Page 129 of The Keeper

“Wow,” he snickered. “Already pulling birds in the States. Were you about to shag her in there?”

In all the commotion I didn’t see Victoria come up next to me. But Adam did.

He glanced dismissively in her direction. “You should check to see where his cock’s been before he sticks it in you and buggers off.”

Nothing but red rage filled my vision. If not for Victoria’s quick movement to get in between us, I would have slammed his face into the floor.

“Hey,” she shouted. “I will not have this in my stadium. Enough. Both of you.”

I scowled and folded my arms. Adam stopped rearranging the white board and looked at Victoria. Really looked at her. His face morphed from annoyance to recognition to disbelief.

“Charlotte?” he whispered.

I barely caught Victoria before she hit the ground.

Victoria

So many things come into focus once a person opens their eyes and really sees. I knew that now as my head continued to pound and Hannah continued to fuss around me. I was back in my office, nursing a bottle of water. She and some Royal City trainer were caring for me when I regained consciousness.

William. That was his name.

Nice guy. Kept checking my pulse and listening to my heart.

He also kept asking if I’d eaten enough and if I was dehydrated.

The cause of my fainting spell wasn’t lack of food or water. It was ghosts. Ghosts I didn’t know existed one month ago but were now front and center in my life.

The whole ordeal played in my mind like a bad movie.

Someone thought I was my dead sister. Darkness. Voices. The feel of warm material on my legs. More voices. Footsteps. Silence. Then I opened my eyes.

“You should give this back to Bennet,” I said listlessly, pointing at the suit jacket on my desk. It’d been draped over my legs while I laid unconscious on the floor. Apparently Xavier was adamant about keeping me covered. How thoughtful. Too bad he wasn’t as adamant about being there when I woke up.

I stood.

Oh boy.

The room spun. I took a deep breath and held onto the edge of my desk.

“Are you okay?” Hannah rushed over. “Should I call William again?”

“Nope. I’m fine.”

“I want you to go home. Glen can cover the rest of the day.”

Actually, that didn’t sound like a bad idea at all.

My legs wobbled. Driving will be interesting.

Hannah grabbed her phone. “Hey, it’s me. I’m sending Victoria home but I think— Yep. Perfect. Thank you.”

She looked at me after ending the call.

“Bennet’s driver will take you. Come on.”

I lacked the will to argue, so I grabbed my things and followed her down to the parking lot. Forty minutes and one hell of a comfortable ride in a Bentley later, I was home. Hannah insisted on staying but I told her if she didn’t leave me alone I’d quit my job. She left in a huff but promised to text me every half hour.

At least somebody would. I rolled my eyes at my own petulance but my phone has been silent since I passed out. Nothing from Xavier. Not one word. I oscillated between anger and hurt. Right now, anger appeared to be winning.

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