Chapter 14
This traffic was going to be the death of me, I thought as I sat in the back of the car. Davis was doing his best to make his way through the city traffic, but it was lunchtime, and every fucker had some place to go.
”We’re almost there, boss,” Davis called back over his shoulder. ”Do you want me to ring ahead to tell them you are running late?”
”No, I wouldn”t bother,” I said. It wasn”t like this meeting was going to be any good. It was the final meeting with the Foundation, this was where they would tell me if my application had been successful. Since I was walking in there unmarried, I knew I hadn”t even met the minimum requirements.
I wasn”t even going to bother with the meeting, but James had called me two nights ago while I was in Chicago. I had been chasing up another lead about the friend that Lily had told me about. She had spent one night in tears after telling me that McIntyre had taken her friend, after she had introduced Lily to the Agency. She blamed herself and I hoped that if I could find the girl that it would help Lily heal from her own trauma. So far, I had struck a handful of dead ends. Chicago turned out to be another one, so when James told me I should come to the meeting I thought what the hell. I might as well get rejected in person. It didn”t really matter that I was going to be late as well. I had come to terms with the fact that my father”s estate would be dissolved into the foundation. To be fair, the man was a complete bastard, almost as bad as William McIntyre himself, who was now rotting in a cell with no chance of trial or parole. I hoped that using his money to help with further cleaning up the foundation would help, but I had gotten by without it so far, and James Killinham was as dedicated to the cleanup as I was, so maybe between us, we could do some damage.
I started looking through some of my files as Davis pulled into the side street where the entrance to the foundation was. I wanted to check for any last-minute loopholes before going in, but everything all boiled down to the fact that despite the corruption that went on behind closed doors, the foundation wanted to maintain a family friendly front. I looked up as my door opened and I saw Davis looking at me with a strange smile on his face.
”What”s got you all happy?” I scoffed as I put the files down on the seat next to me and undid my seatbelt.
”Nothing boss,” he said, and his grin grew. I shook my head and climbed out of the car. Well, at least one of us was happy.
”Okay,” I said and pulled out my briefcase and turned towards the door. ”Let”s get this shit show over w-” I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw James standing with someone in front of the Foundation entrance.
She looked as beautiful as the first moment I saw her. I could still see the haunted look in her eyes as I slowly walked over to her.
”What are you doing here?” I asked. She frowned at me.
”Well, hello to you too,” she scoffed. I narrowed my eyes on her, and she rolled her eyes in return. She glanced up at Davis and then back at me.
”I was told that today was important,” she said. ”I was told exactly how much you were giving up by not having a wife with you.” I glared at Davis and James. I never want Lily to know this. I didn”t want her to feel guilty.
”Lily, it”s fine,” I said. ”I just want you to be happy.”
”You have given me so much,” she said. ”You gave me my life back. I”m even going back to school. And it”s because of you. This is the least I can do for you.” She reached out with shaky hands and handed me a thick white envelope.
”The meeting is delayed for another couple of hours,” James said with a grin. ”It gives you time to officiate this.” He then turned to Lily and kissed her cheek. ”You really are a remarkable woman. I look forward to seeing you back on campus.” He then nodded to me and headed back into the building.
”Lily, I told you I wanted to do this properly. Win your trust,” I said, trying to hand the envelope back to her. ”I don’t ever want you to feel like you are under anyone”s control ever again.”
”I know,” she said with a smile. ”I heard what you said to Alec, down in the cell, before you…” she trailed off and something dark crossed her eyes. Then she smiled again. ”You said that I belong to me. No one had ever said something like that.” Then she grinned mischievously.
”This isn”t back to what it was before,” she said pointing to the envelope. ”We can take it slow, and you will get your date that you ask for. But I made some important changes myself.” I narrowed my eyes again. She looked like she was having too much fun here.
”Oh, bloody hell, just open the damn thing,” Davis scoffed and Lily laughed. I shook my head at him and pulled open the tab on the envelope and pulled out the papers inside. The first thing I saw was the Agency logo and then I stopped at the next line on the contract. My eyes widened as I took in what it said.
Special contract for Sebastian Lynch and Lily Appleby.
Husband for Hire.