Page 135 of Theirs to Corrupt

Pax stays silent for a long time, and the tension grows and thickens between us. And I’m going mad wondering what the hell she’s discussing with Celeste.

Finally Pax leans forward. “You need to talk to her, Boss. Really talk. Open up.”

I turn my chair to face the windows.

This office is a testament to my ambition and success. My empire. But what the hell good is any of that right now?

“She was right in what she said.” His words are slow and deliberate. “About being a pawn.”

I jerk my gaze back to him.

“She needs to know why we’ve been controlling this.”

“The fuck you talking about?”

Pax unflinchingly meets my fury. He’s the only person who would say any of these things to me.

“You’re becoming him, Link.”

The mention of Warren Merritt, my father, jolts me with hot, familiar anger.

“The man you swore you’d never be.”

His words are a grotesque blow.

I’ve spent my whole life fighting my father’s ghost, only to end up exactly where I never wanted to be. Controlling. Distant. Unemotional.

And just like him, I’ve driven away the only woman I’ve ever cared about. “I just want to keep her safe.”

“At what cost?”

I want to rage, tell him to fuck off.

But I can’t argue. The memory of my mother walking out, turning her back on me because she was unable to bear my father’s suffocating control any longer, lances through my mind.

Pax’s phone buzzes. He checks it, then flicks his gaze back up. “Tessa just left Celeste’s office building.”

“Is she going home?”

“It doesn’t appear so.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

The Next Day

Tessa

“You have news for me?”

After we shake hands, Celeste gestures for me to take a seat.

This is our second meeting in less than twenty-four hours.

I perch on the edge of the sofa, my hands tight on my purse. Ever since she messaged me early this morning, I’ve been a nervous wreck.

She offered to chat on the phone, but I didn’t want to risk either Link or Pax overhearing my conversation.

Still, getting away from the house wasn’t easy.

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