Page 65 of Indecent Secrets

Bryce frowned at me. “That had nothing to do with how capable you are. I was…” He sighed and ran a hand through his already tousled hair. “Leigh, I was terrified of you getting hurt. And of my own possessiveness. I was trying to keep you safe. For my own piece of mind. Christ, I nearly lost my mind when I saw Bill with you, what was I going to do if David got his hooks in you? I couldn’t trust myself. I needed you out of the way so you’d be safe, not because I thought you couldn’t handle yourself.”

He had been right, though. I had been focused on my wounded pride and done something incredibly stupid. I’d played with fire and gotten burned.

“I couldn’t handle myself though,” I said quietly.

Bryce tilted his head. “You dislocated your arms to get out of a death trap and then nearly murdered me. That toilet lid would’ve given David a concussion if not outright murdered him. You could handle yourself fine.”

I found myself blushing. The way he looked at me… it wasn’t with the sexual heat I was used to from him. It was softer than that. It was affectionate. Perhaps even more than that.

Bryce reached out, cupping my cheek gently and stroking my skin with his thumb. My breath caught in my throat—my very sore throat.

“What now?” I whispered.

Bryce smiled. “Now, I finish doing what I was hired to do. And you rest and get better.”

I nodded. I had so many questions, but honestly, I was so bruised and aching. For the first time, I had a man who wanted to take care of me. Why wouldn’t I give into that?

For the next couple of days I rested and worked on repairing my injured body. But on the third day, when I was feeling well enough to do things myself—thank God that Bryce had a big glass-walled standing shower, I wasn’t ready to get into a tub again just yet—Bryce asked if I’d be able to accompany him to something.

I didn’t know what it was, but I agreed. Bryce ordered me some nice clothes, although how he’d known my exact size…

To my surprise, Bryce took me back to the Lawton Industries company building. What did we have to do here?

We went up through the elevator to the top floor, where in the corporate meeting room the board had been assembled. Mr. Weston was absent, I noted. Whether it was because he had been fired in some way, or he was busy dealing with the death of his son, I didn’t know.

How much did he know or suspect about David’s actions? It was a mystery that would probably never be solved.

Rebecca was in the room as well, I noticed. That surprised me. She was a junior executive and a new one at that. What would she be doing here at such a high-up meeting?

Bryce and I entered, his hand on the small of my back. He’d never been possessive of me in public before. It gave me a little thrill up my spine. Since he’d spoken to me and admitted that he’d said those things to protect me, because he cared, I’d dared to hope… but I hadn’t asked. Not when I was still recovering.

Makeup covered the bruises on my throat, but given that Rebecca’s gaze dropped to my neck, I suspected she noticed I’d used concealer. The men in the room wouldn’t understand, but as a makeup user herself, Rebecca probably could see what the others would just ignore.

Bryce checked his watch, then looked behind him. “Ah, I was worried you’d be late.”

The man I’d seen in the photograph on Facebook as a result of my snooping entered the room. He was a bit older than in the photo, with touches of gray at his temples, and a bit thinner. He looked every inch like the kind of man you’d expect to be a university professor, and nothing at all like the commanding, alpha presence that Bryce exuded.

“Hello.” The man smiled. “I suppose I owe all of you an apology. Especially you, Rebecca, I’ve heard many good things about you as Bryce has served in my place.”

Rebecca’s jaw dropped.

Bryce gestured with his free hand, keeping the other on the small of my back. “Meet the real Jack Lawton.”

Now everyone else’s jaws were dropping. Honestly, I kind of wished I had a camera.

“Jack hired me to be his stand in so that he could sort out the business of his uncle’s company in peace while I fended off the wolves, so to speak,” Bryce explained. “He thought it was best for his social anxiety. I enlisted the help of the lovely Leigh here to do investigating where I couldn’t and make suggestions about the company.”

Now I was trying to keep my jaw from dropping. Bryce had just covered for me and made it look like I was his partner in crime the entire time. He’d just saved my ass.

I saw Rebecca shooting her gaze over to me, a guilty look in her eyes.

“I really appreciate all that Bryce and Leigh have done for me,” Jack said, stepping forward. “And I’m now officially moving into my capacity as CEO. My first and only act is to dismantle the company.”

It took everything in me not to start demanding answers. My eyes felt like they were bugging out of my head. What was happening? What was going on?

“I have no interest in running a company,” Jack continued. “I’d like to return to my teaching post. But I can’t allow it in good conscience to keep running. Bryce was able to deliver me an extensive package on the damages done by Lawton Industries, compiled by Leigh.”

Holy fuck.

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