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Jack nods tightly. Lee glowers at me before heading for the stairs. I know they’re not happy with me right now, but it’s not like I planned to get trapped in Ben’s flat and then have my romantic life explode like a grenade in all our faces.
I return with Sophie’s tea on a little ceramic tray because I know how picky Brits can be about preparing it themselves. Thanking me, she pours some milk into the steaming cup and adds one teaspoon of sugar.
She uses the small spoon to stir her tea. “I tendered my resignation before I came here.”
I stare at her in surprise. “You did? Why?”
“Because I can’t do it anymore,” she says simply. “Work for that vile man.”
My eyebrows shoot up. Whoa. I got the sense she didn’t like him, but it’s obvious her feelings for Ben go beyond disgust. It sounds like she truly despises him.
“I never wanted this job,” Sophie confesses. She sips her tea, hands shaking slightly. “My father worked for the duke—Ben’s father, Andrew—for thirty years.”
“He did?”
She nods. “My grandfather had connections with the Tulleys and was able to secure a job with them for my father. Dad started as a driver, but Andrew quickly took a liking to him. My dad is—was—a boisterous, outgoing man. Everyone was drawn to him. Nowadays, he’s not as vibrant.” Sadness flickers in her eyes. “He and Andrew grew close, friends even, and eventually Dad became his private secretary. Seemed only natural that when Benjamin required his own assistant, my father recommended me for the position. I was twenty-two when I began working for the Tulleys.”
“Was Ben easier to work with at the start?”
“God, no.” She laughs derisively. “He’s an absolute wreck of a man. Scandals follow him everywhere. I needed money, however, to pay my way through uni. I was planning to leave his employment once I graduated, but then Dad got sick. It happened so fast.”
My heart squeezes.
“When I told you I pay out of pocket for my father’s housing, what I mean is my terms of employment pay for it. The Tulleys have a deep fondness for my dad, so the duke was more than happy to renegotiate my contract with his son to include provisions for my father’s care.”
“That was kind of him,” I say.
She sets down her cup, guilt creasing her face. “I want you to know—I’ve never been asked to cover up any criminal or illegal behavior. I’ve never witnessed him lay a hand on a woman or doanything untoward sexually. But I’ve flushed his drugs and tucked him in the back seats of cars after causing some scene or another at a club or party. I’ve cleaned up his messes because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to keep my father where he is.”
“I get it,” I say, completely sincere. “I would do the same for my dad.”
Sophie gives a firm shake of her head. “But no more. Benjamin has conducted himself in reprehensible ways before, but he went too far last night. He said he locked you in the loo?” She looks horrified now.
I reassure her. “No, I locked myself in. They didn’t want me to go, so I needed to escape in order to try and call a cab.”
“But they took your phone?” she prompts. “He mentioned something about that as well.”
I nod, my pulse quickening when I remember the panic I’d felt after Ben and his friends wouldn’t let me leave.
Noting my response, Sophie’s eyes flash. “And who is to say what would have happened if you hadn’t gone to the bathroom, Abbey? Ben might not be a sexual aggressor, but I don’t know about his mates. He doesn’t fraternize with the most upstanding of citizens. He put you in a dangerous position last night.”
“No, I put myself in it. But I understand what you’re saying. And I don’t excuse Ben’s behavior. I’m not too thrilled with him at the moment either.”
“I can’t work for a man like that.” Her tone is bleak. Laced with unhappiness.
“But what about your dad?”
“I will need to find other arrangements for him, I’m afraid.”
That makes me sick to my stomach. As touching as it is that she’s resigning because of what Ben did to me, she has to think about her family. Her dad needs to come first here.
“This isn’t only about you,” Sophie says as if reading my mind. “It has been a long time coming. You asked me what he does,remember? And I responded that he ‘runs’ his nonprofit. That was a lie.Irun it. I do all the work and receive none of the recognition. Meanwhile, Benjamin makes mess after mess, and I’m forced to clean up after him.” She shakes her head. “No more. I don’t want this to be my life. And I know Dad wouldn’t want it to be either. He liked and respected Andrew Tulley, but Ben doesn’t take after his father. The duke isn’t the brightest of men, but he’s not self-destructive.”
“Ben must take after Lawrence,” I say dryly.
“It appears so.” She sets her cup on the tray. “Anyway. I wanted to apologize again for his behavior.”
“It’s not your apology to give.”
