Page 56 of The Passion

Fulton: My message has you wet thinking about me naked, doesn’t it.

Fulton: I’ll fix that. Tomorrow night 8pm at the Savoy.

Fulton: I’ve been away and made you wait long enough.

Fulton: But I’m back and ready to be attentive to both our needs.

My hands are sweaty, and my blood is pumping faster through my veins, but it’s not from being turned on. A few weeks ago, I would have felt different while I was trying to tell myself I wanted a night with him because there was something growing between us. He has this smoothness about him and the way he likes to be so dominant. But the truth of it was I was just spending time with him trying to forget my ache for Flynn.

“What is he saying?” Harper’s attention has diverted back to me and my buzzing phone. I don’t want to discount her feelings, but I can’t move off the words that keep appearing on my screen.

“He wants to see me tomorrow night.” My words are a bit shaky from my anxiety.

“You mean he wants to fuck you tomorrow night.” She moves closer to me on the couch.

“Yes, that,” I say, putting my head on her shoulder. “How have I got myself into this mess? Well, all of these messes, actually.”

And then I don’t know if it is the alcohol, the mental exhaustion, or my crazy brain at the moment, but I make another choice I’m about to regret, I’m sure.

Felisha: I’ll be there.

And before I have time to unsend the message as I panic, his reply is instant.

Fulton: I’m already hard thinking about seeing you. But as you know, I can be patient.

“You crazy woman, what are you doing?” Harper turns sideways and looks at me intently.

“Playing with fire, and I know I’m going to end up burnt, but I need to be seen with other men. I know I won’t cause too much of a stir in public being with him, because we have been seen out together a few times and the paparazzi have already posted about it online.”

That’s how he knew who I was after that first night in St. Tropez when I gave him the fake name. Even my father saw the photos and was adamant that I stay away from him. Not that I ever listened to my father about who I could see, and I didn’t think it would be a problem because I wasn’t planning on seeing him again. But after the video and my name was out there, I was easy for him to track me down. And although I wasn’t sure about his insistence that we need to see each other again, I fell into the spiderweb of his charm.

“So, I need them to do the same thing tomorrow night and plaster it all over the internet and magazines. I need you to drop one of those anonymous tips to the photographers we like.” Which is a load of crap. Because having our date showing up online is only going to make things with Flynn harder, and I also know as strong as I am, I’m not even close to being safe with Fulton. He has a way with words that persuades me to do things I wouldn’t even think of doing. Not that I would ever do that to Flynn or my own heart. I know who I belong to now, and it’s not Fulton, not even close.

“But you will be calling me thirty minutes after I arrive with some dire emergency that I have to run out of there to save youfrom.” It’s the only course of action I can think of as to how I can pull this off.

“Yeah, the emergency will be that Flynn is on his way to beat the hell out of him for touching you and then carry you over his shoulder out of there like a caveman.” Harper thinks she is being funny, but she is so close to the truth that I know I’m doing something stupid.

“Fuck my life. Seriously!” I scream out to the room, realizing my frustration.

I’m about to take the bottle off the table and refill my glass for a third time too, but my phone starts ringing this time. I want to ignore it, but I can’t.

“Father.” He never let me drop the formal name. Even though most people call their fathers Dad, it was never an option for me. I think it was all about image and being part of the high class. It makes sense now too. Dad is more an affectionate name for the father you love, where there are no formalities needed.

“Felisha, where are the reports I requested on the renovation of the Switzerland property?”

It’s almost nine pm on a Friday night after the week from hell. I’ve hardly eaten today and I’m two glasses in to not giving a fuck about work. I want to tell him to get lost and don’t call me on a Friday night, but I won’t, I can’t. We have always prioritized work over anything else in our lives, and it’s only now I’m understanding how wrong that is. The business will always be important, and to be honest, will take up most of my life, but there has to be a sliver of time for me, surely.

My father has only been able to do this most of his life because he didn’t have a wife or family to come home to. And up until now, I have been the same, but that changed that first night I spent with Flynn. It was like a switch flipped in my head and opened thoughts that I had pushed aside a long time ago. A partner, a family, a life.

“They are in your email. I sent them to you yesterday. They are also in the server stored with all the other documents on that hotel.” Normally I would offer to email them again to him, taking into consideration his age. But tonight, the answer in my head is‘have a proper look and go find them yourself.’

“I’m getting sick of your incompetency. I will wait for them to arrive in my email. But I did need them this week. I have also decided you will need to travel there yourself to check on the plans and management of the commencement of the project. Hopefully you can manage that without making a mess of that too.” I can hear him mumbling to someone in the background, and I know the sole purpose of this phone call was to make me look bad in front of whoever he is meeting with.

The alcohol is taking over, and my reply is not how I would usually speak to him with someone else around, but tonight I’ve given up caring.

“Don’t be an asshole, Dad!” I yell into the phone, knowing he will hate me calling him that, and I’m not sure I’ve ever sworn at him either. “Shortly people will start to see through the bullshit you are feeding them. Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because you have shown you aren’t capable of taking over this company, and as much as that hurts me, I have to put the business and all its employees first.” The tone in his voice is flat and showing no emotion.

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