She pulled on my hand, yanking me to a stop. Her eyes locked onto mine. “Thank you.”
My forehead furrowed. “For what?”
“For getting rid of it. I can handle a lot of things but I don’t think I could’ve stepped foot in that space again.”
I looked around to see if people were watching. People pretended to be busy, but I knew we were the entertainment. But—oh, fuck it. I dragged her close and kissed her. Her fingers squeezed my chest. Pulling back, I whispered, “Don’t you think I know that?”
Stepping back, I added, “And I didn’t do it just for you, Tess. I couldn’t go back there either. I would rather my entire company came crashing down than ever go back into a room where I failed to protect you.”
Tess’s eyes swam; her cheeks pinked as she blushed. Blushed? What the hell was she blushing about? I’d had her hanging upside down with my tongue as far as it could go inside her while I drove my cock into her mouth. That was blush-worthy. Having me admit I tore down an office in her honour was not.
“You’re far too good to me.”
I shook my head, hating the twisting in my gut. I wasn’t. I was the opposite. Complete fucking opposite.
She lowered her voice. “Q…I’ve been so wrapped up in me, I haven’t asked what’s going on with your business. Did everything that happen ruin your company’s reputation?” Her shoulders stiffened. “I didn’t cost you your livelihood, did I?”
Before worry could consume her, I grabbed her chin. “Now is not the time to talk about it, but no. It didn’t.” I placed my hand on her lower back, pushing her the remaining distance to Frederick’s office. If she started asking questions about my unspoken hobby, I didn’t want it to be on the busy floor with overeager ears.
Little did she know that yes, what I’d done had gotten out. And no, it hadn’t ruined my image. In fact—I couldn’t quite believe what was happening. Another reason why I needed to talk to Roux.
Arriving at his door, I rapped my knuckles against the frosted glass. I kept telling him he needed a receptionist, but I suppose he’d taken my job while I focused on Tess, and Helen worked for him now.
Frederick opened the door with his back to us. His hair wasn’t its usual perfectly slicked style, seeing as one hand was lodged in the strands. His attire of understated three-piece navy suit with elegant purple tie made me very aware I wasn’t exactly dressed to impress.
I missed wearing a tailored wardrobe—but I didn’t miss why I wasn’t wearing them—I’d much rather be bone-fucking-naked if it meant I could ravage Tess twenty-four-seven.
His voice raised in a French curse as he removed the Bluetooth headset from his ear, spinning to confront us. His face, with its perfect skin and manicured eyebrows, looked about twenty years old not thirty.
His bright blue eyes landed on Tess, then shot back to me before his jaw fell in shock. “Mercer! Man, I thought you’d run off to get hitched.”
Tess stood a little straighter, watching him with a fierceness I started to recognise as defence. She had history with Frederick—I still didn’t know what they talked about the night he watched me almost rape her, then tuck and run after she used the safeword—but she knew Frederick was my closest friend. The only thing close to family I ever had.
Until her.
“Had a few loose ends before tying that particular knot,” I said, entering his office and slapping his shoulder. “C’est bon de te voir.” It’s good to see you.
He nodded, lips spreading into a smile. “You too. Missed your angry face. What’s it been, three weeks?” It didn’t sound like a long time, but in the scheme of things, seeing as we used to spend ten hours a day together—it was a long fucking time.
“Bet Angelique’s happy you don’t have to babysit me anymore.” By babysitting he damn well knew I meant traipsing around the world murdering psychopaths and bribing twisted assholes.
He laughed. “Well, she got pissed that you left me in charge of this place, leaving me to work double hours, but she got over it.”
I rolled my eyes. “How did you make it up to her?” Did I even want to know what they got up to behind closed doors? I genuinely liked Angelique with her straight black hair and intelligent pretty face, but I couldn’t see any kink in her. I often wondered if Frederick was as completely straight laced as he liked to believe.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Roux laughed. “Well, seeing as you’ll find out soon enough, I’ll tell you now.” He motioned us forward, spreading his arm to encompass the heavy oak desk and black leather couches facing each other. “I hired her.”
“You what?” My head snapped up as I sat beside Tess on the supple leather.
“Hey, you couldn’t expect me to work here every hour of the day and not get nagged when I got home, could you? I figured I’d put her on the payroll—that way we’d see each other all the time.” He sat down, hoisting his navy trousers before sitting with his legs spread on the opposite couch. “Don’t tell her this, but she’s amazing. That stupid law degree she’d been practicing—hell she’s doing wonders for Moineau. Not to mention, she’s great at bringing me coffee—amongst other things.”
I blinked. Did he just hint at office sex? In my building. Who was I fucking kidding? I was happy for him. I’d worried I’d put too much responsibility on him and was glad he’d flourished.
Frederick turned to Tess, looking her up and down. “How are you?”
Tess’s eyes flickered to mine, adrift with questions. I kept my face unreadable but it only took a second for her to slot the pieces together. Damn intelligent woman.
She nodded, keeping her back straight and face impassive. “I’m better. Thank you. Without you pushing Q—I don’t know where I’d be.”
To anyone who hadn’t whipped her with a whisk last night, she looked poised and collected. Only I knew the stiffness really meant wariness, not aloofness.
Frederick shrugged. “No thanks necessary. I’m glad it worked out. I couldn’t stomach the thought of you walking away from what you two obviously have.”
I huffed, glaring daggers at him. Frederick got the message and shut up.
Tess said, “I never got a chance to thank you for helping Q find me, either. I know you were there. I vaguely remember parts of it—your voice. You holding me.”
My muscles locked down. She fucking remembered? I thought she’d been so cracked out she hadn’t recalled what I’d done on her behalf. Did she recollect the reeking, dripping heart as I placed it at her feet?
Frederick shot me a glance, raising his eyebrow as if to say: I told you. You should’ve just killed him and not put more awful memories in her head.
I glowered at him. Fuck off.
“I’m glad you’re doing better. I knew Q would bring you back. Had every faith.” Clearing his throat, he looked at me. “You know, I got a call from Suzette yesterday.” Amusement shadowed his features. “Seems you’ve let her go a little wild.”
Tess’s eyes narrowed. “What did she say?”
I leaned forward, clasping my hands between my spread legs. “Yes, Roux. Qu’est ce qu'elle a dit?” What did she say?
His eyes twinkled. “Nothing much. You know she never tells me anything. Closed book.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Bullshit. I happen to know you’re on her speed-dial. She spills everything to you.” I glared harder, knowing full well he knew far too much about my ridiculous meltdowns—thanks to a meddling maid. “You know what I’m talking about.”
Tess looked between us, trying to unravel what we left unsaid.
“She knows she can call me. She and Angelique are getting rather close, too. It’s nice to see her making friends.”
“Oh, fuck me. My maid and your wife talking?” I couldn’t think of anything worse. I’d have to fire her.
Frederick laughed—a large timbre that drew a genuine smile from Tess. I wasn’t surprised; Frederick was a smooth son of a bitch. “You know she’s the most loyal staff member you’ll ever have. And
she knows we would never do anything to hurt you. Leave her alone when you see her next.” He raised his eyebrow, hinting that he knew.
Knew about the wedding.
He’d been invited to a wedding that I had absolutely no idea about. Who else had she invited? Goddammit, I really better call her before she invited all of Paris.
Frederick clapped his hands together, reclining into the black couch. “So, as nice as it is to see you, Mercer, I’m taking this isn’t just a pop in. You want something.”
Tess looked to me, her eyes wide with curiosity.
I smiled loving the thrill of anticipation. I couldn’t wait for her reaction when I told her what we were here for.
“There’s a file in your cabinet under my personal record. Can you get it?” I asked, looking Frederick straight in the eye.
He frowned, trying to work it out. The funny thing was—he knew. He’d watched me write it.
Hauling himself upright, he traversed the office before unlocking one of the filing cabinets and pulling out my particular portfolio. It was empty but for one piece of paper. Everything of importance I kept on encrypted hard-drives and in a safe hidden at my chateau. But this—I needed a witness to make this legitimate.
Cracking open the file, his eyes flew to mine. Clearing his throat, he asked, “You sure about this?”
I locked my fingers together, focusing on the rush of blood rather than snapping at him. Ridiculous question. I wouldn’t deem it with an answer.
Frederick nodded slightly, grabbed a pen from his desk, and came to sit back down.
Tess scooted forward as Roux placed the file on the small table between us, spinning it around to face her. He smiled, holding out the pen. “You’re up. Have a read, and if you’re okay with it, sign away.”
I rolled my shoulders, dispelling some of the rapidly building tension in my spine. Tess vibrated with questions mixed with apprehension.
Frederick never took his gaze off her as she reached for the file. Asking me, he muttered, “Do you think it’s a good idea… after all, the current market is rather…volatile.”
Tess froze. Her eyes snapped up. “Volatile?” Looking to me, she added, “What’s going on? Do I even want to know what’s in here?”
Yes, you damn well do because then you can get over my wealth because it won’t just be mine anymore.
I glared at Roux, before glancing her way. “Yes. Frederick is only aware that if you sign it, you share equal risk. If the business crashed tomorrow you would be held accountable, same as me, for any debts payable. But I have no debts outweighing my assets, and it isn’t going to crash tomorrow, so there’s no fucking risk to worry about.” Grabbing the edge of the folder, I opened it. “Stop delaying and read the damn thing.”
Tess flat-out ignored me. Planting a hand over the writing on the page, she asked Roux, “Tell me. Did you mean that or something else? I think I have a right to know.”
Goddammit, why was everything so hard with her when it came to money?
I leaned back, seething in the chair. My arms crossed; I wished I’d gone with my other idea of forging her signature and never showing her the damn will. I’d been so close to doing it, but Frederick talked me out of it. Bastard.
Roux placed his hands on his thighs, thinking through his answer carefully. As he should. Because he was a bastard.
“Q’s right about the debt. But I’m not worried about Moineau Holdings going under. That won’t happen. It just can’t—not with the strength of the company. What I am—not so much concerned about but definitely interested in seeing future projections—is a new side of the company that is brand new last week.”
I rolled my eyes. This was the part where Roux made me sound like some Mother fucking Theresa and for Tess to fawn all over me. I didn’t mind the fawning, but it wasn’t like the newspapers portrayed. It wasn’t at all like they said.
I got my hands dirty. I put motherfuckers in the ground where they belonged not turned them into a law enforcement that was almost as corrupt as they were.
“What new part?”
Frederick grinned. “Well, ever since Q tore off his mask and flew out of his birdcage—get it?” He waved his hand, chuckling at his own joke. “People know what hobbies Mercer is into. They’re aware of some, not all, of the details of what he did to get you back.” His eyes flickered to mine. I wanted to clamp a hand over his mouth, but I looked away, effectively giving him permission to continue. “Q’s contact at the local police force spoke to the press.”
I growled at that. I’d sworn him to secrecy for over ten years, and now he’d fed me to the paparazzi.
Frederick pointed a finger in my direction. “You know he had no choice. He stood up for you when people were painting false accusations.” Looking to Tess, he finished, “Anyway, the company has undergone some changes, and we’re still not sure where those changes will lead us.”
Tess breathed hard, tucking a riot of curls behind her ears with a rapid twitch. “What changes?”
Roux met my eyes. “Care to jump in and explain, Mercer? After all, it’s your fledging.”
I scowled. I didn’t want to hear what I already knew, and I had no desire to talk about it either—even though I was secretly pleased and rather honoured how the news had gone down with the world.
You want her to inherit everything. It’s only fair she knows exactly what she’s accepting.
I sighed, unlocking my arms to sit forward. “You’re doing such a good job. Finish it.”
Frederick nodded. “Fine. Well, the bad news is, the company lost its backing from over forty-eight percent of its regular investors. Overnight they cut association with all subsidiaries of Moineau when they heard the news Q accepted sex slaves as bribes to finalize developments. There was an uproar when they heard he not only accepted them as bribes, but kept them in his home.”
Tess gasped, a hand flying to cover her mouth. “Oh, my God.”
Frederick sighed, enjoying the theatrics of telling a sordid tale. “I know. Terrible. Death threats were sent, a few properties were defaced, and we prepared for the end of Mercer’s empire.”
I rolled my eyes. He made it sound like the apocalypse. None of that mattered. It was superficial at worst. Even disgusting rumours couldn’t hurt us in the long run.
Tess wrapped her arms around her waist, leaning forward. “This is awful. Can’t someone explain?”
Roux held up his hand, his blue eyes grave and bleak. “Then the rumours started flying that Mercer used them for his pleasure. That he killed them once he’d finished—seeing as no one ever saw a harem of women running around his estate. And believe me. They searched.
“Local villagers spread filthy lies about Q inheriting more than just Moineau Holdings but also his father’s side business as well.”
At that my stomach knotted into a trillion pains. Fucking people saying I was like him. It didn’t matter they were lies. It still tarred me with the same brush. Still made me seem like the monster I never wanted to be.
“But that’s not true!” Tess cried.
Frederick pursed his lips. “International law enforcement got involved; they seized most of our files—not that they’ll find any wrongdoings there. We’re pristine in every area of the business.”
I snorted. Yes, everywhere apart from my red binder full of sadistic sons of a bitches, bribes, dates, and names of the girls I’d taken as payment for buildings constructed on their behalf. I’d broken the law by dealing with criminals, but in a business point of view, we’d done nothing wrong. I delivered a service for a transaction rendered. It didn’t matter I used a barter system of women rather than capital.
Tess twisted her fingers. “Someone has to sue them for slander, surely. How can they say such a thing?”
Frederick held up his hand, a smile tugging his mouth. “But then other villagers stepped forward claiming Q was nothing like his predecessor, and they had it all wrong. Local doctors broke their Hippocratic Oath to stand up for Q, explaining hi
s outstanding care of the women who’d been broken by bastards. And that’s when the local police chief came forward and spilled the truth.
“No names but an approximate tally of all the women Q saved along with a guestimate on dollar value of what he’d spent repairing what others had broken.”
Tess swivelled to face me, her eyes glowing with unshed tears. She looked at me as if I were some celebrity or even worse…a god. I wasn’t. She knew that. Shit, I’d fucked her like a beast possessed only a few hours ago. She knew me better than anyone at how close to home those first rumours were.
Frederick muttered low, purely for my ears. “Thanks to them they saved your business, but no thanks to them they’ve taken—”
“Enough, Roux.” My eyes narrowed, warning. Tess didn’t need to know the other rumours. The ones whispering in the dark alleys of misery. They’re coming. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Tess went white. “So…what happened?”
Roux fell silent, waiting for me to answer. None of this was interesting. It was a waste of time. A waste of precious fucking time where I could be kidnapping her somewhere else.
Time.
The traitorous bitch was once again working against me. In more ways than one.
My heart hammered. “Nothing until someone”—and if I ever found out whom, I’d shoot them—“told a tale of how a woman I’d saved from traffickers in Mexico fell in love with me. They spun a ridiculous love story of a man berserk with terror when those same bastards came back for her to teach him a lesson.”
The tears in Tess’s eyes broke the confines of her lashes, trickling down her cheeks. My heart physically hurt at the love beaming from her—it was tangible, heating, hugging me.
“Online tabloids and international magazines spread the story like wildfire—embellishing, editing, but ultimately getting it surprisingly right. And when the news got out I’d found you but you were almost irreparable—well, that’s when the phones started ringing for an entirely different reason.”