Page 16 of Vicious Rule

He foolishly attempts more humor when he says, “You know, not everyone gets to have fun. The guards don’t. Andre and that Falconi guy don’t even get to be in the room. They’re stuck outside watching the doors.”

“Andre doesn’t want any of those women, Alex. He wants me. He’s crazy about me. Every time I see him, he flirts with me. So he’s not stuck doing something he doesn’t want to do. Trust me.”

With each word I say, his smile fades a little bit more until he’s frowning at me. “He knows the rules. Guards aren’t allowed to fraternize with anyone in my business. I’m going to have to think about how to handle this.”

Oh my God! This man is infuriating!

“That’s not the point, Alex,” I snap as I yank my arm from his hold. “Andre has never done anything wrong, and I swear to God if you do anything to him, I’m never going to speak to you again.”

“Why?” he asks in complete confusion.

“Because!” I scream, fed up with him and this entire conversation. “Now let me go! I want to go back to my room.”

“No. You have to come back to the villa.”

He really does have a one-track mind, doesn’t he? I suspected when I worked for his brother that they were polar opposites, but this just proves it. Gideon would always listen. He treated me like the right hand Alex claims I am.

And I liked that. A lot.

“Then give me a few days away, at least,” I say, hating how I sound like I’m begging.

“No,” he says flatly, unwilling to even entertain the concept that I need some time away from him.

“I just need a few days, Alex. Why can’t you understand that?”

The obstinate bastard simply shakes his head. “No. If you need time off, you can relax at the villa for a few days and not work. I’m fine with that. I’ll just tell people you’re not feeling well. They’ll buy that. Okay?”

“No, not okay! I’m happy here. Why don’t you understand that?”

He looks around his brother’s office and shakes his head again. “I don’t understand how anyone can be happy here. It’s a hotel, Sasha. A place where people come for a few days or a week and then leave. The villa is a home. Your home.”

Then it dawns on me. I’ve been so blind. How did I not see it?

He’s jealous of Gideon. Just as I always suspected, he harbors a ton of jealousy toward his brother when it comes to me.

“This is about Gideon, isn’t it? You’re angry that I came here because you think I want to be with him. Admit it. This has nothing to do with me. It’s all about him and whatever petty envy you have when it comes to your younger brother.”

Alex narrows his eyes and angrily stares at me. “The first chance you got, you came running back to him. Why? He’s happy, Sasha. He’s got Aria. They’re having a baby. What use do you serve here now, other than to intrude on their married bliss?”

The way he practically spits those last two words out—married bliss—like they’re some kind of curse he needs to rid himself of makes me wonder if he’s jealous of Gideon for that too. It seems unlikely, though. Alex isn’t exactly the kind of man who I can see settling down. He still likes to enjoy orgies on a nightly basis, for God’s sake.

“I came back to this hotel because I liked who I was here, if you must know. I had a purpose here. I had a boss who trusted me. I miss that. It has nothing to do with intruding on Gideon and Aria’s happiness.”

Alex takes a step back and sighs. “I trust you. I do. You need to believe that, Sasha.”

“Then explain to me why I couldn’t know about this thing you have with Nico Olivetti and why we have to pretend to be a couple for his benefit,” I demand.

He doesn’t answer for so long that I’m sure he’s trying to come up with some believable lie for my benefit. I’m done with lying. If he can’t confide in me, then I have no place in his world.

“Okay, Alex. I can see you truly don’t trust me, so I’m going to stay here until I talk to your father and he decides where I can work in his business. Good luck.”

This time, Alex doesn’t try to physically stop me, a sign he finally gets my point. I just hope when his father asks him what went wrong that he can at least tell him that I’m a good worker. Helix has always preferred him to Gideon, so it will mean much more if the favored son gives me a good recommendation.

Then Alex finally speaks, and I stop dead in my tracks.

“I’m working with Nico on something I don’t want anyone to know about, especially my father. There. Now you know the truth no one else knows.”

I turn around and look at him. He appears contrite, a look I’ve never seen on him before.

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