Page 20 of The Enemy's Daughter

Chapter Five

Monday morning, and Alaric stared out of his corporate window overlooking the city. There was nothing like a weekend of good, hot sex to make him feel alive. Bella had surprised the fuck out of him. After getting a huge box of condoms and picking up some Chinese, he’d found her in a robe, sitting on the sofa. She had poured them both a large glass of white wine.

At first, she had tried to pretend that nothing had happened between them. He wouldn’t allow her to get away with that. Forty-eight years, and he’d had the best experience of his life.

“This couldn’t wait?” Rex asked, storming into his office.

Alaric frowned as he looked toward his friend. “I have no idea why you’re in my office,” he said. “I didn’t send you a message to be here. What are you doing here?”

“Ugh, my stupid PA is pissing me off. She is awful, and is getting everything completely wrong right now.” He threw his arms up in the air. “She told me that it was an emergency, and I was supposed to get here right away.”

“What’s her name again?” he asked. “Do you even know it?”

“Her name is Nora, if you must know, and I can’t fire her. I’m not allowed.”

“Have you been creating a bad reputation being partner and all?” Alaric asked.

“It would seem even if you are partner in a law firm, you are still bound by their damn rules, and I’m not allowed to screw random PAs, and it’s good for the integrity of the company that I be above reproach.” Rex went into a very posh accent. “Have you ever heard of such bullshit?”

“You need to be careful. Your fellow partners could band together, and kick your ugly ass out.”

“Nah, they won’t. I’ll deal with Nora. I may have said some pretty nasty as fuck shit to her.” Rex shrugged. “I’ll deal with it. I always do. How are things going with Bella?”

“Things are actually going better than I planned.”

Alaric moved from his window to lean against the front of his disk. Folding his arms, he couldn’t help but smile. “We had a very good date at the weekend.”

“A very good date?” Rex asked.

“She’s like fire, and I have to say, she caught me with it.” He had enjoyed every single second of their date. At first, he’d been dreading it in case she was boring, but the whole night, they ate and talked. “She is nothing like her father.”

“Duh, she’s not a he.”

“I don’t even think she cares about her father’s line of work. She’s more interested in having a normal life away from all the wealth.”

“Did she come out and say her father was wealthy?” Rex asked.

“No. She didn’t. What I believe is she’s been burnt by that knowledge before.”

“Someone use her?”

Alaric nodded. “Or tried to blackmail her or something. I don’t know. Either way, she doesn’t talk about Daddy, nor does she go into great detail about him.”

“Are you regretting your decision?” Rex asked.

“No. I’m not.” There were twinges of guilt that he got every other day. “Anyway, why would I want you here today? I’ve no need for you.”

“You’re a heartless bastard.” Rex sighed. “I may have called Nora a fat, useless, stray.”

Alaric winced. “Why?”

“I was getting pissed off by this damn case, and then the partners are breathing down my neck for some kind of sexual harassment suit. I was at my breaking point. She was there, you know the drill.”

“Actually, I don’t. Huh, figure that one out. I’ve got work to do, and a plan to deal with.”

“You know, Reed hasn’t said anything about you in the paper.”

“What do you mean?” Alaric asked.

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