Page 38 of Bad Duke

“What the hell is this about, Alex?” Olivia storms into my office, looking agitated and hot-as-hell but it doesn’t distract me from how fucking mad I am.

“I might ask you the same question. Spence informs me you were having an altercation in the street with some guy.” I wait for her explanation.

“We’ll come back to that. What I want to know is why you think it’s okay to have me followed?” She crosses her arms under her chest and glares at me the way she always does when she’s trying to show authority.

“They are there for your protection,” I assure her, and that's all she needs to know.

“Protection from what?” The poor girl proves she has no idea who I really am. And as much as I admire her naïvety I also see the danger in it.

“Olivia, in the past ten years, I've upset a lot of people. I have enemies, and before now it was hard for those enemies to be able to hurt me.” She still looks confused. The last thing I want to do is scare her, these past few weeks she seems to have dropped all her worries and doubts about our relationship, but she needs some knowledge of what she’s involved in. “There’s a chance that someone may see you as an opportunity.” I lower my head in shame when I think about it. Those are the kind of thoughts that keep me awake at night.

“I will not let that be an option. Hugo and Spencer have been with you every day, you’ve never noticed them there. That’s how it will continue to be,” I assure her and when she lets my reasoning sink in, she blinks her lashes as her shoulders lose their tension.

“It would have been nice to be told,” she tells me, still trying her best to look as if she’s cross with me.

“I didn’t want to scare you. I’d never let you be in any danger.” I stand up and round my desk, taking both her hands in mine.

“Now, are you going to tell me what happened with your boss's son, or am I going to go and speak with him myself?” I think I’ve done a very good job of remaining calm up till now, on the matter of Lewis fucking Riverty. I, of course, made a call to DCS Winslow while she was on her way here and he’s looking into him for me as we speak.

“He’s an asshole, and now I need a new job because I quit,” she tells me shocking the fuck out of me.

“You quit?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Whatever this guy did must have been a big deal, I know how much Olivia loves her job. She loves telling me about her day while we eat dinner together, and seeing the way she beams and gets so passionate about her students makes it one of my favourite parts of the day, second to taking her to bed and filling her pussy, of course.

“I had to, Lewis…” She stops herself mid-sentence and suddenly looks sheepish. “It doesn’t matter. I just can’t go back there.” She fidgets nervously with her hands.

“Did he…” I don’t even want to think it, let alone say it, but I have to know. “Did he touch you?” I grit the words through my teeth as the hands I have in hers crush so tight she yelps in pain.

“No.” She shakes her head when I release her. “He didn’t touch me.”

“Then, tell me what he did to make you quit a job you love,” I demand.

“He told one of the other dance teachers that…” Her eyes look down at our feet like she’s backing out of telling me.

“Olivia.” I use my finger to lift her chin and hold up her head.

“He said that me and him had been together after our work’s Christmas party, last year.” I can see how upset she is, her eyes are already filled with tears and she’s trying really hard to be brave. My anger is spiraling just from the sight of it, and suddenly all I can think about is finding this guy and making him fucking hurt.

“Stay here.” I pull her head close to mine so I can kiss her forehead, then taking my jacket off the coat hook, I grab my keys.

“Alex, wait, please.” She chases me down the corridor as I head towards the front door.

“I don’t want any trouble, I fixed it. I quit.” Her eyes aren’t sad anymore, they’re worried, worried for him.

“That’s not fixing it.” I shake my head, continuing to march out the door and to my car. It’s not good for me to be around her when I’m this mad.

“Alex.” She chases me down.

“Go back inside, Olivia. I got this handled. Read a book, take the dogs for another walk. Do something that makes you happy until I get back. That’s an order.” I point my finger at her.

“Alex, what are you going to do?” She gives up trying to convince me and stands still, staring at me as if I’m some kind of monster.

“I told you, I’m going to fix this.” I get behind the wheel and speed off.

For the whole drive towards the city, I focus on the road and think about what I'd like to do to the prick. DCS Winslow calls and what he informs me of only adds fuel to the fucking fire that’s burning inside me. How fucking dare this man say those things about my girl. Olivia is kind and respectful, she blushes if I kiss her in front of our staff. I can’t imagine how humiliated his lies have made her feel.

I pull up as close to the dance school as I can and storm through the door straight to the reception desk.

“Where can I find Lewis?” I ask the startled-looking receptionist who slowly points her finger in the direction of the corridor to her left. The worn, wooden floors thud under my feet as I follow the music and swing open the door to my left where it’s coming from. The room is much bigger than I expected it to be and there are four young women lined up at the back wall, in front of a mirror, stretching and bending to Lewis’s command.

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