MY FORMATIVE YEARS HAD BEEN one humiliating chapter after another, and degradation was an old friend of mine. But cleaning Lucian’s house in my panties and a bra I’d fashioned out of the fabric scraps in the garbage felt like the most ridiculous, unscripted form of porn that one could create.
I expected him to come and perv on me, but he didn’t. He didn’t leave his office all day. But it was nearing dinnertime, and I assumed he’d be making his way back to this part of the house soon enough. I was hoping to be finished by then, but my luck had run out. He appeared out of nowhere at the ill-timed moment I was on my hands and knees, scrubbing his stupid kitchen floor.
He walked past me without a word and grabbed his meal from the fridge, popping open the container and leaning against the counter while he ate his salad.
“You missed a spot,” he said between bites, pointing with his shoe at a scuff mark on the tile.
I glared up at him, another choice word on the tip of my tongue. I didn’t use it because I wasn’t prepared to lose another pair of shoes. “Don’t you have anything better to do?” I asked.
“It’s dinnertime,” he said. “You should eat something as well.”
“I already ate.”
He didn’t move, and I couldn’t stand the thought of him watching me disgrace myself to appease him. Even though my childhood had stolen any shred of modesty I might have possessed, I hadn’t shown my body to a man in a long time.
I rocked back on my knees and looked up at him, trying to figure out how I was going to even the score. In the middle of that notion, the front door opened without warning, and I let out a shriek as another man breezed his way into the kitchen.
He arched an eyebrow in my direction before turning his attention to Lucian. “Did you get a new housekeeper?”
Lucian smirked. “Something like that.”
I tried to make a beeline for the bedroom, but Lucian’s voice stopped me. “Gypsy, have you forgotten your manners?”
I didn’t turn around, and I knew I would pay for it later, but he was delusional if he thought I would entertain conversation in my current state.
“You’re an asshole,” I announced. Screw it. The loss of another pair of shoes would be worth that one.
“So you’ve said, several times. There’s a flannel in my office. Why don’t you put it on and come back out to say a proper hello to Nolan.”
I wasn’t going to argue with that. A flannel was better than nothing. I bolted for his office and found the flannel hanging on the back of his chair. It seemed odd that he’d have a flannel lying around in the middle of a Vegas summer, but I wasn’t going to question it. It was soft, but too big, which worked out in my favor. The fabric hung down to my thighs, giving me a shred of security.
Lucian would expect me to return without delay, but before I left, I couldn’t help looking over the scattered paperwork on his desk. There was a lot of it that didn’t really interest me, but the key hanging from the desk drawer did.
It was risky to take it, but if I had any chance at all of getting out of this marriage I would need to find some dirt on him. Even though the likelihood of me digging anything up in this office was small, I figured it couldn’t hurt to try. I locked the drawer and shoved the key into the pocket of the flannel. If he found it, I could always say he left it there.
I walked out of the office but stopped before the end of the hall. I really didn’t want to go talk to his guest, whoever he was, but I was keenly aware that it didn’t really matter what I wanted. Lucian would make me pay for it if I didn’t go, and I needed to pick my battles wisely. I peeked around the corner and found Lucian and his friend at the kitchen table. They were engrossed in conversation, and I figured it couldn’t hurt to listen in for a minute before making myself known.
“It’s going to be tough win,” Lucian said.
“Aren’t they always?” Nolan smiled wistfully. “Yet you take them on.”
“Something’s different about this kid.” Lucian rubbed the back of his neck, but it did little to dissolve the tension in his body. “I don’t know.”
“Is it possible that he reminds you of yourself when you were his age?”
Lucian was pensive, and it was the first time I’d seen any semblance of emotion on his face. This was the proof that something in his past haunted him, and I just needed to figure out what it was.
“How are you feeling?” Nolan redirected the conversation.
Lucian shrugged. “I’m fine.”
“You’ve lost weight.” Nolan’s eyes drifted over Lucian’s frame with concern.
“Not much.”
“How do you plan to see this case through if—”
“I will see it through,” Lucian interjected.
They were both quiet then, and I knew I’d blow it if I waited any longer. I exited the hall and took a seat at the end of the table. They both turned their attention to me.
Lucian waved his hand between us. “Nolan, this is Gypsy.”
“Hi, Gypsy.”
I batted my eyes in his direction. “Hello.”
Nolan was an older man. Probably in his sixties, if I had to guess. He seemed surprised by my sudden presence in Lucian’s life, and the curiosity in his eyes gave me hope. He would be an easy mark to plead my case to if it came down to it. I might as well start winning him over now, just in case. Every person in Lucian’s life could be a potential ally if I worked it right.
“I’m gay,” he announced dryly. “So you can save your charm for someone else.”
My shoulders fell, and he smiled. “How do you two know each other?”
I wondered how Lucian was going to spin this, so I turned to him with a smile. “Yes, how did we meet, my darling husband?”
Nolan’s brows shot up at my endearment, but it didn’t faze Lucian.
“I’m blackmailing her,” Lucian said.
I glared at him, and Nolan chuckled as if he often heard this kind of thing in everyday conversation. “I see.”
“She’s a brat,” Lucian went on. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
“And you’re a bastard.” I showboated my pearly whites.
“That’s two items from your closet.” He returned my sarcasm with a lazy smile. “You sure you want to keep going? There’s a Louis Vuitton bag in there calling my name.”
“Not the bag,” I responded, horrified.
“Watch your mouth and you might still escape with it intact. This is your last warning.”
I looked at Nolan. “You just heard him tell you that he’s basically keeping me hostage here, and you’re okay with that? What kind of man are you?”
Nolan held up his hands. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you two, and I don’t care to know either. What Lucian does is his business, and I trust that whatever his reasons for keeping you here are good ones.”
I stood and shoved back the chair. This guy was no help. “May I be excused now?”
“You may,” Lucian answered. “It’s probably best you get back to cleaning, princess.”