Chapter 28
The next two weeks passed in bliss, and Nash and I fell into aroutine. Most mornings I woke to either his mouth on my pussy or his cock buried deep in me. Occasionally though, I beat him to it and would wake him up with my mouth around his cock.
After starting the mornings with an orgasm or two, we’d showertogether, before eating breakfast prepared by Jessica, who had returned to work after her little boy was feeling better.
When we finished, Nash would head off to his office in the city, and Iwould disappear into my studio where I’d lose countless hours engrossed in my designs. I would only stop when Nash messaged, reminding me to eat lunch which was then promptly followed by Jessica appearing with a hearty meal.
I’d stay locked away in my studio until Nash came home from work. We’d spend the evenings together, going out for meals, cuddling up on the couch to binge-watch a series, or in the incredible hot tub in the backyard, before we’d go to bed and finish the day with another round of orgasms.
I couldn’t remember a time when I’d been happier.
As the days went by, I grew accustomed to Nash’s controlling waysuntil it became second nature to do whatever it was he told me to, knowing that not only did it make him happy, but the reasons behind his orders was to make me happy.
I didn’t feel the need to question him about anything, he had my fulltrust, along with my heart, and he cherished both of them.
The following morning started like every other morning. Nash wokeme up by thrusting into me from behind, before rolling onto his back and demanding that I ride him.
Of course, I obliged.
He didn’t hang around for breakfast though, he and Fox had animportant meeting later in the day, and he wanted to get a head start on preparations for it. They were meeting with the owners of a casino who’d flown over from Singapore.
Nash and Fox were hoping to acquire the casino, but according toNash, it was a hot property, and several investors were interested in it. He also didn’t like the man who currently owned it, claiming he was a bossy asshole.
I’d snorted at the irony and quickly found myself over Nash’s lap withhis palm print marking my ass cheek.
After he left, I ate my breakfast before heading into my studio.I’d almost finished making the first outfit for Dominique’s show; a colorful maxi-dress with long draping sleeves, and I was determined to put the final touches to it so I could move on to the next outfit.
Just before midday, I sent Nash a message wishing him good luck,knowing the meeting was due to start at noon, before returning my attention to the dress.
Something was missing from the design though, something Icouldn’t quite put my finger on. I stepped back and stared at the mannequin wearing the dress, churning ideas over in my head, and trying to figure out what I needed to add to make it complete.
The truth was, I didn’t know what it needed, and the only way I wasgoing to figure it out was to go to a craft shop and see if inspiration struck.
The only problem? I knew I would need to ask Nash for hispermission to go, and I couldn’t disturb him in his meeting.
Surely he wouldn’t be mad at me for going without asking? It wasn’tlike I was hitting the nightclubs and flirting with any guy who looked my way.
Without giving it too much thought, I left my studio, throwing on myshoes, and grabbing my purse before heading out the front door.
As luck would have it, Aaron was in the garage cleaning one of thecars. I hadn’t seen him since the day he took me to the city to buy the furniture, Brian had been the only one to drive me anywhere, and each time he had, Nash was there.
But Brian was at work with Nash today. He was the one who waspicking the casino owners up from the airport when they landed from Singapore.“Hey, Aaron. Would you mind giving me a lift into the city? I need tograb a few things.”
“Erm, has Mr. Carson said it’s okay to take you? He said I wasn’tallowed to drive you anywhere without his permission,” Aaron replied, his eyes darting behind me as if Nash was going to miraculously appear.
A hint of frustration ran through me. “Nash is in a meeting, I can’tdisturb him. But he’ll be fine about it,” I replied, trying to keep my frustration in check. “Besides, I only need to go to one shop, I’ll be back long before Nash’s meeting finishes,” I added when Aaron opened his mouth to argue.
He fiddled with the rag he was holding in his hands, uncertaintywashing through him. “I don’t know, Mrs. Carson. I don’t want to do anything I’m not allowed to.”
I refrained from rolling my eyes. “I’m only asking for a lift to the shops,not asking you to assassinate the president. I’ll be quick, and you can even come into the shop with me if it makes you feel better. Please, Aaron. I really need to pick up something for the outfit I’m working on, it’s really important. If I don’t get it finished today, then I’ll be behind, and I’ll never get everything ready in time for the show.”
I knew I was laying it on thick, and I gave him my best puppy dogeyes. It took everything in me to let a triumphant grin spread when he sighed and his shoulders slumped in resignation.
“Fine. But if Mr. Carson fires me, you have to tell him it was all yourfault.”
“I promise,” I replied, walking around to the passenger side, andsliding in before Aaron could change his mind.
On the drive into the city, Aaron and I chatted about all sorts.He told me about his family who lived in Alaska, and that he’d taken the job working for Nash as it paid well, and he was saving for an engagement ring for his girlfriend.
When we arrived at the craft shop, Aaron followed me inside,reminding me not to take too long. Sadly for him, he’d never seen me in a craft shop, I was in my element, and the store we were at was huge. It was going to take me a fair bit of time to rummage around and find what I was looking for.
I’d been wandering around for no more than ten minutes whenAaron’s phone started ringing. He scowled when he pulled it out of his pocket before answering.
Ignoring him, I carried on digging through the box of buttons I’d found,wondering if any of them would do for my dress when Aaron got my attention.
“Mrs. Carson, I need to step outside to take this call, the signal’sreally bad in here.”
“No problem, I’ll be here,” I said, not tearing my gaze away from thebuttons. I’d found three shiny pink ones in the shape of flowers that wouldn’t work on my current project but would work on another outfit I had planned.
From my periphery, I saw Aaron disappear out of the shop. Not evena minute later, a figure took his place.
“Sav?”
My head whipped up at the familiar voice, and I almost dropped thebox of buttons in shock.
“Liam? What the hell are you doing here?” I said, not believingthat my ex was standing before me.
He looked terrible. His clothes were dirty and stained, his hair greasyand matted, and it looked like he hadn’t shaved for weeks. He’d lost weight. He was never very big to begin with, but his clothes hung off his frame, and his face was gaunt.
He was a far cry from how I remembered him, when he used to headoff to work neatly groomed and in smart suits.
“I’ve been trying to find you for ages, Sav. It’s good to see you,” hesaid, his voice croaky.
I blinked several times, still not entirely believing he wasn’t afigment of my imagination. I’d visualized this moment time and time again after I found out he’d betrayed me, and every time I pictured it, it was always with me giving him a piece of my mind for what he’d done to us.
But now he was here, I couldn’t find the words.
“What do you want?” I finally replied when anger began to rear itshead.
He looked around, for what though, I wasn’t sure. “Sav, weneed to talk.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you,” I said through gritted teeth,wanting to be as far from my traitorous ex as possible.
He grabbed my arm, making the box of buttons rattle. “Sav, it’s notwhat you think. Nash has been playing you this whole time.”
“What?” I replied, not believing a word that came out of his mouth.
“It’s a long story, Sav, but you need to know the truth. He’s been lyingto you, he’s the reason we are in this mess.”
I shook his arm off me and put the box of buttons down before Idropped them from where my hands had begun to violently shake. “You’re the reason we are in this mess,” I hissed, taking a step closer to him. The smell of body odor and stale alcohol hit my nose making me cringe. “You are the liar here, not Nash. You are the one who broke my trust and set me up.”
“Listen to me, Sav,” he replied, gripping both my arms this time.“Nash isn’t who you think he is. He’s been manipulating you for months. He’s the reason you lost your job and your home back in Brownsville. He orchestrated it all so he could get you where he wanted you.”
The blood in my veins turned to ice at his words, and it felt like theworld around me stopped turning. I wanted to believe Liam was lying, but deep down, something inside me told me he wasn’t. I knew Nash, and I knew he was more than capable of doing what Liam had just claimed.
Before I could reply, Liam let go of my arms and looked around thestore again. “Look, I know you won’t believe me, and I understand why. But Sav, I’m trying to look out for you.”
“Look out for me? Why has it taken you this long to find me?” I said,tears stabbing in the back of my eyes.
He sighed before running a hand over his hair. “I told you, it’s a longstory, one I can’t get into right now because if your driver finds me here talking to you, he’ll report back to Nash, and then I’ll never get to tell you the truth,” he said hurriedly. “I’m staying in the Ridgeview Motel, it’s about thirty minutes out of the city. Do you think you can meet me there later? I’ll explain everything.”
I gaped at him as everything he’d said turned over in my head.Memories flooded me of how I’d felt when Harry told me he had no choice but to let me go from the diner, and the fear of winding up homeless after I received the letter from my landlord.
Was Nash that callous? Would he go through those kindsof extremes to manipulate me?
Without conscious thought, I slowly nodded.
“Thank you, Sav. I promise I’ll tell you everything. And I know it’ll behard, but we can make things right between us again. I’ve missed you,” Liam said softly, raising a hand to stroke a finger down my cheek.
Instead of the warmth I felt whenever Nash stroked my cheek, ashiver ran down my spine at Liam’s touch.
“I’m in room 402,” he said, oblivious to my need to bleach my skin. “I’ll be waiting.”
With that, he turned and walked away, heading to the back of thestore and leaving me in complete turmoil.
I didn’t utter a single word on the way home. The purpose of my tripto the store was long forgotten as I stared out the window replaying everything Liam had said.
Aaron knew something was wrong. I could feel him throw worriedglances my way, but I didn’t have it in me to care. All I wanted was to get home and lock myself away so I could think everything over.
By the time we reached the house, I was on the verge of tears, andAaron had barely stopped the car before I was out and running into the house. I intended to go to my studio, but as I ran down the hallway, I came to a sudden stop outside Nash’s office.
Staring at the closed door, a war raged in my head. One half toldme to go into his office and see if I could find anything that would prove Liam’s claims, the other half wanted me to walk away. Ignore everything Liam had said, or at least wait until Nash was home and tell him what had happened, and hear what he had to say.
In the end, the part telling me to go into Nash’s office won.
Tentatively, I pulled the handle down, wondering if the door would belocked, but to my relief, it wasn’t. I crept inside, and quietly shut the door behind me, not wanting to let Jessica know I was snooping in Nash’s office.
I’d been in here a few times over the past two weeks, when on theodd occasion, Nash had worked from here instead of going into his office at The Grand Palace.
The room was typically Nash, neat with everything in itsplace. I didn’t know what I was looking for, truthfully, I wasn’t even sure if there was any point looking. If Liam was right about Nash, surely he wouldn’t keep proof of his actions somewhere I could find it, right?
Still, I crossed the room, opening the drawers to Nash’s desk, andmoving bits of paper around to see if there was something that would help me make sense of the chaotic thoughts turning over in my head.
When there was nothing obvious in the top two drawers, I moved tothe next two, but again, nothing stood out.
I moved over to the filing cabinet and searched through the firstthree drawers, but aside from paperwork relating to Carson-Fox Resorts, I didn’t find anything. Feeling stupid, and not seeing much point in looking in the final drawer, I opened it to find more files relating to Carson-Fox Resorts.
Dejected, I was about to close the drawer and accept that I wouldeither need to find a way to get to Liam and let him explain his version of events, or wait for Nash to come home and confront him.
But as I slid the drawer shut, a file amidst all the others caught myeye. The tab simply had the letters SM written. I supposed it could have meant anything, but I had to check. I pulled it out and opened it, and my heart sank.
Collapsing on the floor, I stared down at the photo of me, attached toa report detailing my life. The hospital I was born in, the preschool I went to, where my mom worked. Every little detail of my life right down to my shoe size, even the hospice my mom was in when she died.
My hands began to shake as I turned to the next document, this timefinding copies of my bank statements over the last six months. Every transaction I’d ever made, every payment I’d received from the diner when I finally got a job.
My heart sank further when I scanned the transactions and found theone showing $378 being transferred out of my account and into Nash’s.
Flipping to the next page, a surge of anger coursed through me whenI found a copy of my tenancy agreement of the apartment I’d rented in Brownsville, along with a photocopy of the letter my landlord had sent me telling me my rent was increasing.
Liam’s words churned in my head. He’s the reason you lost your joband your home back in Brownsville. He orchestrated it all so he could get you where he wanted you.
I didn’t know I was crying until a tear landed on the letter,smearing the ink.
I turned to the next document. It was a copy of a car insurancecertificate. Scanning the page, my heart plummeted further as I realized it was confirmation that my Honda had been insured, paid for by Mr. N Carson.
I didn’t know how to feel at realizing Nash had insured my car fromthe very first minute I’d taken ownership of it. Despite the myriad of emotions coursing through me, anger being the main one, I couldn’t deny the little part of me that admired him for insuring my car. He’d been looking out for me, even before I knew him.
Unable to stop myself, I turned to the next page, my brows shot up insurprise when I read over the information. This time it wasn’t about me.
Instead, information about Trent McAllister was laid before me.Details of where he lived, his wife’s name, the day they got married, where he worked.
My hands shook so much I dropped the page containingTrent’s details, and gasped when I saw what else was contained in the file.
I’d seen some of the pictures before. They were the photos Trent’swife had brought to the car showroom the day she accused Trent of cheating on her. Pictures of him fucking his receptionist over the hood of the car, the woman in the alley. Behind those photos were ten more photos of Trent fucking random women dating back to six months before Nash offered me his fucked up proposition.
Nausea began to creep up my throat as the pieces joinedtogether in my head, and before I knew it, I jumped to my feet and ran out of Nash’s office, leaving the file scattered on the floor.
Nash had once said to me that he was a big believer in knowing allthe facts before coming to a decision.
I needed more facts, and there was only one place I was going to goto get them.