Page 77 of Forever Mr Black

I frown at her dig. “Sorry?”

She puts her glass down on the table and meets my gaze with a challenging glint in her eye. “With your Little Miss Perfect act. All I’ve heard since I’ve arrived is how wonderful you are and how right you are for her son.”

She’s got a fucking cheek.

I narrow my eyes, determined not to rise to it. “The gloves are off today. You almost sound jealous.”

“Of you?” she scoffs. “I don’t think so. I’m a highly respected professional in my field. And what are you? He could do so much better.”

“Would you be so highly respected if everyone knew what you’d done?”

She glares at me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What would your colleagues think if they discovered you’d had an affair with a client?”

Aisling heaves a dismissive sigh and looks out at the garden, bored. “Not this shit again.”

“I’m guessing you broke quite a few rules,” I carry on, forcing her to listen to what she doesn’t want to hear. “He was struggling with grief, had just been released from prison, and came to you for help. Not to mention, what happened to him when he was little. I’d imagine if people found out, it would be incredibly damaging to your professional reputation.”

“Don’t try and threaten me. It won’t work,” she hisses.

I’m getting to her. And I’m thrilled.

“And what are you talking about, his childhood? What happened to him?”

I frown in confusion. “You don’t know?”

Her lips twist in disapproval. “I know he was adopted, but … well, he never spoke about his childhood.”

I blink in stunned silence. Art spent a year having therapy with her. And he never discussed his tragic, neglectful childhood.

“You don’t know him,” I say quietly.

Aisling picks up her glass and drains the remainder of her drink, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve known him a lot longer than you.”

“That means nothing. He never let you in,” I snap. I’m on a roll. “What you and he had was superficial.”

Her usual serene countenance cracks, and she slams her glass down on the table. “We connected on a deeper level. It was more than just sex. It was about the control he desires so badly.”

“Exactly. He wanted control, not you.”

Aisling draws her head back as though I’d slapped her. An evil glint appears in her eye. I know whatever she’s about to say, I’m going to hate.

“I gave him the control he needed. I opened up his eyes to a whole new sexual world.” She flashes me an insincere smile. “You can thank me later.”

Bitch.

“I knew he was attracted to me—”

I hold my hand up. “You can spare me the details. I don’t give a fuck.”

“He’d not touched a woman in months,” she continues, a sly smile on her face at the memory. “He was wild.”

I fold my arms, fighting the urge to fly at her across the table. “I said, I don’t want to know the details.”

“You can imagine how grateful he was when I went down on him.”

I’m nauseous. I jump to my feet. “I’m not listening to this shit.”

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