Chapter 3 Lord and Lady #2
I sit at Leo’s desk, nursing the tea Isaac made for me over thirty minutes ago.
Owen delivered my laptop back to me, along with my CDs.
I didn’t fully relax until I checked that all of them were accounted for, double and triple checking.
The briefcase they’re in sits before me, open with Castor 2.
0 sitting on top. I work on the laptop, making certain the blackmail I kept off the CDs are stored solely on this computer, cutting off any way of connection to networks.
After I’d gotten the last of the tapes from Logan and Mikey, I had them destroy everything.
What’s left of the blackmail digital footprint was in that briefcase and on this computer.
All I’m missing is Eleanor.
I finish, then close the laptop and place it into the briefcase, locking it shut. There’re two keys; one goes inside Leo’s desk under a false bottom in his top drawer, the other goes inside my pocket.
My hand runs over my corset for almost the hundredth time as I sit back, taking a long breath. Anxiety pricks along my neck, unsure how much longer Leo will be. I should be thinking about what will happen after, but all I can think about is him. Questions whirl inside me, making my stomach twist.
Is he angry with me for hiding all this from him?
Not telling him about the truth with Eleanor.
Or perhaps pissed I used the hotel’s security to help obtain information on dozens of people.
Or will he not trust me after I lied? After me telling him not to hide things from me, I hid from him.
Except, I knew he’d have stopped me, another attempt to protect me.
Tears threaten to brim my eyes, either from exhaustion that creeps along my skin or just the tumultuous day.
The door opens suddenly.
Jameson walks in, shutting the door behind him.
“Are they done?”
“They’re leaving now,” he answers roughly. “We have to take extra precautions given we disarmed their men. Leo will be taking you to the penthouse for a few days.”
My brows scrunch. “Why?”
“Not safe at the hotel. Need you to stay low.”
I scowl.
He stops before the desk, glimpsing at the briefcase. He begins to reach for it. “I’ll put this in his safe—”
Abruptly, I stand and slap my hand upon the leather case. His gaze snaps to mine, frowning deeply.
“This needs to be locked up,” he states.
“Not here.”
“This office is the best place—”
“No. It’s not.” He starts to argue, but I speak over him. “I decide where this goes. Not you.”
“Leo’s still boss. He came back.”
“This is mine, not his.” The snarl in my voice is harsher than I intend. His eyes flare, jaw tensing. My chest tightens, and my legs suddenly feel like jello.
Shit, I was more in control with those mobsters than with him. It’s because he’s Leo best friend and confidant. I have to work with Jameson, even if I don’t agree with how he wants to help Leo. Or maybe it’s because he can’t seem to decide whether to handle me with kid gloves or not.
This time, he doesn’t back down. “Autumn.”
“Were you testing me in there?” I ask suddenly. His expression remains hardened. Time seems to stretch as we glare at each other. My hand flexes against the leather, stomach twisting. Finally, I whisper, “What do I have to do for you to trust me again with him?”
Those golden-brown eyes soften only a smidge, almost sad.
“I came back, just like him.”
His throat works before his gaze goes back to being stern. He answers, “You weren’t here the night before he met you.”
Confusion contorts my face. What? “Jameson—”
The doors slam open. I jolt, standing straight as Leo enters with Rudy right behind him. Rudy’s face shifts into a dangerous expression, glaring at Jameson.
“You were supposed to coordinate with Ringer and Enigma for a route to the penthouse,” Leo states coldly towards Jameson. “Bond and I will finish up here.”
Jameson barely flinches, putting his hands in his pockets with a stony expression. “Where do you want the CDs?”
Leo’s brows furrow deeply, flicking his eyes to the briefcase where my hand still lays. He snaps his gaze back to Jameson. “She decides. Now leave.”
Silently, Jameson strolls out of the office with Ringer close behind.
Leo shuts the door as I remain in my spot, suddenly frozen as he turns back to me.
The rigidness of his expression has somewhat subsided as he walks toward the desk, then stops a few feet from it. Those harsh hazel eyes remain on me.
If someone had told me I held this man while on his knees, crying against my rain-soaked clothes, I’d have never believed them.
His expression shifts as he reaches into his suit jacket, pulling out a disc.
“You hid it inside Nicholas Cage’s first movie,” he says with such softness it startles me.
“Most think it’s Valley Girl,” I whisper. “But Fast Times at Ridgemont High is, just as—”
“Nicholas Coppola.” I nod my head stiffly. “I know Castor is from Face/Off, but not sure which film Eleanor comes from.”
I clear my throat. “Gone in Sixty Seconds. His car.”
“Fitting.”
“I thought so,” I whisper.
He hums momentarily before stepping closer to hold the disc over the desk to me. “Take it. Eleanor is yours. Not mine.”
I stare at the man across from me, glancing down at the ring upon his left hand that I’ve waited months to see. My program in his hands, more valuable than that ring. It’s worth my life. My damnation. My queen piece in this game of chess.
Unexpectedly, I’m back to a moment in time that feels so far away. A time when I could pretend to be someone else, working in a café with nothing to her name. A stranger people rarely looked twice at. Until one evening, a man tried to pay me to dry clean my jeans.
The desk becomes a simple barrier between us as that counter had been. His hand is steady, holding it out for me to take. Instead, I wrap my hands around his, gently pushing it toward him. “Keep it.”
The rigidness along Leo’s face starts to vanish. “Autumn.”
“Save it for a rainy day.”
His stark expression disappears. I smile softly, knowing what I’m giving up, but also what I’m gaining. He made his choice; it’s time for mine. “Checkmate, Leo.”
“Autumn—”
There’s a loud knock. Swiftly, that stony mask is plastered on his face again. He shoves Eleanor back into his jacket, then turns toward the door. “Enter.”
They open to reveal Isaac. “Ready to go, Spartan.”
“Good,” Leo answers, then turns back to me. This time he holds out his empty left hand, eyes finding mine.
I grab the briefcase, come around the desk and slip my hand into his. His fingers grasp mine, leading us out of the office. Before we enter the main elevator, I hand the briefcase to Isaac, and say, “Give this to Bobby. Tell him I’ll see him soon about it.”
“Straight away, Miss Autumn.”
Leo and I step onto the elevator, doors closing and leaving us alone. It’s silent.
For the first time since I met him, I’m not sure how to talk to Leo.