,” Samuel snapped. He stood behind me, so I had to look back to see him glaring at his brother. “He needs to learn his lesson.”
“What do they have you in for now?!” Vanessa scowled.
“Public indecency. He was getting it on in a—”
“Public indecency?” Vanessa shook her head.
“Think of the company image,” Theo snapped.
“Whoring around is one thing but doing it in the fucking streets?” Caine drawled.
“Now, now brother, I did not judge you when you fucked some woman, and she ended up pregnant.” He smirked. Caine slowly stood, ice spitting from his gaze.
Liam finally lowered his phone, eyes bright with excitement.
But Caine only walked away from the madness.
“Just pay off the rags.” Oliver waved his hand around. “It’s not like I did anything terrible. New sister,” he crowed and hooked his arm around the dark-haired girl’s neck, dragging her close enough that I got a whiff of her Beta scent. She gasped.
Theo’s gaze narrowed and with a swipe of his large bearlike palm, he gripped Oliver’s hair and dragged him off her.
“Ah! Ah! That fucking hurts,” he hissed, stumbling into me. His eyes squinted. “Oh, who do we have here.” His glazed eyes brightened, and he was in front of me, tipping my chin up. “Such a lovely face—”
A fist flew at his face and Oliver went stumbling. I screamed, and hopped out of the chair, scurrying to put myself behind it. Samuel stormed forward.
“Sam!” Cries bounced off the walls and I backed up, watching Samuel beat the ever-living heck out of his brother as he weakly swiped back, obviously impaired from alcohol.
“You were asking for it,” Liam called.
“Help me get him off,” Theo roared at Liam. Vanessa’s palm pressed over her mouth and the step-sister gawked, worriedly focused on the madness.
While he was in the middle of yanking his brother around. I slipped out into the foyer, getting as far from the chaos as I could.
I practically flew down the outside steps and looked side to side, but only saw swaying trees. If I took off, I would die of starvation before encountering civilization.
“Are you sneaking away?”
I screamed, rounding to see Caine leaning against the wall, a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
“Yes, I need to leave.” I peeked behind me and saw no sign of Samuel. “Can you help me get out of here, please?”
He chuckled. “I’m all for making Sam suffer.” He pulled his phone out and pressed it to his ear. “Bring the car to the front.”
A Mercedes hummed as it rounded the drive to pull up to where we stood. Caine opened my door. “Take her home, Hermes.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Thank you,” I breathed and hopped in, but before I could close the door, he kept it open.
“Just so you know, Samuel has never brought anyone home.” The corner of his lips slightly lifted like he was laughing at some internal joke.
Then the door closed and the car took off. Thank goodness I hid a spare key under my doormat.
I rubbed my eyes with my palms, and leaned back in the office chair.
Not sleeping last night messed me up. Samuel called and I sent him to voicemail.
Then he texted about seeing me tomorrow to discuss our situation.
It put me on edge and resulted in a lack of sleep.
I’d gotten to work a few minutes ago and I was waiting for my search to populate in the calendar.
Last night was out of some drama. His family was large and full of attractive Alphas. After meeting them all, I took a deep dive last researching them. They were more powerful than I could conjure in my imagination, running various businesses umbrellaed under Astor Industries.
Finally, the results popped up. The prior scheduled flower shop orders . . . it was all different initials, but C.M. popped up a few times.
My heart sank.
Papers shuffled from the desk across from me.
“Did you see the envelope that came for you? LeeAnn came up to drop it off for you, she said someone said it was important.”
I swept my gaze toward my little mail holder and plucked it out. My hand shook as I slid the document out. A Law Office logo was emblazoned on the front, I flipped to the next page. An NDA?
Samuel Astor . . . and my name was on the next line.
My stomach sank to my toes. I scanned the document, getting the gist of what it demanded. Our ‘affair’ as it was stated would be short term. I would be moving positions with a generous lump sum upon the occasion it ended.
I wanted to vomit.
He’d claimed I was his Scent Match. Looked like that was a lie too.
I forgot to give this to you after I came to visit. It was in Sam’s mailbox—C.M. I could hear the cattiness. No . . .
The initials C.M. mocked me from the note.
“Judy, all the flower orders, what are they for?”
She frowned; head slightly turned.
“They’re his lovers. We need to be sure we keep a keen ear out when he’s been intimate with someone. He likes sending flowers to them after every, erm, meeting.”
Vomit came up my throat. There were so many initials. Tears blinded the screen in front of me and I couldn’t help sniffling.
“Where is Mr. Astor right now?” I struggled to keep my expression from crumpling.
“He went to meet with Claire Mons at the restaurant next door.”
What? I blinked quickly, as if I could process faster by doing it.
He had a meeting with her? No way, he wouldn’t do that, not after last night, he knew how difficult it was to see her at his home. He wouldn’t do that after seeing me like that. And he would have told me, right?
Hopping to my feet, I rushed past Ray who carried two coffees.
The elevators were too congested on this level, so I took the stairs to the floor below this one, going as fast as possible.
Fortunately, I’d worn flats again. I finally came out on the next floor and rushed to the less impacted elevator, panting and sweaty.
The elevator made a direct trip to the lobby and everything blurred as I ran.
The cool air washed over me, and I made it to the restaurant in record time. Entering the marbled entrance, the host intercepted me.
“How many in your party?”
I stuttered to a stop, nervously squeezing the documents.
“Can I go through really fast; I thought I saw my friend come in?” I murmured low. She frowned, and I could see the denial forming on her lips. I hugged the documents to my chest. “That wasn’t true. Honestly . . . I think my husband’s cheating on me.”
Her gaze flared. “What does he look like?”
“He’s tall and blonde, wide shoulders, wearing a suit. The woman is blonde, brown eyes.” I wrung my hands together. She nibbled on her lips, looked over her shoulder, then back at me. I must have looked as devastated as I felt because she gave me a sympathetic look.
“I sat him in the booth near a window. If you follow the tile, you can hide behind the column behind the booth.”
“Thank you,” I breathed.
“Make it quick.”
I moved around her stealthily and followed her directions.
This was a bad, bad idea, but I needed to see it with my own eyes that he’d come to eat with her after I’d made my unhappiness clear yesterday.
If he still came with her after lying to me .
. . I pressed my hand to my nauseous stomach.
Careening to a stop, I slinked behind the column the hostess mentioned, digging my fingertips into the divots.
The entire restaurant hosted dark furnishings.
They sat across from each other on booth cushions, a low hanging chandelier intimately lighting up their table.
Claire leaned forward, her breasts pushing forward, across from her was the familiar head of hair and wide shoulders.
He leaned back while her lips moved. She paused and his deep voice rumbled.
“ . . . fucking . . . secretary?” Only some words were loud enough that the words floated to me. His palm slammed on the surface in front of her. She lunged for it, gripping it with both hands.
I whipped my head to the side. Her touching him . . . broke something in my chest. My vision blurred and I stumbled away, not able to see any more. I staggered, swallowing down the nausea threatening to rise.
“Hey, are you okay?” The hostess took hold of my arm, peeking over my shoulder while helping me walk out. Fresh air hit my face and I sucked in breaths.
“Thanks,” I said choked, extricating myself from her hold.
I bumped into a passerby and mumbled my apologies, trying to get to the side of the pathway.
People walking the sidewalk blurred. Usually, I did well weaving through the crowd, but I couldn’t make sense from up or down right now.
Another body slammed into me, and I toppled to the side.
My thigh hit the ground, my entire leg rasping against the concrete.
I cried out. Not so much from my stinging leg, but from the utter devastation ripping my chest in two.
I clutched the NDA tight to my chest, my tears dripping onto it.
The acknowledgment that he lied to me from the very beginning, about everything, and from here on out, I wouldn’t be able to trust him .
. . which meant I would not have a relationship with him. I couldn’t function without trust.
No one stopped to help me, and then and there I realized it was foolish of me to wait for someone to pick me up.
I could only rely on myself, and only I wouldn’t let myself down.
Gathering strength I didn’t know I possessed, I pushed off the ground on unsteady legs.
The looming building of Astor Industries mocked me as I neared it.
My heartbeat echoed with the sound of his name. Astor.