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I guided her through the crowd, allowing her to stop long enough to watch a scene being played out. Nothing shocked me any longer, but the use of a bullwhip would never occur in my club or any attached to the Carnal Sins name.
“That’s crazy,” she said, her body stiffening.
“And not allowed inside my walls.”
She turned away and even in the shimmer of neon lights, I sensed her nervousness was shifting into raw fear. “Are you alright?”
“I can’t do that.”
I lifted her chin, studying her eyes. “I would never subject you to something remotely that harsh. I need to ask you. Did something happen in your past?”
Her mouth twisted before she laughed. “Why would you ask that? No man has ever used a whip on me.”
By the way she made the statement, her words stilted, my anger rushed to the surface. She had been hurt terribly. Now wasn’t the time to find out what she’d endured but I would make it my mission to learn.
Then I would destroy whoever had hurt her.
As soon as we walked out onto the platform, Dumas rose to his feet. The man had balls, which I appreciated. The table he’d selected was nestled against the railing. Maybe I liked the man after all.
He moved closer to Alexandra, taking and kissing her hand. “Une belle créature honore ma présence,” he said as he glanced into my eyes.
“Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Dumas. I must admit I’ve never been called a beautiful creature before and I am happy to be in your presence. However, you should know that in additional to being Mr. Stark’s administrative assistant, I am also his submissive.”
Philip pulled away, giving a respectful nod. “Mr. Stark is an extremely lucky man. Where did you find her, Jameson?”
“At a traffic accident.”
His eyes opened wide and he laughed as we all sat down. “I’ll need to consider that in the future. I took the liberty of ordering wine. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Perfectly fine.” I waited until he’d poured two additional glasses before leaning forward. “I need to hear what happened detail by detail.”
“There’s little to tell. I was at the site one afternoon and had a visit from the French police. While they didn’t arrest me, they encouraged me to talk with them. Only after I was inside the station did I realize what accusations were being leveled at me.”
“And those are?”
He sat back, taking a sip of his wine. “My father has been good friends with two French officials. Their relationship goes back two decades. Suddenly, that relationship was brought into light as being the reason I won the bid for the land as well as was able to reduce the approval time for the plans from the usual four months to thirty days.”
“Is there any truth to this? Did your father make a phone call for you?” I could tell he was disturbed by everything that had occurred.
“I confronted my father on two occasions and he assured me that he didn’t interfere. I believe him since he isn’t a fan of what I’m doing.”
“Do you have any enemies?” Alexandra asked.
He tipped his head in her direction. “My family certainly does.”
“Do any of them extend to America?” she continued.
“That’s a very good question. Quite possibly.”
I reached into my suit jacket, pulling out an envelope. “I took the liberty of preparing a list of names you should have checked, perhaps with your father.” I slipped it across the table. “I believe what you’re telling me, Philip. I think that you’re caught in an attempt to shut down our corporation in its entirety.”
“Why?”
Laughter almost bubbled to the surface. “Because of some power-hungry people who are terrified of the information that could be leaked to the press.”
“Ah. Let me take some time with the list. If there is anyone in question, I’ll let you know.”
“What about the workers on the project? Are they remaining on the job?”
