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I then see Lucas standing behind Kendall’s chair, his arms folded, looking more like hired muscle than the company lawyer.
Jane snarls, “The public has a right to—”
“I don’t give a shit what the public thinks it has a right to. Which is why I wrote out a contract for you which both you and your publishing house signed,” Kendall says calmly, rage concealed in her eyes. “The article comes out on Monday. I expect to receive the final draft by email on Saturday night.”
“Darling, your little PA is absolutely vicious,” Reina murmurs in my ear.
Our presence is finally registered.
Lucas looks surprised to see Reina with me. He casts an uneasy glance towards Kendall.
She just blinks in my direction, as if she can’t see the way the woman by my side is playing with my hair.
“Mr. Starr,” its Jane who speaks up, taking in Reina’s body language, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “Am I to assume Miss Sheffield is to be your date for the Heimans Ball?”
My eyes flick towards Kendall before I say, “You’re allowed to assume whatever you may like, Miss Starling.”
Kendall’s hand is on the desk and she removes it, lowering it to her lap, before she glares at Jane. “Your interview is over and done with, Miss Starling. I’ll wait for your email.”
Jane turns to look at her and there’s a sharp look in her eyes as she bends down and murmurs something so soft that no one else can overhear.
Kendall’s eyes flash with pain and stiffens, her body trembling.
Wanting to protect her and yet knowing I’m also hurting her, I say in a cold voice, “I think it’s time you left, Miss Starling. Lucas, can you please escort Miss Starling out?”
Kendall’s eyes are trained on her laptop whiles she’s blink furiously.
I cough to get her attention, “Miss West, I need you to reserve a table at Zenos. I’m taking Reina out to dinner.”
Kendall nods and I see her shoulders slump a little as if she’s taken blow after blow today.
Lucas returns as I’m walking out and he stops me with a hand on my arm, his voice unusually harsh, “A word?”
“Reina, I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Lucas waits for the elevator doors to close around the model, before he turns to me. We are well out of hearing range of Kendall, and he scowls. “What the fuck are you doing?”
I raise a brow at him. “Excuse me?”
“With that girl, inside? You’re all ‘Kendall this’ and ‘Kendall that’, and suddenly you’re throwing other women in her face, calling her ‘Miss West’ in that snobby tone of yours. She’s not a plaything.”
Anger surges in me and I want to strike out at the man who’s also sort of a friend. My voice is chilly as I reply, “No, she’s not. She’s my assistant. How I treat her is none of your business.”
Luca’s lips thin and he steps forward. “Fine, if she’s nothing to you, maybe I should have a go at her. Elise is clearly not interested in me, and Kendall is smart, pretty, funny. Maybe I should just ask her out.”
I don’t anticipate my reaction to his words. My eyes see red and I’m snarling, as my fist swings, clipping Lucas in the eye.
He falls back a step or two with a groan, and then glares at me, one palm over his injured eye. “Fuck you, asshole. What the hell was that for?”
My hands are gripping him by the shirt as I shove my face in his, baring teeth, letting him see the animal that lurked inside me, “Stay the fuck away from my woman!”
“Caleb!” Kendall is staring at us from the doorway of her office, horrified.
I don’t know how much she’s heard of the conversation and I grit my teeth as I meet her gaze. There’s something lurking behind her eyes, but I can’t identify it. We stare at each other for a few heartbeats, time around us standing still, only the sound of my breathing loud in my ears.
And then, she’s walking towards me and she reaches us, she grabs my wrist. “Let go of him.”
My grip loosens on Lucas’s shirt and I release him.
