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“You’re good, but I have to be better. You’re meant to be a step of ahead me and I’m meant to be five ahead of you. You’ve seen how this game works. I’m not here to fail. She’s a problem.”
“I know she’s a problem,” he bites back, shaking his head. “But ye of little faith decided to go solo and trust men who don’t know how you operate.”
“No, but they know how The Company operates. There is so much you’ve got to learn and prove.”
“Oh, so this is all now a test, is it?”
“Stop being precious.” I laugh mirthlessly. “We all know your spot isn’t threatened, but my father wants to make sure you’re made of the right stuff.”
He guffaws at me, and I don’t blame him. Sebastian has been more loyal than most, has cleaned up a lot of my messes, and remained by my side. He has nothing to prove to me, but I want my father to see that while he had Nicolas, I’ve had Sebastian.
Once before, I believed Natalia was my equal. Then our world imploded around us, and left in the ashes was Sebastian, waiting to pull me back together and show me that while she closed a chapter on our lives, he would also make sure I made it through to the next.
I draw in a lungful of the putrid air, allowing the burn of copper and decay to assault me.
This is where it all changes.
The game, the plan, the business.
My life.
With the stroke of lipstick and a couple of dead bodies, everything shifts. The very moment my father gets so much as a whiff of this, he’ll fight me tooth and nail for the power and authority, and I’m not about to let him have the satisfaction.
For years, I lived under his reign, believing he was the omnipotent one, but London just got a new king, and he doesn’t bend and break for anyone.
My phone chimes from the inside of my suit pocket and I’m quick to reach for it. I’d be a liar if I didn’t say this unnerved me, but I don’t have the luxury of weakness anymore. I also don’t have the ability to bury my head.
The Regency.
One hour.
“I’ve got to go.” I don’t glance up from my phone. “I’ve got a meeting to get to.”
“With who?”
“You’ll find out. Wait for Benny and let me know how it goes. I’ll call you later.”
“Beck-”
“We’ve got to show my father you’re made of the right stuff; this is your first job. I know you’ve got this. I’ll explain more later.” I pat his cheek, issuing a small smirk before I joke, “You’ve got this, babe.”
“Beckett, what the fuck?”
“I’ll explain later.”
This time, I’m final. I pat his chest, not his cheek, and cross the room, making sure to step over everyone as I go.
Never have I kept Sebastian so in the dark of where I’m going, but there’s a first time for everything and I pray he’ll forgive me later for double-crossing him.
Chapter Seven
NATALIA
He’s exactly where I knew he’d be.
Propping up the bar of his favourite hotel, the perfect stomping ground to gain an alibi and whatever female decides to spread her legs when he passes a glance their way.
I deliberately wore a deep red dress, one that forces me to tweak the skirt all too often as it hugs my hips and thighs. It looks so much the perfect crimson to be blood that it’ll stain in his memory. I zero in on him and enter the bar area, thriving on the anticipation as it brings my skin out in goosebumps.
