Page 18 of Ruin
“Oh.” I feel my cheeks redden.
Of course.
She laughs. “Yeah, so that’s not part of the tour.”
“Nope, I get it.”
She continues on. “And this is where the security team is based.” She opens a door and leads me into a room that is full of high-tech equipment. There are so many screens that I’m not sure where to look. A few people are watching the monitors while speaking on the phone, but Imogen doesn’t introduce me to all of them, just pointing towards the man I’d met last night as he sits behind a massive desk with even more screens around him.
“You’ve met Connell, right?”
The burly Irish man looks up at the mention of his name, and I nod. I follow behind Imogen as she moves towards his desk.
“Hi, Lily,” Connell says, running an eye over me, as though he’s assessing me for any signs of concern.
I’m sure he’s aware of my situation, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. But for some reason, I’m not getting the usualfeeling to flee in his presence, so I guess that’s enough for me to know I can trust him.
“Connell isn’t the chattiest of people, but if you have any problems, you come see him straight away, okay? Not that you’ll have any issues here in the club. He runs a tight ship.” She turns back to Connell. “I’m just giving her the tour.”
He nods, but doesn’t say anything else, and I find it refreshing to meet someone who doesn’t feel the need to fill space with conversation.
I spend the next ten minutes following Imogen around on the first floor, and she shows me various offices. I meet so many people that I’ve forgotten most of their names by the time we get to the last room. I had no idea so many people worked here, but there are whole teams that I’d never known existed. Not all of them are attached to the club, but instead are involved in the brothers’ other business ventures, including the hotels they own.
“And in here, we have the library.”
I stop and stare at the beautiful room that is across the hall from Sebastian and Imogen’s office. It’s like something out of a fairytale, with bookshelves lining every wall that reach all the way to the ceiling. So tall that there are actual ladders that slide back and forth. There must be thousands of books in here, and there are several plush armchairs around the space. It’s so peaceful that I immediately know that this is where I’ll be spending most of my time.
“Sebastian designed this, didn’t he?” I ask, staring around the room in awe.
“He did. But we all use it.”
He’s always been a reader, and I can feel his presence here. I’d forgotten about his love of books, and seeing this space brings so many memories flooding back from our younger years, where Daniel and I would often return to their home tofind Sebastian lost in the classics. Daniel had explained it was something he’d always done when they were kids to escape the reality they lived in, and I feel my chest tighten at the knowledge that he’s still escaping into his books, all these years later.
And it’s a nice reminder that maybe some things never change. That - despite everything that happened between us - there is still some parts of the man I knew that remain the same.
8
FUCK THE INSOLENCE OUT OF YOU
SEBASTIAN
Imogen returnsto our office just as I’m hanging up from the video call I’d been on with a business associate in Amsterdam.
“Tour’s done, and now she’s having a nap. I introduced her to Dante, Kresta, Sabrina and Daniella when I found them all in the gym. Didn’t really know how to explain who she was, so I just went with a friend.” She leans against the back of her desk and crosses her arms. “So… Are you going to explain what’s going on with Lily, or am I going to have to guess? Cause she is incredibly anxious,” she says.
I raise an eyebrow. “I’m interested to hear what those guesses might be,” I reply, avoiding answering her question.
She raises a finger. “One - she’s in the witness protection program and you’re hiding her away from the mafia,” she says, before raising a second finger. “Two - she’s some long-lost relative you’ve never mentioned before, although that doesn’t really explain the looks I’ve seen exchanged between you both. I can’t really think of a third one, but I’m sure I could find something.”
It’s a little scary how close she is to the truth with both those guesses.
Leaning back in my chair, I pinch the bridge of my nose for a moment with my eyes closed. When I open them again, Imogen is regarding me with concern.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?”
I sigh, figuring I might as well just come out and tell her.
“Lily married my now former friend eight years ago. I haven’t seen her since then. Before that, she and Daniel were almost inseparable from the age of fifteen.”
