Chapter Thirty-Eight
Olivia
M axwell is quiet while we ride the elevator to the floor the girls are being held on before the auction.
He remains still and looking towards the door, but I know he is feeling the same worry as I am; what if this does not go the right way?
His hold on my arm tightens as the elevator door gets to floor level where we are getting off and he pats my arm with his loose hand. I fight back tears as we walk through the doors together.
I always thought Maxwell to be a hard man to deal with. As my head of security, I always assumed it was part of the job.
Never in my wildest dreams would I think he would be so angry at my father for what he did to my mother. He has protected me more from just the outside world, but from my father as well, and I never knew it.
Voices get loud as we get closer to the room the ladies are gathered in. Right before we reach the doorframe, Maxwell stops and pulls my arm out of his.
Squeezing my hand, he looks at me with a small grin. “Your mother would be so proud of you.” And on that last word, he drops my hand from his and gestures to the doorway, “Go do what you came here to do Miss. I won’t be far behind you.”
Fighting back tears, I nod and turn, walking toward the entrance of the room. When I turn back to say something to Maxwell, he is gone.
I look around to see if maybe he just blends in with the dark hallway, but my eyes don’t see him anywhere. He’s vanished.
“Olivia, darling!!” Dorthy’s voice grabs my attention, and I put on the best fake smile I can for her, “We have been so worried about you and so glad you are now back here safely.”
She reaches in to hug me, and I smile back, giving her my best innocent look, but I really know the bitch is being just as fake to me too.
“Come.” She gestures to the room where all the girls line up to say hey to me. “The auction is starting soon. Mingle with the girls and get to know one another. You are going to be up first,” she informs me before pining my number on my dress.
“Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in,” a familiar voice says behind me.
All the hair on my neck stands at attention as I turn, facing the woman who is speaking to me. “Ellie?”
“In the flesh.” She smirks. “Guess Ashton’s plan worked after all.”
My eyebrow lifts. “What are you talking about?”
The girls around us back up as Ellie walks closer to me. She looks fake. Her hair, her nails, her tight red dress. I see she has been putting someone’s money to use.
“Now, that is no way to address your future stepmom, is it?” She crosses her arms.
I think I might puke. No, wait—vomit did come up in my mouth.
“Ellie . . .,” I try to calm my tone, “What are you talking about?”
She gets closer to me, but as she gets closer, I notice the black eye she tried hard to cover with concealer.
“Your father has had me in his back pocket for a while now. Ricci would not give me what I wanted, so I went looking for what I deserved. And that is when I met your father. He promised me if I could get him and his men into Hayes’ office to capture him, then I could have all the things money can buy and his last name.” She holds her hand out showing off her engagement ring.
My mouth falls open. “Ellie, Please don’t do this.”
“Do what princess? Cash in daddy’s money and buy all the finer things in life while never having to work again?”
I close my eyes in defeat to her not understanding the danger she is in. “He does not care about you, Ellie. I see the black eye you tried so hard to cover up.”
I saw it, just for a moment; her mask wavered. But in a second, her mask was back up and she chuckles. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” She pauses, grabbing the concealer out of her purse and putting more on.
After she is done, she continues, “Anyways, I just came up here to tell you that your daddy is going to kill Hayes Ricci tonight and he plans to do it right in front of you. So little princess, you better have on your waterproof mascara.”
She turns with a grin and walks out of the room.
I wonder if I could kill her first without anyone else knowing.
Hayes
“Sir, I have something that may be of use to you,” Alan says walking up behind me on the main floor.
“Can it wait?” I ask clipped toned.
“No, Sir. It’s the thing you wanted me to make sure I found.”
I nod, understanding, and gesture for him to lead the way.
“Elevator, third floor Sir,” he whispers to me, not wanting us to blow our cover.
I nod again, walking casualty to the elevator and hitting the button for the third floor. Once the elevator door opens, Maxwell is waiting for me in the hall.
“Jesus, you could have warned me,” I say a little startled.
He chuckles. “Sorry, she is in the conference room to the left. I was hiding, listening to her conversation with Olivia before I left the floor she was on. She is the whole reason Ashton was able to get into Club Rose the day he kidnapped you. She is the mole Alan and Ben have been searching for.” He pauses awkwardly.
“What else are you not telling me?”
Maxwell clears his throat. “She is engaged to Ashton. He has also given her a black eye. And she told Olivia that Ashton plans to kill you in front of everyone tonight.”
I grin. “Sounds like a sick plan. Maybe I’ll toast to it later.”
Maxwell smiles as I walk off to the conference room to have a sit-down talk about being on our best behavior with this bitch.
Opening the door to the conference room, Ellie is sitting in a conference chair, arms and legs tied to it, tape over her mouth, and she’s yelling something that just sounds like sweet karma to me.
I take a seat beside her and cross my right leg over my left knee. Her eyes widen when I slowly take my mask off, and she realizes who I am.
“Now, Ellie. I heard you have been being a bitch to my future wife?” I proclaim.
She starts jerking back and forth in her seat.
“You know, you would think that you would have some respect for the man who has literally saved you from this life. I gave you a job, a place to live, and a way to get your life going again. Then, you come crawling back to a narcissistic bastard who has beaten you and will do the same to your future children? Is money worth all of that?”
Tears start to stream down her face; however, I am immune to manipulation and that’s all these tears are. She’s upset that she got caught.
“What I could handle is you manipulating me, but you manipulating Olivia? That is just not going to be something I can forgive so easily,” I say while leaning forward. “Oh, and I heard your fiancé is planning to kill me in front of the whole auction tonight? I think it’ll be the other way around sweetheart.”
I stand, but before I leave, I bend down to her eye level. “Someone needs to learn how to keep her mouth shut and mind her own business.”
She squeals under her tape. “Keep her here. No one comes in and she doesn’t go out. I’ll deal with her after I deal with Ashton.”
My security guards nod and Maxwell is waiting for me out in the hall, reaching my hand out to shake his. “Once I deal with Ashton, you have a job with me, brother,” I tell him.
His eyes light up. “You mean I’ll be free of this place and can spend every day with my brother?”
I smile. “Every damn day. Now, let’s go help our girl.”