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I glance over at him and can’t read a single emotion on his face. “No. Enjoy your night.”
He isn’t one of my men that I keep tabs on. I haven’t had a need to. One phone call and that man is always there, without question, doing as I ask. He can have his secrets as long as he keeps mine in return.
I head toward the elevator. Once I step inside, my finger hesitates for the briefest of seconds before pressing the button for level one.
Olivia won’t be the first person I go to once I get home.
No, I think I’ll head to the kitchen, grab dinner, and take a scalding shower to wash the day off me before checking in.
However, as I step out of the elevator and see Jaxon waiting for me, I know that’s not all going to be possible.
“What’s wrong now?” I ask, annoyance simmering within me at the prospect of returning home to more complications after the chaos at the office.
“Have you been to see Olivia yet?” he asks, hands casually tucked into his pockets.
“No.” I brush past him, expecting if he has more to say, then he’ll follow.
I remove my suitcoat and toss it over a chair before turning toward the refrigerator. Seeing Jaxon in my peripherals has my fingers tightening around the cool handles.
“Is there something I need to know?” I ask, voice tinged with skepticism.
“Her mother died,” he starts, and a hollow emptiness seeps into my chest.
Have I inadvertently been keeping that woman from her family when they need her?
“Apparently, Olivia was only at that auction to earn some money to pay the bills left behind after the death,” Jaxon continues, alleviating some of the guilt that she missed an opportunity to say goodbye to her mother.
Though, other ideas fill my mind due to this new information, but I don’t voice them.
“And this matters to me why?” I ask, relinquishing my grip on the refrigerator and turning back toward him. As far as Jaxon should be concerned—after our earlier conversation—Olivia is nothing more than a chess piece to me. I’m keeping her alive as leverage against Titan. A witness to keep him in check.
“Just thought you may want to know before speaking with her again,” Jaxon replies, his shoulders taking on a rigidity. “It may be factoring into how she’s responding to all of this.”
“What else did Justine learn?” I ask, because Jaxon has a point. I need to know Olivia better before I see her again if I have any hope of her complying in the ways I need.
“Her only family was her mother,” he says. “She has one friend she talks to most named Tori and co-worker Sandi, who has reached out but doesn’t seem overly concerned. Tori, though, has called over a dozen times and texted twice as many since we took the woman. Justine said with Olivia’s help that she handled the messages, but either one of them could pose a problem later. Olivia has a job as an accountant for some warehouse, which she isn’t too fond of. No allergies and really fucking hates you.”
A smirk creeps across my face at that last statement. One I’m certain he’s delivered more as my friend than as one of my employees.
“Good,” I reply, satisfaction dripping from my voice. “She should hate me, but that doesn’t mean she can’t see reason. I have a plan, and it’s going to work. Olivia isn’t going to be a problem. In fact, I predict she’s going to prevent several unfortunate circumstances.”
I go back to gathering my previously prepared dinner and hear Jaxon’s retreating footsteps. I know he doesn’t agree with my decisions, but I don’t give a fuck. He’s not the one that turned Monroe Investments into a multi-billion-dollar company instead of a façade of a business used to front the family’s dirty money, and I did that while also making every fool lurking in the shadows think twice before coming after us.
Well, all except for possibly Titan Moretti, and if he thinks he can take what’s mine from me, I’ll be the first to remind him of who the fuck I am. Keeping Olivia alive is just one step in doing so.
* * *
I finish my dinner,savoring every bite before I relax under the scalding hot shower that washes away the remnants of the day. I change into fresh clothes, a tailored suit that exudes power and authority, something I believe Olivia will need constant reminders of.
As I stride toward her cell, a familiar air of control settles around me for the first time since entering that alleyway. This woman is nothing more than a means to an end, a pawn in this dangerous game, and now that I have a clear understanding of that end—using her to keep Titan from starting a war he can’t win—my priorities feel more secure.
I stop at the metal door holding Olivia hostage, the faint sound of my footsteps echoing in the enclosed space. With a steadying breath, I unlock the door and shove it open with force.
My eyes search the darkness, and it takes a moment to find her in the furthest corner, huddled on the mattress.
Her legs uncurl, and she pushes herself into a standing position, but it’s not a defiant move. No, this almost seems respectful.
Maybe Justine has been more helpful than I could have predicted.
