Page 52 of His Wild Seduction

And I’d appreciated Josef taking point and then standing quietly by my side for the duration. But maybe it would have been better if he’d asked questions.

Or maybe it would have been better if I simply told him the truth.

But how did you start a conversation like that?

Hello Husband,

So the guy you thought was my bio Dad was actually my stepfather, a fact I hadn’t learned until the same night you took my virginity.

But hey that was only after he’d slapped me and tore my shirt when trying to grab me inappropriately.

You see, he was mad that he couldn’t give his virgin redheaded daughter to some oil tycoon he was trying to make a deal with.

Crazy, right? So yeah, in case you were wondering why I didn’t want to put a rose on his coffin and why I didn’t cry, that’s the reason.

Any questions?

Yeah, I didn’t think that would go over so well, either.

“How long till we get there?” I asked Mario, my permanent chauffeur/bodyguard, recently appointed to that position by my husband.

“About fifteen minutes, Mrs. Aziz.”

“You can call me Meredith.”

“I don’t think so, ma’am.”

“Whatever. Thank you,” I replied.

Being driven to my job at a woman’s shelter by Mario, the six foot tall, half as wide man with a shaved head and a face that looked like he never smiled a day in his whole life, had been difficult to explain to Sr. Elise, my boss.

The shelter was for victims of domestic violence, and Mario, while I knew he was a good guy because Josef wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t, was likely a bit much for the residents to deal with.

“Um, Mario, I wanted to thank you for understanding about not coming inside with me today. That was cool of you.”

“Oh, I, uh, I was there.”

“What? I didn’t see you,” I said, stunned by the revelation.

“Sorry, Boss said I had to. But no worries. I cleared it with Sr. Elise first.”

“You called Sr. Elise?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t offer any more information, and I was too damn stunned to ask.

Did Josef do a background check on me or the staff?

It was the only explanation for Mario knowing where I worked and who my boss was.

Hurt and anger warred within me.

Why didn’t he just ask me himself?

I sniffed, forcing myself not to cry while Mario parked the SUV in the underground lot.

If my husband couldn’t be bothered talking to me directly about my life, then I supposed I didn’t have to worry about sharing any of my past with him. It wasn’t like he was offering me any information about him.

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