Page 79 of Obsession

He ignores my threats.

“Maybe I should just visit the studio and tell Nick in person that you want to have a word with him. I might see Shelly there.”

Vaughn then turns on the television, and I scowl at the door. “Whatever, man.”

I don’t tolerate people easily, but there are a few who have stood by me for years and have proven their loyalty over and over again. Both of my friends, Vaughn and Christian, come from different backgrounds than me. Vaughn grew up on a pumpkin farm up in Seattle, which was lost during a property dispute with another family member. Christian comes from a wealthy family who has turned their backs on him for many reasons I have yet to fully understand.

I met each of them separately over a decade ago when I offered them help to deal with their personal difficulties. In return, they paid me back in kind. They are two of my most trusted friends. I would almost call them family, which is why I want to murder at least one of them once a day.

As I unpack my suitcase, I pull out the framed sketch that Megan gave me. I know that she’s only a floor below me right now, but for some reason, she seems very far away. I stare at it and reflect on our time together. The trip was impulsive, and Ihadn’t expected to enjoy it so much. I didn’t anticipate anything that happened between us. The side of Megan that I saw isn’t something I’ll be able to forget. She looked and acted like a completely different person.

Happiness suits her, I muse.

When was the last time I was this comfortable and at ease with a woman? When was the last time that someone looked at me without a trace of fear in their eyes? When was the last time I had a woman in my life who didn’t want something from me?

Megan made me feel almost human, and then she let me drown in her. I feel my dick harden at the memory of her bouncing on top of it, begging me for more, screaming my name. I’ve had plenty of women in my life. The sex has always been satisfying, but with Megan, it was much more so.

God, I crave the taste of her.

But that was yesterday, and this is today–the real world. Now that she’s back in her own space and hopefully out of my system, I don’t have anything distracting me.

I should throw this away, I tell myself, looking down at the framed sketch. I have far more priceless paintings in all of my offices. Collecting art is a pastime reserved for the types of people who have that kind of money to blow. When I purchase them, it’s all about the look for me. It tells people that I’m a powerful player and that I’ve got money to burn. I never much cared what kind of art it was. Half of the time, I don’t even know the names of the artists.

And yet, I find myself hesitating when it comes to this piece. The look on Megan’s face when she handed this sketch to me makes me falter.

I glance around my room and see a small painting of the French Riviera I purchased at an auction a few years ago. It cost me a few thousand dollars, and it’s been hanging in my bedroom ever since. Without hesitation, I work diligently to remove thepainting from the frame and carefully replace it with Megan’s sketch.

It looks good up there.

I wasn’t lying when I told Megan she had skills. It’s obvious to the naked eye that she has talent.

‘I‘m going to make something of myself!’

Her fierce words resonate within me, and a small smile curves my lips as I speak to the empty room, “I can’t wait to see that day.”

Putting away my clothes, I step in to take a shower and wash away any remaining remnants of our Parisian holiday.

Unfortunately, I still have work to do.

Chapter 26

Vengeance Plan For Two

HUNTER

The monthly Zoom board meeting with the shareholders of the Middleton Financial Group goes relatively well and once the quarterly goals are discussed and negotiated, our virtual connection ends, leaving behind only Vaughn and me in my office in the club.

I relax and unbutton my suit jacket. “Did you reach out to Nick?”

Vaughn yawns and gets up to prepare a cup of coffee for himself. “Yeah, I dropped by there on my way here and ran into Shelly.”

I scowl into my cup of coffee, not wanting to hear of Vaughn’s long, drawn-out drama with his wife.

“So, she’s alive?” I ask sarcastically.

“Yeah, and she was surprisingly nice to me,” Vaughn comments, his voice thoughtful. “She told me that we should have lunch tomorrow.”

Shelly Parson is a bitch through and through. The only time I’ve ever known her to be nice to Vaughn is when she wantssomething. Usually, Vaughn is a sharp man, but when it comes to his wife, he’s blind as a fucking bat.

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