His to Love (Fireside #1) by Stacey Lynn

Author:Stacey Lynn [Lynn, Stacey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2016-05-08T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

To my surprise, the door to my father’s office was wide open. I didn’t bother knocking on the doorframe to make my presence known. His head snapped up as soon as he saw me. He was sitting behind his desk, a glass of whiskey held gingerly in his hand. His lips pressed into a straight line barely masking his annoyance that it had taken me so long to get here.

I couldn’t help Detroit traffic.

“Come in.”

I obeyed and stepped into his office and immediately saw Malik in a chair to the side of my father’s desk where he couldn’t be seen from the doorway. He turned to face me and then pushed to his feet, setting his own glass down on the desk. I fought the urge to crinkle my nose. I despised whiskey.

“Good evening, Gabriella,” Malik said, stepping forward and doing that proprietary thing he did that I was beginning to also despise. With one of his hands low on my hip, he leaned forward and brushed his lips across my cheek.

“Evening,” I muttered, glancing down to my feet.

When Malik had dropped his hand from my hip and stepped away, I slowly brought my gaze up to meet my father’s. Irritation bubbled beneath my skin. This was the man who had allowed me to believe that something was wrong with Mom, all under the guise of getting me to the house. The man had no shame when it came to getting what he wanted.

A lumped formed in my throat at the thought. I knew what he wanted. Malik’s presence made that clear.

“Before you get started with why I’ve been summoned,” I started, unable to hide the anger from my voice, “I thought you should know that I took your advice and spoke with Ms. Pillar. I began my position with DPA this morning. And I’ve placed a deposit on a new home, apartment, really.” My father’s lips thinned further. His frustration with me rippled through the room.

I almost wanted to smile. Maybe curtsy.

“Is that all?” he asked, his lips twisting into a sneer.

No. But it was enough.

At the small nod of my head, he relaxed slightly. “Very well, then.” He continued. “Malik will escort you to the benefit next Saturday.”

I gritted my teeth. I should have known I would be railroaded into this after I dismissed Malik’s invitation. Malik was just as cunning as my father. I might have underestimated his interest in me.

Before I could think of the appropriate words to say, to tell him that I had already asked Tyson to accompany me, Malik stepped forward and took my hand. “It will be pleasure to have you on my arm.”

I bet. I barely spared Malik a glance before looking back to my father. He looked rather pleased with himself as he sipped his whiskey. I knew better. His current relaxed state only hid the cogs working in his mind, trying to find a way to trap me.

“I would like to speak with Malik for a few minutes. In private,” I said, stressing the words at the end.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.