Chapter 38 Come To Bed?
COME TO BED?
SEBASTIAN
As soon as we’re in my office, I close the door and turn to face Daniel.
“Explain the black eye,” I say, crossing my arms.
Thankfully Imogen hasn’t arrived yet, because I suspect I won’t want her to hear the answer to that question.
Daniel leans against the wall beside the window and rubs the back of his neck as he shoots me a dark look. “Given your little detour on the way to the club the other day, what do you think?”
I close my eyes and breath in deep, needing a moment to compose myself.
“Did you seek Joseph out, or was this an unfortunate case of wrong place, wrong time?” I ask after a moment.
He sighs. “I was staying off his radar, like you said. And things have been quiet since I saw him that night with Lily. But yesterday, he showed up at Point Piper and took a swing at Travis. I just happened to be there, but I don’t know if he knew that or not.
” At the mention of Joseph taking a swing at the head security guard at Point Piper, I ball my hands into fists at my side, wishing I could use them on Joseph.
I take a steadying breath as Daniel continues, concern laced through his tone.
“He’s unhinged, Seb. He was screaming for Lily and telling me to give him back what belongs to him.
He only left when he saw Travis calling the cops, but not before he clocked me one.
I’m pretty sure people have started asking questions about Lily’s absence and it’s making him crazy.
Add in your visit and it just tipped him over the edge.
” He touches the bruise gently, shaking his head.
I guess I should be grateful that Daniel didn’t let his own emotions take over, and lay into Joseph like he desperately wants to. Joseph certainly would not have survived that, and the last thing we need is Daniel up on manslaughter charges.
Letting my head drop back, I stare at the ceiling for a moment. “Fuck.”
“Fuck indeed,” Daniel replies.
“So… Are we all just hiding up here now?” I ask, leaning against my desk and crossing my ankles.
Daniel raises an eyebrow. “Why are you asking me? You’re usually the one who calls the shots.”
“Well, I’ve never had to deal with an out of control politician before, so this is all new ground for me,” I snap back, the stress of the whole situation starting to get to me.
Daniel frowns as he holds his hands up in surrender. “Jeez, calm down.”
I sigh and pull my phone from my pocket, opening up to my list of contacts and touching the top of the screen on Connell’s name.
The Irishman answers immediately.
“Hey. What’s up?”
“Can you come to my office? I need your help with the Sydney situation.”
“On it. Be there in five.”
I hang up and turn back to Daniel.
“Do we tell Lily?” he asks, and I immediately shake my head.
“Absolutely not. Not until we find a way to get him to leave her alone. She’s finally getting to be in a good place after being a ghost for months, and this may very well cause her to return to her previous self.”
He runs a thoughtful gaze over my face. “You’ve always been adamant that people make their own decisions. Why is this any different?”
I hesitate, asking myself the same question.
He’s right. I’ve never been the type to hide the truth from those it impacts the most.
But Lily is different. And she would blame herself for Joseph lashing out at Daniel, no matter how misguided that thought process is. And the last thing we need is for her to make contact with him and be dragged back into that hell she endured for far too long.
“It’s different because it’s Lily,” I reply, not knowing what else to say.
A look of understanding appears in his eyes, and he smirks. “So you’ve finally worked out how you feel about her, huh?”
I frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh don’t be an idiot, Sebastian. You’ve been in love with her since we were kids.”
I cross my arms again and keep my expression neutral. “I don’t fall in love.”
He shakes his head as he lets out an exasperated sigh.
“Yes you do. Or you did and have never been able to move on from that. And it scares the absolute shit out of you because you have built this life for yourself that you think makes you some kind of monster, or whatever. But she has known you, the real you, since she was sixteen, and none of that has scared her away.”
I swear to God, it’s like he, Annika and Imogen have all been reading the same psychology articles lately.
I shake my head. “It’s not like that. It can’t be. And regardless of any of that, she’s been through absolute hell. The last thing she needs is to have anything to do with someone like me.”
“Oh, you mean the guy who has protected her and made sure she was surrounded by people who would support her and provided her with a place to stay without any expectations? You don’t think she should be around that guy?”
Younger siblings can truly be infuriating sometimes.
I’m relieved that Connell chooses this moment to knock on the door, and I’m saved from having to respond to Daniel’s question.
But the look on my brother’s face is enough to know that, while he might not be aware of all the specifics, he’s worked out things between Lily and I aren’t simply friendly anymore.
Connell’s attention immediately falls towards Daniel, like a heat seeking-missile, and his gaze locks onto the black eye. “What’s happened?” His anger shows in his eyes, although his expression remains neutral.
“Joseph apparently showed up at Point Piper. Actually-” I stop and turn to look at Daniel again with a raised brow. “Why didn’t Connell know about this already?”
“I asked the team to wait until I was able to talk to you in person.”
I clench my jaw while I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Daniel, it’s Connell’s job to make sure that everyone is safe at all locations. You shouldn’t have asked them to keep this from him.”
Daniel rolls his eyes. “I get that you’re the one really calling the shots, but I am part owner in all of this, too.
I didn’t see any sense in doing anything immediately until we had a chance to work out what to do about him.
He obviously knows about the clubs and where to find me.
He most likely thinks Lily is still down there in one of them.
Our entire business is at risk while he’s got this vendetta against us, and the last thing we need is to have some new security guy come onboard and being overzealous, knocking the bastard out or something worse. It would cause us more trouble.”
I sigh and exchange a frustrated look with Connell before replying.
“I get that you’re protecting the business as well as Lily, but he’s not as powerful as he thinks he is.
Everything we do is completely legal. And besides that, we have clients who are far more powerful than him who would bury him alive before allowing him to give away the true nature of the clubs.
If nothing else, they enjoy getting their cocks sucked too much for that to happen. ”
Connell clears this throat. “I’ll arrange for some more staff to be appointed at both locations. But perhaps it’s time to involve the authorities?”
“I agree. I think we’ve let him play his little games long enough,” I reply.
Daniel sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Fantastic. Well, can we at least wait until I go home, seeing as I’m here and not there to deal with all of their questions?”
I watch him for a moment, taking in the exhaustion on his face for the first time.
“Fine. How about you go and get some rest? It’s obviously been a stressful couple of days. You can have my room. I’ll take the couch when I come up later.”
He pushes off from the wall, rubbing a hand over his face. “Thanks. I think I’ve been running on adrenaline for the last two days and I’m absolutely fucked.”
Connell and I watch him go before exchanging another look, and the bearded Irishman crosses his arms.
“Perhaps it’s time to talk to Lily about all of this? She knows the guy better than anyone. Perhaps there’s a way we can diffuse the situation without involving the police.”
“I don’t want to involve her until absolutely necessary.”
He nods before turning to walk out of the office, leaving me to work out what our next course of action should be.
I don’t see Daniel or Lily for the rest of the day. Once Imogen arrives, I try to go about the day as if there isn’t this massive cloud hanging over me, not wanting to let her know that things have just gone from bad to worse.
With the knowledge that we’re going to have to eventually tell Lily about Joseph’s behaviour, my protective instincts have kicked into overdrive, just adding to my conflicting emotions.
It’s past nine by the time I’ve done everything I possibly can to delay returning to my suite, but after the long day I’ve had, I really need to get some sleep.
Even before the last two nights, where I lost all control and fucked Lily senseless twice, my limited amount of sleep lately was starting to takes it’s toll. Now I’m just exhausted.
The lights are out when I let myself in, which is a good sign.
Not wanting to disturb Daniel, I opt to use the main bathroom to take a shower, snagging a pair jogger pants from the pile of clean laundry the staff left on the dining room table earlier. While they may do my washing, I draw the line on making others put my clothes away.
I might be rich, but I’m not incapacitated.
Standing under the hot water, I try to let it wash away the stress of Daniel’s news. I’d been naive to think that Joseph would just let it all go. His need to control her is so deep that it now appears he’s willing to risk his political career to get what he wants.