I have thirteen missed calls from him.
Ignoring them, I try to dial Lizzie, but her phone goes right to voicemail, so I disconnect.
“Would you like something to eat?” Anna asks.
I shake my head, turn to walk away while my brain works to make sense of this. I should just ask Hayden. He’s the one who arranged for the return of our things. Did he buy our furniture back? Although, I guess like the house it’s his furniture now.
I go upstairs, checking the time on my phone when a message comes through.
“You disappear again, and we have a problem.”
Hayden.
And he’s pissed.
Good.
I tuck the phone into my pocket, and I wonder if Anna reported my return to him. I guess so.
I go up to my room and sit on the edge of the bed. I call Celia and apologize for not coming. I ask her how dad is—the same—and promise to visit tomorrow. I then strip off my clothes and run a bath, locking the bathroom door and soaking until the water cools, all the while thinking about what happened. Why it felt like it did—not like he said was his intent at all. Not him taking me down a notch.
Was it the same for him?
“Don’t be stupid,” I tell myself out loud and climb out of the tub to get ready for tonight.
I did, after all, promise to be available for further humiliations.
17
Hayden
I carry Persephone’s coat as I walk through the house to look into the now furnished rooms. Everything back in place like I remember it.
Anna is talking, giving me a rundown of events, but her voice is like a buzzing in my ear and I don’t really care.
“Is she upstairs?” I ask, cutting Anna off as I glance up the long, curving staircase. She’d better be.
“Yes, sir,” she says.
I nod and head up, opening her bedroom door. She’s sitting at the vanity that’s been replaced and wordlessly meets my gaze in the mirror.
I toss her coat onto the bed and take a look around the room. “Everything where you want it?”
She puts down the tube of lipstick and half-turns. She’s wearing the dress I told her to wear, which surprises me. The red is stunning on her, setting off her creamy skin and dark hair.
“Why did you buy back the furniture?”
“Isn’t ‘thank you’ more appropriate?”
“I didn’t ask you to do it. And besides, it’s not for me. It’s your house. Your furniture. I’m just your tenant.”
I don’t know what the fuck is up with her. I thought the afternoon on her own would clear her head, but if she wants to play it this way, fine. I’ll engage.
“I thought it was a fitting reward after this morning.”
Her eyes narrow. “Like a ‘thank-you-for-the-fuck’?”
“Exactly. Speaking of, how’s your ass?”
“Fuck you.”
I chuckle. “Brought your coat back. You were in a state to leave without it.”
“Aren’t all the women you fuck in a state?”
“I’m glad to see you’re starting to appreciate the honor of your position.”
She snorts.
“Speaking of positions, having you on your knees with your ass in the air may be my favorite for you.”
Without bothering to look at me, she flips me off and I grin, check the time. “I need to shower and change.”
She shrugs a shoulder like she could care less, her attention to applying lipstick.
I walk into the bathroom and strip off my things, showering quickly. My clothes have been moved into the closet. Anna is a competent housekeeper. I put on my tux and am adjusting the bowtie when I walk back into the bedroom.
“Where did you go?” I ask.
“Nowhere.”
“Not to your father.”
“No, not there.”
“Then where?”
She lifts her gaze to meet mine. “None of your business.”
“Everything about you is my business. But fine.”
I pick up my phone which I’d left on the dresser and type in a text to Peter: Get a tracker installed on Ms. Abbot’s Jeep. It’s at the house. I want it done tonight.
I get an instant reply confirming he’ll take care of it. This is the kind of service money buys.
I tuck my phone into my pocket, take the tuxedo jacket off the hanger and put it on. I go to Persephone, place my hands on her shoulders and squeeze.
“Red is your color.”
She drops a compact into her clutch and I step back for her to stand. She’s wearing four-inch heels, but the top of her head just barely comes to my chin. I take a moment to look her over.
“Turn,” I tell her.
She grits her teeth and turns. The dress hugs her curves, accentuating her tiny waist, the flare of her hips and her round ass.
She faces me again. “Satisfied?”
“More than.”
I touch the lock of hair allowed to escape her twist, tuck it behind her ear, take in the dark kohl that makes her eyes look huge, the deep crimson lipstick I want to kiss off, to smear across her face.
Stain her.
I wrap my hand around the nape of her slender neck. She’s so much smaller than me and I don’t know if it’s that or something else that makes me feel so protective of her.
“What happened this morning?” I ask.
“You were there. I’m sure you remember the details.”
“What upset you?”
“You mean apart from signing over controlling shares of Abbot Enterprises and having my ass fucked?”
“I thought you enjoyed the ass fucking. You came. More than once.”
“You said yourself you were bringing me down a notch. You got what you wanted.”
“You don’t have to fight me.”
“Yes, I do.”
“I’ll take care of you. You know that.”
“I know no such thing. And really, this is just strange. What do you want, Hayden? You want to see our family destroyed, yet you’ll take care of me? Do you just want me in your debt? Oh wait, no. You want me on my knees.”
“You asked me earlier if you deserved to be punished. You do not. But you are caught up in this.”
“Because of who I am.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me what you think he did.”
“Not what I think. What I know.” I check my watch, grit my teeth as the evening draws nearer. I’m not looking forward to this. “We need to go.” I take her elbow.
“Wait.” She pulls free and picks up her clutch. I open the door. She walks out and down the stairs ahead of me.
Shane is waiting at the door.
“What is the auction for?” she asks as I lay her coat over her shoulders.
I put my own coat on and signal to Shane who opens the door.
Persephone shudders at the sudden icy chill.
I wrap an arm around her, and we walk to the car, climbing into the backseat. I glance at my house in the darkness, a hulking, broken thing left to rot. I wonder if Nora haunts it. I hope not. I hope she’s at peace.
“A fund raiser for Senator Hughes,” I say.
“Senator Hughes? He was going to run against my father. He’s corrupt, Hayden. You support him?”