Page 143 of The Heart You Kept

“I’m not….”

“I know you’re not supposed to talk to me, but I did tell you that I would end you, and I’m feeling pretty gangster about it, so…. We kind of have to be friends now.”

He gives me a lopsided smile and sits down opposite me. “Maybe just one drink won’t hurt.”

“Thanks.” With a shaky hand I pour us both a glass of wine. “I didn’t expect to see my ex here tonight, you know? This whole situation has me very on edge.”

He takes a sip. “Miss Sorenson, if I may speak out of turn.”

“Please.”

“Mr. Prescott is acting very out of character at the moment.”

“How so?”

“Before today he’s never once called before to check on a partner. When they are with me and under my care, he never thinks twice about them.”

“He hasn’t?”

“No.”

“How long have you worked for him?”

“Nine years.”

“Oh.” My eyes hold his. “But Edward and I aren’t together.”

“Are you sure about that?”

I stare at him as I try to connect the dots…does he like me?

He taps the side of his nose with a wink as if to say it’s a secret.

“Not a word.”

Click.

The clock scrolls to 1 a.m.

I lie on my side in the darkness, sleep evades me, I thought he’d call me when he calmed down.

Perhaps he won’t.

Yes, he was checking on me, but maybe right at this very moment he’s probably kissing her. I get a vision of them together at the charity auction and how perfect they looked together.

The Princess of Switzerland and the English casino mogul, a match made in heaven.

With every moment that passes the more my certainty that they are going to get back together increases. She’s beautiful and well connected, a fucking princess for Pete’s sake.

I roll onto my back and stare up at the ceiling. My stomach is in knots, my anxiety at an all-time high, every emotion seems heightened and out of balance.

My mind goes back to where we met. Switzerland, what was he doing at the Establishment?

At the time I thought that he wanted to hold control over someone, but now that I know him better it’s blatantly obvious that he controls everything and everyone anyway, so I’m not so sure anymore.

Maybe he’s just a pervert who frequents sex clubs, looking for his next kink. Maybe that was just an average weekend for him. He’s probably had another two hundred weekends just like it since.

Stop it.