Chapter Three
The morning passes as it usually does, running around after my Master. To everyone else, we are just colleagues. I’m his assistant and he is the powerful Senator. In private he is my world. My sad, lonely, desperate, addictive world. The man who controls me and who I can’t live without. The man my body craves like oxygen and my head can’t stand. My heart breaks every time he looks away and bursts into life with just one touch from his hand. When he smiles, it lights up my soul and when he frowns it causes desire to flood my body. My mind is fucked, just as much as my body by the man who is never far from my side. That is for two more days, anyway.
I look up as Didi groans.
“What’s up?”
She pulls a face.
“I’ve just heard that Shelby Barrington is on her way up. I think I’ll pretend to do some photocopying until the coast is clear. That woman makes me feel like dirt on her shoe.”
My heart sinks as I think of the future Mrs Senator Parker. I’d hoped to never see her again, no such luck.
Didi rushes off with a stack of papers on her fool’s errand whilst I prepare myself.
I decide not to warn Scott. Maybe he will forget I’m here and concentrate on Shelby. If I warn him, he will be prepared.
It’s not long before the force that is Shelby Barrington strides into the office. She is absolutely stunning in the way that money can buy. She has blonde hair, slightly darker than my own, but styled way more professionally. Her outfit of a white trouser suit must have cost more than my six-month salary. Her make up is immaculate and the result of hours of work, unlike the few minutes I get to smear some gloss on my lips and mascara on my lashes. Her perfume is exotic and fills my senses, stifling me and making it hard to breathe. She looks down at me with her cold, green eyes and barely raises a smile.
“Good morning um…”
I smile politely.
“Amelia, Miss Barrington. I will inform the Senator you are here?”
She nods and looks around with disinterest. I’m not sure if she even registers my existence. I am nothing to her, a nobody. A minion without a name worthy of remembering. Like her fiancé, they operate in a world where money and status count for everything. They use and abuse and she is no exception.
I pick up the phone and buzz through to the great man himself. He answers tersely.
“What?”
“Miss Barrington is here to see you, Sir.”
I hear the sharp intake of breath and feel a small sense of victory as I sense the irritation in that one sound. He says irritably,
“I’ll be right out.”
As I replace the receiver it strikes me that she is the only one, other than the President himself, who he would come to greet. Normally I would just make them wait for a little before showing them in. That would not go down well with Shelby Barrington.
Almost immediately the door opens, and he oozes out, the charm dripping from him like honey from a comb.
“Shelby, darling. What a lovely surprise.”
I watch with interest as her face relaxes into a smile and she looks at him coyly.
He moves towards her and she reaches up and does that three-kiss thing, almost like she’s greeting a stranger.
I smirk and his eyes flash. He looks at Shelby with an intense look and growls seductively.
“I think you can do better than that my darling. After all, we are soon to be married and they are two days that can’t pass quickly enough for me. Then you will make me the happiest man alive and I will devote my life to making you the happiest woman.”
He pulls her close and kisses her deeply. I try to look away but know that I can’t. He is punishing me and he knows it. The sight of them in front of me kills me inside. I may hate him but I love him more. But he's not mine to love, as he is proving to me right here and now. I only borrow him, she is the one he will build a life with.
They pull apart and she flushes and giggles.
“Now, now, Scott. Not in front of the staff. Whatever must they think?”
He just smiles at her seductively.
“Who cares what they think. I’m allowed to kiss the woman I love in my own office. In fact, if you follow me inside, I may do a lot more than that.”
His words wound my soul and he knows it. They were meant to and I look down, suddenly very interested in my computer screen. I hear her giggle, somewhat nervously which strikes me as strange because she doesn’t seem the nervous type to me at all. Then I hear a sharp,
“Amelia. I will be taking my fiancé to lunch. We will be gone for two hours. Re-schedule my meeting with Grady for 3pm.”
I look up and see those blue eyes looking at me with promise. He knows exactly how I feel and is twisting the knife even more.
I nod miserably.
“Of course, Sir.”
He takes her hand and gazes at her lovingly.
“Come, my darling, you have my undivided attention. Nothing is more important to me than making you happy.”
She giggles again and I am grateful to see them leave. As he closes the door behind them he shoots me an ice-filled look. I know that look. He hasn’t finished with me yet and I hate that my body can’t wait.
I use my time wisely. I have two hours to go over the preparations. I check my ticket and go over the schedule. When Scott Parker is standing in front of the altar committing himself to the cold, hard, life of the marriage of convenience, I will be turning my back on him, forever.
I have known for some time that I need to break free from this endless cycle of addiction. Like any addict, I crave this life and the more I get the more I want and need. It’s not normal, and it’s not healthy. The trouble is, he won’t let me leave. He has threatened me on many occasions. He will find me and then my punishment will be too much to bear. When you get into bed with the Devil, there is no escape. Scott Parker likes to control and assert his dominance over every aspect of his life. If he thinks I’m slipping away, I’m afraid of what he will do. I must always remember never to underestimate him. When I leave, there will be no coming back. I will need to disappear—forever.
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