Page 39 of Unruly Obsession
Staff begin clearing the table before I’ve even finished my meal, certainly prompted by her father, who only has to shoot a few malicious glares to get them in motion—such a self-important man.
Her mother is the first to leave the dining room, and Lily is quick to shake my hand off her knee to follow her. I stand to go after her, but Vince asks me about my properties in Italy. Ientertain him only for a few more minutes before tracking down my woman.
It makes me uneasy when she’s out of my sight. A female staff member offers me a small smile and simply points to a set of open French doors. I follow her direction and come to a stop at the threshold. Rows of flowers are highlighted under soft lighting. Beyond that is what appears to be a rose field that’s swallowed into the night.
Lily and Isabella look deep in conversation. Lily seems tense, and her mother waves her off and points to a few of the flowers, as if brushing off the conversation. It dawns on me then that perhaps Lily’s interest in the florist shop isn’t due to her own love of flowers.
“Oh, yeah, Mom’s hobby got a bit out of control,” Vince says as he comes to stand beside me and lights a cigar. He offers me one, but I decline.
“Has your mother always been this way?” I ask curiously. It doesn’t serve me any purpose to have this knowledge. There’s nothing about it that could really offer me any help in bringing Henrith Taylor's business to its knees. But it’s the way I watch Lily with her mother, both of their admiration for the flowers as they’re deep in discussion about something. I can tell from the way Lily’s eyebrows dip and she touches Isabella’s elbow that she’s now comforting her in some way.
“For as long as I can remember,” Vince replies. “Most likely how Lily got her name.” Vince chuckles. “Not that I think my father really cared what she was called since she wasn’t a boy.”
I slice a glare in his direction, and Vince casually shrugs his shoulder. “Come on, everyone knows my father’s a dick.”
“Yet you still work for him,” I state.
“Better the devil you know than the one you don’t, right? Besides, it’s not like I don’t like the lifestyle it provides me. So maybe I’m a bastard for it, but if all I have to do is run a fewcompanies, then so be it. At least I’m not stuck here in New York anymore.”
It’s not news to me that Vince works internationally, but there’s something he's leaving unsaid. Now I’m even more interested in the dynamic between Vince and Henrith and their business dealings.
“I said I didn’t like this scotch anymore!” Henrith’s voice explodes from the dining room. A woman screams, followed by the sound of something smashing. Vince and I stride toward the chaos. The woman who only moments ago pointed me in Lily’s direction is on her knees, picking up pieces of glass from what once was a bottle. “Why is everyone so useless around here?” Henrith demands as he slicks back his hair. The moment he sees us, his eyes narrow on me, and he adjusts his suit jacket. “You’re still here.”
“Henrith.” Isabella's voice sounds small as she pushes past me and into the room. “Let’s take this to our rooms. You’re obviously not feeling well.”
“Notfeelingwell?”
Lily’s hand grabs my wrist, as if to hold me back. I hadn't even noticed she was next to me.
This little display has me realizing with startling clarity that Henrith isn’t only an asshole, but he clearly has violent outbursts after drinking.
My fingers curl into my palm, memories coming back of my own father. I might not have been able to stop him then, but men like this…
Observe, I remind myself.
Find his weakness. Take down his business.
That was the mission I was given.
Me beating the shit out of this man wouldn’t even feed my personal satisfaction, so why was I so quick to move, and Lily just as quick to stop me?
“We have guests,” Isabella reminds him quietly.
Henrith shoots a disgusted glance at me and scoffs. “No guest of mine.”
“Come on, Dad, let’s go get you another drink,” Vince says cheerily as he walks around the mess.
“We should leave,” Lily says quietly, and pulls me away from the scene. I follow her, scowling and confused as to why she’s in such a rush to leave. It's as if she's in denial of what just happened. But I know better than anyone what it’s like to live with an alcoholic's outbursts and the monster that it can bring forth.
I let her lead me out to the car before I grab her wrist and spin her toward me.
“Has he ever hurt you?” I growl out. Right now, it’s the only thing I seem to care about. Of all the leads I might’ve gained tonight, the only thing I want to know is if at any point he’s ever laid a hand on her. Because if he has, I’ll burn this fucking mansion to the ground with him inside.
She gapes at me. “How dare you?”
“Answer the question.”
“How dare you come into my home, uninvited, and accuse my family of what… violence?”
