Page 27 of Forbidden Mistress

Her eyes light up. “Oh, yeah.” She flops onto her bed, facing me. “How’d it go with Lucien today? You met with him this afternoon, right?”

I shrug one shoulder. “It went well, I think. I need to get some paperwork together for him so he can look it over.”

Avery pulls a face. “Okay, if it went well, then why are you making that face?”

I fold my legs crisscross and face her. “He was really nice and super knowledgeable, but I don’t know…it was weird.”

She frowns. “What was weird about it?”

“I guess it’s because I’ve seen this guy do some pretty intimate things to another woman, and then, today, he’s just sitting across from me like none of that even happened, you know?”

Avery nods. “Well, I’m sure he has to keep all of that separate. Some people can do that—especially higher-ups like him. They have to keep their business and private lives separate. Isn’t that the whole point of Obscura, anyway? Anonymity?”

I bite my lip. “Yeah, you’re right. I was thinking the same thing earlier.” I pluck a piece of lint off my comforter and roll it between my fingers. “I asked him if we could go out sometime, but I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

Avery looks at me like I’ve got two heads. “Why not?”

“Because maybe it’s not a good idea to co-mingle the Obscura stuff with real-life stuff. He might be good at keeping things separate, but I’m not.”

She purses her lips, thinking. “Yeah, true. Plus, you really need this job. If something goes wrong on your date—not that it will, but just if—then you don’t want to give him a reason to cut you loose, ‘cause then there goes your payday.”

“Yeah.” I nod. “Exactly. We all know I’m shit when it comes to dating.”

“Let’s not go that far.” Avery laughs. “That’s a little dramatic.”

I haven’t really told her about my dating history. She only knows what she’s seen since I’ve lived here at Hill House—a couple of guys here and there, never lasting more than a couple weeks. She doesn’t know about the dozen guys before them. And just as well. It’s embarrassing as fuck.

I sigh deeply. “Well, I guess we’ll see. His assistant is supposed to get a hold of me when his schedule frees up. Maybe I’ll make up an excuse why I can’t go.”

Avery rises to her feet and does a full body stretch, her long shiny blond hair flopping down her back. “Can I bring some pizza back for you?”

I smile. She’s always so thoughtful. It’s one of the reasons we all consider her the unofficial house mom. She’s always looking out for each one of us.

“That would be great, thanks. If I’m gone by the time you get back, I’ll eat it when I get home.”

For the rest of the afternoon, I manage to get some work done on an assignment and fight hard not to think about Hart. It’s always like this in the hours before I “clock in” at Obscura. All I can think about is Hart and those intense brown eyes. I can’t focus on anything else.

As I’m getting ready for my shift, my phone pings. It might be Lucien, so I rush to check my screen. I let out a groan when I see Liam’s name on the text. Fuck.

Mom says you need a copy of Dad’s will and any documents related to the company. Why?

I scowl down at his text. Why? Because I’m his daughter, fuckwad. I don’t text that, because I need these papers from Liam and if I piss him off, then he might refuse to give them to me. Unfortunately, I’m at his mercy. For the moment.

What do you mean “why?” I’m his daughter. I need to see what’s what.

Okay, so I wasn’t super successful at keeping the sass out of my texting tone. But at least I didn’t call him fuckwad to his face. So I’m calling that a win.

Why now? It’s been a year.

I push out an angry breath. This fucking asshole.

I wasn’t ready then. But I’m ready now. You can send them to my email. You already have the address.

I switch my phone off before he can reply. Of course, he doesn’t want to give me the paperwork. It probably has my name emblazoned all over it. I doubt my dad left me everything, but he left me something, surely. Probably a substantial something, because I am his only biological child.

Shaking Liam from my thoughts, I go back to getting ready. I can’t help but think about Hart and what he’s doing right now. Is he already at Obscura? Does he hang out there after work? I decide I’m not going to wear my panties because, I don’t know, I’m feeling a little rebellious tonight.

Will Hart notice?

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