Page 103 of Sacrifice (Corrupt Empire 2)

He turned his heel and began to walk away just as Saskia opened the office door after knocking. She looked startled when he stormed out without looking at her.

“Is he not staying?” she asked.

“No.”

She came into the room and put down one of the mugs she was holding on a coaster for me.

“Mr Daniels is waiting for you.”

As much as I wanted to get stuck in with Ed, I really needed a minute to compose myself after having Frazier in here.

“Take him that tea and give me five minutes. Send John back in too.”

She nodded at me and shuffled out of the room. I grabbed the mug and took a gulp of scolding hot tea, not caring how much my mouth burnt afterwards. My nerves were frayed. I rubbed my throat and looked up at the ceiling. I needed to work out what the fuck Frazier wanted from me. What did he have to gain by me marrying Tristan?

“You look like you could do with another few days off,” John said as he came into the room.

“You can say that again.”

I lowered my head. He had a mug of tea in his hand and a concerned expression on his face.

“Dare I ask what he wanted?”

“Apparently everyone and his son wants me to marry Tristan. I don’t know why he’s so insistent. It’s not like he has anything to gain from it, at least not that I can think of off the top of my head.”

John dug his phone out of his pocket and fiddled with it. I knew he was texting Aiden.

“I’ll keep an eye on it.”

He gave me a nod and walked back over to my sofas, settling himself down again. I didn’t strictly need him here, but after what happened with Tristan, I didn’t trust anyone. If he could get to me in my own building, I wasn’t safe.

I sipped at my tea again, grimacing at the pain from having burnt my mouth. My nerves were still unsettled despite the tea. Could this day get any worse?

“Morning little cousin,” Ed said as he breezed into the office with the biggest grin on his face.

I popped my mug back on the desk, standing up and coming around it.

“Ed, welcome to the company.”

I went to shake his hand, but instead, Ed enveloped me in a bear hug. I patted his back awkwardly. Even though I thought my cousin was a good guy, there was still the sneaking suspicion in the back of my mind that he had everything to do with the other side of the business. I stepped back when he released me.

“I’m looking forward to working with you.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Let’s get you set up in the office next door.”

I started walking towards the door with him.

“You will be getting a brand new office, but it’s been renovated alongside mine.”

I pointed down the corridor to where my dad’s old office was.

“Good stuff,” he replied, rubbing his hands together. “Say, I saw Frazier storming out of your office a few minutes ago. Anything to be concerned about?”

“What? No. It was a personal call rather than a business one. As I said on Friday, everything went smoothly.”

He gave me a strange look, but before I could question it, we were in his office and his expression cleared.

“This looks great. So, where do we start?”

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