Page 31 of The English Billionaire's Obsession

“How do you know what he looks like when he’s looking at me?” I hiss.

The man taps his nose. “I’m a sneaky fellow. Let’s just say that. See you around. Oh, and he has twenty-four hours.”

“Find her,” Tommy yells from around the side of the building.

The man’s face drains of all its bluster, and he quickly turns, ducking his head and sprinting out of the alleyway. He takes a left opposite the entrance and then runs fast.

Tommy appears at the mouth of the alleyway with two of his security men bordering him. When he spots me, he rushes over, his whole body heaving like he’s going to erupt from the inside, like he’s going to go into full-savage mode.

“What happened?” he asks, touching my shoulder.

As soon as he makes contact, the fear drains away, replaced with a sense of belonging and safety. He doesn’t need to talk to me for me to experience this wave of comfort. After I’ve explained, his hand gets tighter, his jaw pulsing. He turns to his security man.

“Next time we’re out, secure all exits.”

The man bows his head. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”

“Didn’t think what?” Tommy says when the man cuts himself off.

“That, ah, we needed to.”

He looks at me, and the implication is clear. He didn’t think they needed to secure the exterior exits because he assumed I’d stay inside and not sneak away. They probably guarded all the appropriate areas, assuming I would stay inside.

“Let’s go back inside,” Tommy says, taking my hand.

I squeeze onto him tightly, momentarily forgetting the drama with the job, the video, the hiring. When we return to the café, Loki is lying on a towel with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, panting happily.

I stroke him along his head before returning to my seat.

“Who was that?” I ask.

Tommy curls his fist around the note. “An old friend.”

“Funny way for a friend to act.”

“He’s not a friend anymore,” he says. “Some bad things happened, and he blames me. That’s why he called me a liar. He thinks I present a false face to the world just because I don’t go around talking about decades-old shit. He’s a joke and just made the worst mistake of his life.”

Tommy closes his eyes for a moment. His body is shuddering as if he’s going to erupt in rage. I touch his hand, though I’m still unsure how to feel. I decide to push the work thing to the edge of my mind for now, to where I don’t have to think about it.

“It’s okay. Nothing happened. I’m fine.”

He opens his eyes and looks at me as if nothing else exists, the café fading away, the rest of the world ceasing to matter. “I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if that bastard hurt you, and Ami, you need to know… youwerethe most qualified candidate.”

“We don’t have to talk about that.”

“Yes, we do because it’s the truth. I asked George to hire you because I wanted you. That video drove me wild, but in typical George fashion, he told me he had to be responsible for his hires. He said he wouldn’t hire you just because I told him to.”

“So why am I here?” I ask.

“Later, he came to me with a big grin on his face. He told me it was my lucky day. His team had reviewed the applicants, and you were the clear choice.”

“Really?” I ask, hope blooming in me.

“I wouldn’t lie to you about this.”

We hold hands tightly as I ignore the “about this”part of his statement.

“What happened between you and Oliver?”

---