Chapter Six
THE MAN FROM last night was in the kitchen, this time wearing an apron, with some kind of classical opera thing playing from speakers I couldn’t see. The room was spacious and beautiful, the kind you would only find in magazines. The wood cabinets looked hand carved, with real knots in the wood and a few subtle designs at the corners. The appliances were all stainless steel and gleaming. It didn’t feel lived-in or used at all, but there was a pile of brownies on the counter that proved it was. Adrian was bustling around with ease.
He looked up, and I tensed, prepared for him to throw me out—or insult me like Philip had done. Instead his expression softened. “Come in, come in. You must be starving.”
My stomach grumbled in response. “I am,” I admitted. Days of living on whatever leftover takeout they decided to toss on the floor for me had taken its toll. My muscles felt shaky even when I wasn’t moving.
“We’ll start with coffee, then? Or hot chocolate? How does that sound?”
“That sounds amazing.” I found myself reluctantly charmed. I didn’t want to like this butler, this cook, this piece of rich-man hierarchy that Philip had built for himself. And I felt even more out of place when I said, “Hot chocolate, please.”
He winked and made a steaming mug.
I breathed in deep, comforted by the sweet scent. Even this was rich-man hot chocolate, a lush chocolate flavor and creamy base, with no tiny marshmallows in sight—but it was delicious. The best I’d ever tasted. “Thank you.”
He slid a small plate with biscotti toward me, but we heard a sound at the door. I turned, relieved to see that it was Shelly joining us and not Philip. Of course judging by her expression, she had spoken with Philip. I had no doubt that Philip had told her how I humiliated myself.
“Would you like some coffee?” Adrian asked her.
“I’m good,” she said evenly, but she was clearly here on a mission. The look she gave him was direct: go away.
Adrian gave her a look in return, though I wasn’t sure what that one meant. He did leave us alone, though. I focused on my drink, using the biscotti to stir it around and create a little brown whirlpool.
Shelly sat across from me at the rustic table. “Wanna tell me about it?” she asked.
I was not going to spell it out for her. “About what?”
“Any of it, sweetheart,” she said, sounding tired. “What happened with Philip. Why you were working for Henri. What your damn name is. You’re killing me here.”
Guilt seized my chest. “I thought if I could…” If I could seduce Philip, then you wouldn’t have to. “I didn’t want…” I didn’t want you to pay my debt, the way that I had to pay my father’s.
I dropped the entire soggy biscotti into the mug. And as for the rest of it, working for Henri, I hadn’t been working. Not really. I’d been forced, and I had fought back.
I placed my palms flat on the table, feeling the hand-scraped texture underneath. “Like you said, if I had just done what I was supposed to do, you wouldn’t be in this mess. I didn’t want you to have to…have sex with Philip because of me.”
She looked away. “It’s not so bad.”
That wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. “I wouldn’t know.” The men in the penthouse had touched me. They had been planning on having sex with me, but I’d fought them. And then Shelly had come. I was still a virgin. “Apparently even when I want to seduce someone, I do it wrong.”
“Well, you don’t have to do that. Neither of us does,” she said. “We’re his guests.”
That sounded like a lie. Why would Philip help me without getting something in return?
“Philip and I will take care of Henri,” she said with more confidence. “So you just stay put. Let me know if you need anything. I’m sure we can order you some clothes so you’re not stuck wearing my hand-me-downs. Right, Adrian?”
I was startled when his muffled voice answered right away. “Right.”
I glanced at the closed kitchen door. “Um.”
“Adrian’s a terrible gossip,” Shelly said, which elicited muttering from the hallway. “We love him anyway. Couldn’t live without him.”
“Damn straight.” Adrian bustled back into the kitchen, this time carrying a slim silver laptop with him. “As if I need to eavesdrop. You can be sure I have more advanced surveillance methods if I were even interested in what you were saying.”
He flipped the laptop open on the table and navigated to a fancy clothing store. I’d thought we had nice things in my household—a new dress from Express or someplace like that, someplace where a T-shirt didn’t cost a couple hundred dollars. My eyes bulged. And this was a temporary wardrobe?
Someone was definitely going to pay for this, and I suspected it was going to be Philip. And that meant Shelly would be in his debt. It meant I would be in his debt.
“You two have fun,” Shelly said, leaving the kitchen as quickly as she’d swept in.
That left only Adrian and me—and this laptop, which somehow represented everything I didn’t want, the kind of loose spending that had led to my family’s financial situation, owing someone who was dangerous. “I don’t know,” I whispered. “I don’t really need clothes. I can just wear this.”
“Look,” Adrian said. “Philip is good, but even he isn’t a miracle worker. And someone like Henri? It will take him some time to work out a strategy. You can’t wear the same clothes every day.”
I had just spent three days chained to bathroom pipes. Now I was still virtually a prisoner, but they were concerned about my fashion sensibilities? “Umm, I just… Maybe someplace cheaper? Like Walmart.”
Adrian sent me a droll look. “Philip has money. You may as well take advantage.”
“That’s what I don’t want to do,” I said quickly. “He’s already doing enough by letting me stay here.”
The way Adrian studied me made me shift in my seat. His expression softened. “I don’t know all the details of your situation, but I know you’re scared. And you should be. These are some scary assholes you’re dealing with, Philip included. He doesn’t give a shit about most people. They’re collateral damage to him. But regardless of the reason, he’s decided to help you—and you can believe this much: when you’re under his protection, you’re safe.”