10. Harper
Harper
I did my best to avoid Dawson at work today, which was incredibly hard because he’s my boss. I’m contractually obligated to do everything he says, and he likes to take advantage of that.
All day long, I could feel his eyes on me. It felt like there was a weight on my shoulders just from his constant ogling of me. The worst part is I don’t know if I’m opposed to it.
Yesterday was... unusual, to say the least. But I did like what happened between us in a way. It caught me off guard entirely, and it’s not how I’ve always imagined losing my virginity—it was intense.
I want to forget all about it; I really do. I wish I could just bury it deep down and that Dawson would do the same thing. But his words replay in my mind over and over again. “I bet you can’t forget.”
He might be right, and admitting that is very painful for me.
I hope he’s not planning on staying late today like he did last night. He could at least have some human decency and let me go at a decent hour this evening, considering everything that happened yesterday. Knowing Dawson, that’s not likely though.
Surprisingly, he walks through the door shortly after 4:00 p.m. ready to go. He opens the door to my office without knocking and gestures for me to get ready.
“We have to go back to the penthouse so you can change, but we have a last-minute meeting tonight,” Dawson explains.
I immediately grab the iPad to look what it is, which makes Dawson laugh. “I don’t see anything on the schedule.”
“I said last minute, didn’t I? Just get your things.” I do as I’m told, putting my iPad and phone in my bag before following him out of the office to the limo.
I expect him to say something else about what happened last night during the car ride.
He’s definitely not above taunting me about it.
Instead, he’s quiet, simmering with frustration that I don’t know much about.
Someone called, and he kicked me out of his office, and I don’t know who it was. Maybe it was Marcus again?
“Where is this meeting?” I ask when we get out of the car and start heading toward the entrance of the building.
“Peregrine downtown,” Dawson says without any more information. I have no idea what that is. Let’s just say, I don’t get out much.
I whip out my phone and Google it to see that it’s a nightclub. “We’re having a meeting at a nightclub?”
“Don’t sound so surprised,” Dawson says without looking at me.
I have a dozen other questions I want to ask, but by the disinterest in his voice, I hold them all back. When we get to the penthouse, he follows me to my room and starts digging through my closet.
“I know you don’t care for my style, but I can dress myself,” I say, folding my arms across my chest.
“Trust me, you’re going to need some help tonight.” Dawson huffs, grabbing a skimpy blue dress from the closet and handing it to me.
My shoulders slump, and I look at him with a silent plea. This is like the bikini all over again. He just wants to torture me, so he’s making me show off as much of my body as I possibly can without getting slapped with a public indecency charge.
“Just put it on,” Dawson says before walking out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
I put on the dress and look at myself in the mirror, wishing I could hide every inch of exposed flesh under one of my chunky cardigans Dawson had Maggie throw away.
Instead, I’m here in a blue mini dress that barely covers my ass and has a neckline so deep I can’t wear a bra.
It’s a wonder my boobs don’t spill right out of it.
I wait in my room after I’m dressed for Dawson to come and get me.
When he finally does, he looks me up and down with a mixture of emotions in his eyes.
He likes seeing me like this, and it’s hard for him to hide that on his face.
But there’s something else in his eyes that catches my attention. He’s angry.
I almost want to ask him about it, but that would make it look too much like I care. He’s my boss and the stepbrother I never asked for, that’s it.
We leave the penthouse and drive to the nightclub in silence. I’m only eighteen, so I’m not really even old enough to get into tonight’s club. I’ve also never had the desire to go to one. But there’s a first time for everything.
There’s a nervous swirl in my stomach that I can’t tell if it’s from excitement or anxiety. From everything I’ve seen on TV shows, nightclubs should be fun. There’s going to be dancing, and plenty of people to talk to.
But then again, I’m sure Dawson won’t let me out of his sight. He would never miss an opportunity to torture me.
When we pull up outside of the club, Dawson stops me before I can approach the door, grabbing my arm tight in his hand.
“Listen, you need to stay by me and keep your mouth shut. Don’t make too big of a scene about anything in here, you got it?
” I nod and wrinkle my eyebrows, not fully understanding what he means.
“There are a lot of people in here we’re going to meet, but there’s one person you’re not to talk to.
His name is Malik. He’s not the kind of guy you say no to. Understand?”
“I’m just an assistant. It’s not like anyone’s going to care about me,” I say, shrugging it off.
“Promise me you’ll stay away from Malik,” Dawson says again, squeezing my arm tighter and staring in my eyes.
“Okay, I promise,” I say, pushing his hand off of me.
With that, we walk toward the entrance, and the bouncer lets us in without asking a single question.
It’s still relatively early, so I’m surprised by the amount of people wandering around the club.
I would expect most nightclubs to really take off around 10:00 or 11:00 p.m., but this one is already packed to the brim with people holding drinks and dancing in the middle of the room.
As we walk through the crowd, I catch the attention of several men who stop and stare at me, licking their lips and winking when I meet their eyes. Dawson notices it too, and he holds my wrist tighter as he leads me through the crowd.
When he had me wear the bikini at the pool party, he was amused by everyone looking at me.
He had fun watching how much I squirmed at the attention of all the men staring at me.
But now, seeing the same looks in their eyes, he stops and glares at them, daring them to toss me a second glance before he reaches out and hurts them.
After pushing our way through the crowds of people, we reach another room toward the end of the nightclub guarded by yet another bouncer.
Dawson says something to him that I can barely hear over the loud music, and we’re both ushered through the door.
A long, bright red hallway guides us toward a set of double doors at the end.
Dawson pushes them open to reveal a room full of older men sitting around with glasses of whiskey in their hands. I look around the room for any familiar faces, spotting Henry right away. He waves at the two of us, and Dawson leads us over.
It doesn’t take me long to realize I’m the only woman here. Every man in the room is staring at me, and I feel my cheeks burning once again. Dawson must have known this would be the case, which explains his frustration.
His words replay in my mind, and I completely understand why he’d be angry about other men looking at me.
“Look at you,” Henry says as he approaches, looking me up and down with satisfaction in his eyes.
He pulls me away from Dawson and wraps an arm around my shoulder, gesturing to the array of men sitting around the room and staring at me.
I look over my shoulder at Dawson, who is clenching his fists at his sides. “There’s someone I want you to meet!”
Before I can say anything, I’m being guided away from Dawson. He follows behind without saying a word, and I look ahead of me toward a group of men clustered together. One of them in the center is older, with deep wrinkles set in his forehead.
“Malik, this is Harper, Diana’s daughter,” Henry says, gesturing to me. I immediately realize this is the very person Dawson made me promise I wouldn’t talk to. But it seems like this might be the reason I was brought here, so I’m very confused about what to do.
Malik stands up and approaches me, grabbing my hand and delicately kissing my fingers. “You are a vision,” Malik says as he holds my hand and looks me up and down, his gaze trailing over every inch of my flesh slowly.
A nervous pit forms in my stomach, and I can’t help but wonder what it is I’m doing here. Dawson walks around us and takes a seat at a table nearby. I catch him watching the exchange with a sullen, angry look in his eyes.
Is he angry that Malik is talking to me after I promised I would stay away?
Or is he just mad that his father is leaving him out of whatever business deal he’s making here?
Clearly, whatever’s happening is Henry’s business, and Dawson has worked very hard to be at his father’s level.
Then one day I come in, and I’m given an elite position within the company without any training, and I’m now an important person in this meeting.
Henry isn’t saying a word to include his son in this conversation. Dawson might as well not be here. So, I can understand why he’s a little upset.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say, gently pulling my hand away from him and holding it in front of me. My head is swimming. I still don’t know exactly what it is I’m doing here, and I don’t want to say the wrong thing and jeopardize whatever it is Henry is doing. “This is a lovely club.”
“Have you been here before?” Malik asks with a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.
“I haven’t,” I say, tucking some hair behind my ear nervously. “I’m only eighteen, so I haven’t been able to go to any nightclubs yet.”
Malik’s eyes practically glow when he hears that comment, and he smiles wildly at me. “So young and so full of life and beauty.”