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“This is going to end badly.”
“Nah, I was thinking about it while you were gone. Natalia loves the power trip. She’ll have her own little posse of men as back-up, so I know she’ll be kept in line. She can play pretend for a little while.”
“Giving her a job proposition isn’t going to sit well with your father.”
“I’m getting really fed up with my father being used as an issue. He lost his position of power when I was elected head of The Company. If he doesn’t like my decisions, he can always retire.”
“Yeah, because he’ll do just that,” Sebastian sneers with an eye roll. “I just think you’re playing with fire.”
“Maybe, maybe not. We’ve always been waiting for her to come home, but it’s so much more fun now she’s here.” I smirk rubbing my hands together, but suddenly, my mood shifts. “I’m not going to find her crying, am I?”
“Natalia? Cry?” Sebastian scoffs. “You saw how much her tears over Andreas dried up. That girl doesn’t do crying unless they’re of the crocodile sort.”
“Well, you said something was up with her…”
I let my words trail off, but only because I want context and I shouldn’t have to ask for it. He knows something, and I don’t like the idea of my best friend conspiring with the enemy.
“Yeah. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“Is there something I should know?” I ask, cocking a brow.
“No. Just go and talk to her. She’s in the library.”
Not at all convinced, I leave him. Walking through the corridors, I take a look at my life, and I won’t lie, days after being shaken into The Company, I didn’t intend to be distracted by something like Natalia, although I had suspected it would happen.
The funny thing is knowing she came back expecting the keys to this castle to be handed over to her, for her to take her position as boss. She hasn’t seen a moment of how this place has been run, how I was adapting it for the future, how her father taught me over her.
The surrogate son.
I don’t enter right away, just watch her across the library. She’s peacefully reading in the corner of the sofa, her back to the door. I’d say it’s a bold move given the lion’s den she’s been forced to inhabit, but this is Natalia. I expect nothing less.
The weight of her switchblade suddenly feels like a rock in my pocket. I’ve deliberately kept it on me because it’s a part of her. It’s also a trophy of my triumph of getting her here.
While I could watch her all night, stalk her from the doorway, I decide to get this over with. Wordlessly, I rap my knuckles against the door.
“Bedtime already?” she calls sarcastically over her shoulder, setting down the book she was reading.
“If that’s what you want. I know a good way to warm up the sheets.”
At the sound of my voice, she sits up and twists to look over her shoulder at me. It only makes me grin a bit wider.
“Why are you here?”
I shrug. “Sebastian.”
“That double-crossing bastard.” She stands up, a fireball of anger. “I’ll see myself to bed.”
“Stay,” I offer politely. “It’s still early. Also, your father always said never to go to bed on bad terms.”
“We’ve survived pretty well on seven years of those, don’t you think?”
“Come on, Natalia. We can be amicable, can’t we?”
“However did you ask that with a straight face?” she asks, advancing for me. “You don’t get to take me from my life and implant me into your business with a threat and then act like you’re the nice guy.”
“Oh, no. I’m definitely not the nice guy here. I’ve never pretended to be. Just like you’ve never pretended to be a good girl.” She doesn’t take kindly to that, so I grab her by the forearm, preparing to press a reminder into her. “And let’s not confuse my keeping you here with commendable hospitality. Yes, I’ll keep you dressed and fed during your stay, but I also get to decide your role.”
“Is this the point you order me to suck your cock?” she mocks. “Because I’m well versed in that already. Just give me a wink and I’ll drop to my knees.”
