Page 19 of Sinister Devotion

"All my appointments for the day," I tell her.

"Oh, are we going to do something else?"

I shake my head. "No. We aren't doing anything. You're going to stay here and finish every task on your list. I'll send more to the tablet after I get out of here. I'm leaving for the day. Cancel my meetings and move them to next week."

She scoffs. "So, you're planning to saddle me with so much work that I have to stay late and cancel my date?"

"Actually, I wasn't but that's not a bad idea. I mean, when did all of this magically happen? Maybe you've been playing me this entire time to get me to loosen the reins. Try to get in my head until I can't take it. Force me to push you away."

"Julian." There's a look of betrayal in her eyes as if my words hurt her. Her confidence melts away as she begins to plead with me. "Julian please, that's not it at all. I only want to be with you. I only want to date you, but you told me that—you pushed me away."

She's right.

"I'm sorry, Claire. You're right. Just clear my schedule. Don't worry about anything other than the assignments you have for the day. Anything I send over can be taken care of tomorrow. You can go."

I make a call down to security as Claire walks away from me; her silence louder than her slamming the door after she leaves. This is why I don't want to get involved with her. I'm a piece of shit that can't have her, but I don't want anyone else to have her either. I can't be here all day, watching her walk around in that black dress, teasing me, tempting me. It's an HR nightmare waiting to happen.

While a part of me knows Claire won't do anything to get me in trouble, I have no idea how my other employees will interpret sounds of her purring my name as I eat her pussy in my office. By the time I get to the garage, Edward's standing there with an eyebrow raised.

"Heading out, Boss?" he asks.

"Yeah. I don't want to be cooped up in the office all day. Find out who Claire's going out with tonight."

"Devon Shaughnessy," he replies almost immediately.

I stop as we walk toward the SUV. "Who the fuck is that?"

My mind runs down a list of names of prominent families. The only Shaughnessy family I know is Irish mob. I doubt that's who she's going out with.

Edward chuckles. "Bonnie told me on their way to the office this morning. He's going to pick her up at the house at six. Bonnie will be with them wherever they go to chaperone. She's eighteen, Julian. The girl's got puppy dog eyes for you every time you walk in a room."

We get in the car for him to drive us home.

"I don't want her dating some loser. Who is this guy? Where did she meet him? She's supposed to get their info to you. They need to be vetted for safety precautions, you know?"

Edward laughs loudly this time. "Stop it, man. Don't forget that I fucking know you, too. I know the both of you pretty fucking well. Devon's already been vetted. He works for Trigger Lawn Care."

"No, not happening."

"What's not happening?"

I shake my head and slam my fist against the door. "She's not dating some sleazebag pushing a lawnmower."

"Ay! Don't you dare turn your nose up like your money all of a sudden makes you better than those guys."

I sigh. "You know I didn't mean it like that, Edward. He's the sleazebag. It doesn't matter if he's pushing a lawnmower or a Bentley. You gotta be talking about that kid who works for Bryan, right?"

"Yeah," he replies, still on edge.

Edward Oliver Vagan is my best friend and the reason Derek Anderson and I became friends. My parents got divorced. Despite what my mother believes, I didn't choose to stay with Charleston Blackwell. I didn't have a choice, so I took out my frustration on everyone and anything I could get my hands on.

When there wasn't a boarding school that could control me, Charleston Blackwell tried beating obedience into me before he resorted to sending me to public school. Oddly enough, his kid being in public school cinched his nomination to the California State Supreme Court bench. If only the political elite knew the damage Charleston inflicted on the people he claimed to love the most.

After school, I'd run errands for my uncle. I think my father thought running errands for a mob enforcer would scare me straight, but it only hardened my resolve to become a better, wealthier man than he'd ever be. I found my true friends at that school. Along the way, my Dad got us out of jams while Edward and Derek kept my face and body protected until I learned to defend myself.

It was a weird time for the Blackwell family. Violence, camaraderie; an eye for an eye alongside 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.' My father and I went tit for tat between love, hatred, and destruction, until it bubbled into one fateful night. The night that still delivers nightmares when I least expect it.

Between Derek, Edward, and my Uncle Armande, I toughened up enough to be a menace in the street and the boardroom. We had plans. Edward runs my security detail and Derek was supposed to run my finances. I hate that Carmine Scarpella is the man behind the criminals who killed my friend, Claire's father.

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