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“Don’t be afraid of me, Addy,” he said smoothly, his command an iron fist in a velvet glove. “That’s not what I want.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” I lied. Actually, I was, but a defiant flame crackled inside me, making me lift my chin.
“You are.” His sculpted lips slowly curved. “But I love how you deny it.” He tilted his head. “I love a great many things about you.”
My eyes round, I just stared at him. The reflected flames from the candles on the table undulated in his dark brown eyes.
“We can talk about those things, if you wish.” He pointed. “But I want you to eat your dinner first. I’m quite curious to see what you think of steak.”
Starving, I nodded. When I lifted the dome, steam rose. As it dissipated, I noted the pepper-speckled brown sauce over the steak, stalks of asparagus beside it, and a tempting mound of mashed potatoes.
“This looks delicious.” I picked up my knife and fork. “Do you usually serve your new employees steak?” I asked as I sliced into it.
“Nothing is usual about you, my dear,” he said. “A strong, complex woman like you is wasted on a simple boy.”
I froze with a juicy-looking bite of steak inches from my watering mouth. “Who do you mean?”
He gave me an arch look. “There are cameras everywhere in this club.”
“That’s how Arturo knew where I was.” My stomach churned. “You were spying on me.”
“I keep a watchful eye on those in my care.”
“But I’m not in your care,” I said firmly. “I’m your employee.”
“You are whatever I wish you to be,” he said, his voice low and convincing. “But enough about me. I want to know about you.”
“What do you want to know?” I asked. Bringing the bite to my mouth, I chewed. The meat was tender and juicy, the sauce creamy and peppery. My eyes rolled back in my head, and a moan of pleasure escaped.
Martin’s gaze fell to my mouth, his expression sharpening. I wasn’t the only one hungry. Martin was ravenous, but not for food.
“Do you like it?” he asked, his gaze rising.
“It’s delicious,” I said after swallowing. Bringing my water goblet to my mouth, I gulped down the icy water, trying to gather my wits.
Don’t be charmed by Martin Skellin, Addy.Charm him. Learn about him. You need to get the upper hand.
“Where did it come from?” I asked. “The steak, I mean.” My quickly formed plan was to work my way up to the personal details I needed to learn about him. Knowledge was power, the only kind I could afford.
“Lakeside Cellar.”
“A favorite restaurant of yours?”
“Yes.” He brought his crystal goblet of red wine to his lips, watching me over the rim.
“That’s a long way to go for a steak.” I gestured around us. “Winston’s is a long way from Lakeside. Why not open up a club there?”
“My father wanted me to prove myself in a hostile environment where it would be unlikely that I would succeed.” Martin swallowed his wine and his Adam’s apple bobbed.
At that, I frowned. “He wanted you to fail? I don’t understand.”
“Do you really want to know about the twisted relationship I have with my father?” he asked, setting down his glass.
I nodded. “Miranda seems afraid of him.” Her mother too, but I kept that to myself. “I’ve never met or even seen him, but I have wondered about him.”
“Martin Winston Skellin, the man for whom I am named, is a workaholic, very controlling, but he isn’t a bad man. It’s just that he has very little use for me, Miranda, or my mother, beyond our achievements and how those reflect upon him and the real estate empire he has built.”
As he shared, I saw no hint of embellishment in his words, but they contained subtext that I picked up on. Emotions were tied to them, painful ones, opening Martin up and giving me a glimpse beneath his confident exterior to the boy he’d been. I’d seen that vulnerable boy in pictures on the wall in his Lakeside home. Always holding a sporting trophy or achievement plaque, the boy peering into the camera obviously desired his father’s approval above all.
