Page 103 of Royal Desire

“I do.” Payne turns to face Dean and Devon. “He has nothing. No money, no place to live, and no company since I took it over. And he’s in that position because of me. I might have the one connection to make sure he got the maximum sentence possible, but it doesn’t compare to his. He knows what I did by now. I’m sure of it.”

A silence falls over the room that’s so thick and intense, it makes my stomach turn.

I fit myself to his side and look up. “When did he get out?”

“He was pardoned yesterday. Got out today. He had friends all over Seattle. Who knows if they’ll open their doors to him now that he has nothing to his name. It’s not like my parents ran in circles where they had deep and meaningful friendships. Their acquaintance list was determined by their net value, and vice versa.”

“Which means he has nowhere to go and a grudge to bear,” Dean states.

A thought springs to my mind, and not a pleasant one. “Your mother. What if he tries to contact your mother first?”

Payne exhales. “I need to get you home anyway. Let’s get Blake and go. If Dad turns up at the house, I want to be there.”

“Maybe I should come and hang out for the night,” Dean offers.

Payne grabs my bag as I slide my feet into my comfy shoes. “Thanks, but I don’t think there’s a need for that. I’ll call if he shows up.”

“I’m here too,” Devon reminds us. “And don’t forget, I have friends.”

Well, then.

I do not want to know what kind of friends those are. I’ll never look at my boss the same way again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

I’VE GOT FRIENDS

Payne

“What are you doing down here?”

I spin in my chair when I hear her voice. She’s standing at the threshold of my office—my fucking father’s office—wearing my T-shirt. Since I left her in bed in nothing but a pair of panties, I assume she still has those on.

I hate seeing her in this room. When I came home and started working from here, I was able to set aside the shit that had gone down in this office. But I did it knowing my father was rotting away in prison. That gave me a great deal of satisfaction.

I moved past the horrors of what he did to me. Hell, I’ve even moved past what he did to Mom all those years. She never tried to protect me or get us out. She traded her abuse and mine for a country club membership, a limitless credit card, and a new Cadillac every other year.

Seeing Ruby in this office makes my blood boil. What he did to her is unforgivable. It makes me go to places in my mind that I’m not proud of.

“Baby, what are you doing up? You’ve had a long day. You need to sleep.”

She crosses her arms making my T-shirt ride up her thighs, almost to her pussy. “It’s four in the morning. I rolled over and you were gone. Did you sleep at all?”

“No. I tossed and turned and didn’t want to wake you. You should go back to bed.”

She pushes off the doorjamb, walks on bare feet through the office, and around the desk. I swivel and she comes straight to me. She settles on one of my thighs and tucks her legs into her. I put one hand on her back and slide the other around to her ass as she leans in to press her lips to mine.

“There’s no way I’ll go back to sleep knowing you’re down here by yourself contemplating murder. I’m just going to give it to you straight—you’ve never looked good in orange. You’re hot and can pull off almost anything, but do not make me have conjugal visits where I only get to see you in orange.”

My lips pull into a smile for the first time since I got the call from Brand Vitale. “Baby, murder convicts don’t get conjugal visits. And most states don’t allow them at all.”

She places a hand on the side of my face. “Then it’s official—you are not allowed to murder anyone. Got it?”

I lean in and kiss her. “If you only knew what a hard promise that is to make. But it seems I’ll do anything for you. And tomorrow I’m throwing away everything orange in my closet.”

“Thank you.” She sinks into me further. “In all seriousness, I don’t think he’ll come back. If there’s one good thing about your mom not leaving the house, he can’t contact her unless he’s here. You took her phone when we got home tonight. And the number of cameras around your property is downright creepy. At least they’re good for something.”

I draw circles on her ass cheek with the tips of my fingers. “I agree.”