Only You (A Sweet Torment Novel) (21 page)

Chapter Twenty

P
aige?”

Kyros walked up the steps of the Main House, meeting me on the porch.

Surely there was no way he could have seen me coming from Leo’s bedroom, right? I knew it was getting late, but after my nightmare incident, I didn’t want to spend the night with Leo. Not yet. Not after so much was off-kilter with me already. Like my feelings.

“Hi,” I said, wanting to come up with a reason I was leaving the house so late, but deciding against it. Instead I tried for a friendly conversation. “You’re out late.”

He nodded. “I spent some time in Albany this evening, and I’m just now getting back. I wanted to check on a couple things at the office.” I smiled and nodded, and just when I thought I could leave with no more niceties, Kyros had other ideas. “I know you and my cousin have a fling going on.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that was none of his business but he stopped me.

“I’m not here to judge either of you, merely to offer a voice of reason.”

“I’m a reasonable person,” I said.

“I know, it is one of the things I respect the most about you, which is why I came to you first. This thing between you two is going to end. At some point it will be over because it has nowhere to go.”

I already knew that, but somehow it hurt hearing it out loud. It chipped away at the small piece of hope in my chest.

“I see you’ve been talking to Regan.”

“Regan wants the same thing I do, for Leo to be happy. I don’t say this to offend you, Paige. I like you a lot, actually. I think you are very smart and responsible and a proven asset. But Leandro’s life and responsibilities are different.”

“I’m aware.”

“You don’t fit, Paige. You’re . . .”

“Temporary,” I said. “Like I said, I’m aware.”

He gave a sad smile. “I don’t say this to upset you, I just don’t want you or Leandro hurt. He wasn’t the same after Sara left. And every day it kills him, knowing he has a family out there he will never see again.”

I knew that too. After talking with Leo tonight and watching his face twist with pain as he recalled the past . . . it made me hurt for him. With him.

“He deserves to move on and have a woman and family of his own.”

I nodded. He did deserve that. And Kyros only voiced what I knew, and what Leo knew. I wasn’t that woman. I didn’t hold a future for him in that regard.

“I appreciate your concern, Kyros. I have no delusions as to what my relationship or my standing is with Leo.”

He frowned. “And what of Leandro’s delusions?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Kyros smiled. “I see the way he looks at you, Paige. That’s why Regan and I are both so worried. If this is doomed to fail between you two . . .”

I shook my head. If there was one person in over their head, it was me. Surely not Leo. “He’ll be fine, Kyros. We both know our relationship has an end date.” I wanted to ask if being with me would be so bad though. But it was a momentary lapse in judgment. Because Kyros’s answer wouldn’t have mattered.

“Have a good night, Paige.”

“Yeah . . .” Like that was going to happen.

He nodded and I walked past him, through the grass toward my little house. Nothing about tonight felt temporary, but everything about my life around me was. Kyros was right, and for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t my own voice of reason.

Leo was clouding my logic. The logic I clung to and operated on. And I couldn’t bring myself to care about the ramifications. Not right then. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not even after this whole thing blew up in my face. Because while I told him about a piece of my past, the thing that haunted me, I didn’t tell Leo the whole truth about my world. Didn’t tell him about my life now, and the shit storm it had become. Didn’t tell him I was on borrowed time in more ways than one, waiting for the bottom to fall out and change my life forever.

That speck of hope I had was already dangerous, because I hoped to God this scandal would blow over and the money would be found. And I also hoped that tomorrow I’d wake up and be the woman I’d been fighting to be since I was a kid.

One who was respected. Wanted. Valued. One who was good enough for a man like Leo.

As the grass crunched against my heels and I walked farther away from Leo and his warmth, the more I doubted either of those things happening. I’d always fought for what I wanted. The problem was, Leo wasn’t mine to have. Wasn’t mine to fight for. All I had was this job, for now, and a plan for a better future and fresh start.

Yet somehow that fresh start began to feel more and more empty than appealing.

I walked into Leo’s office just as he said, “I’m sorry you feel that way,” and hung up the phone. Leo looked equally amused and annoyed. It had been a busy week, and I came bearing good news.

“Everything alright?” I asked.

At work we’d kept a professional relationship, especially in front of the eyes of others. Unless you counted Leo’s eyes and the way he could undress me with them in a room full of people, making me instantly hot and racing to get away before I jumped him. But the nights? I always seemed to find my way to him. Then I left, hoping that cutting out before I fell asleep would somehow help this growing addiction I had for Leo’s touch and company.

It wasn’t.

“That was Colin Davis.”

“Oh.” Leo hadn’t mentioned what he was going to do about Colin Davis’s offer for the New York slip since we’d talked about it a few weeks ago. “Do you need me to set up a meeting or something face-to-face?”

“No, I took care of it.”

I nodded, but wanted so badly to ask what decision he had made. But he didn
’t offer and it wasn’t my business, so I went to the topic at hand.

“Escrow closes on Friday. I have booked you and Kyros a flight to London to sign the final paperwork with Jes Frolos and see the slip.”

He nodded. “Excellent. When do we head out?”

“Tomorrow.”

“I’m going to need you to get one more ticket.”

“Okay,” I said opening my tablet. “I’ll need the name and contact information for the ticket. Who is the person?”

“Paige Levine.”

My eyes snapped to his. But he merely grinned. “I hear she likes to be called Miss Levine though.”

“You want me to go with you?”

“Yes, I do.”

Just before I got overly excited—partly because I had never traveled overseas and had a passport with no stamps in it—I needed to know why.

“Do you want me as your assistant or because you need someone in your bed at night?”

Leo was perfectly calm when he looked me dead in the eye and said, “Both.”

He got up and walked around his desk.

“Paige, you’ve been a part of this deal from the beginning. I want you there because you’ve earned it and are good at your job. How am I supposed to wrap this up without you?”

I smiled. “You’re a capable man, Leo. I’m sure you’d be just fine.”

“I don’t know about that. Besides, I’ve become dependent on our nighttime routine.” He stepped closer and gently ran a fingertip along my chin.

“Dependent is a pretty strong word for a CEO.”

“It is. Which is why it’s not surprising that it takes a strong woman to bring me to my knees.”

There was something so sincere in his eyes that made my heart throb and my entire being do one thing it never had.

Believe him.

He respected me, enough to bring me along. Saw me as an equal and trusted me.

“I’d love to go,” I whispered.

“Good.”

Leo and Kyros were leaving the following day for London and I was going with them. The thought made me smile and also have the sudden urge to rifle through my closet and pack. As I made my way through the Main House with a permanent grin on my face, thinking of going overseas, my thoughts were interrupted by my buzzing cell phone.

It was a number I didn’t recognize. Probably another reporter, but I had gotten good at hanging up quickly if the need arose.

“This is Paige Levine,” I answered.

“Hello, Miss Levine. This is Eric Adams.”

I stopped dead in my tracks as shock and panic set in. It took two failed attempts at speaking before I finally got out words.

“Eric Adams, as in, the New York attorney general?”

“Yes. I was hoping you could come meet with me.”

I wanted to ask what this was all about but was certain he wouldn’t tell me over the phone, nor would it make a difference. If the attorney general called, you went.

“I’m leaving tomorrow for a business trip,” I said. “Perhaps we can schedule something for when I return.”

“Are you free tonight?” he countered. “I’d really like to speak with you in person Miss Levine, and time is of the essence.”

I absently palmed my throat. This was about the scandal. It had to be. And if the attorney general was involved, my guess was it had to do more with the missing money and less with the sex scandal. Whatever Bill had done, it was getting even messier and the big guys were now in play.

“I can meet you tonight,” I said.

“Great, why don’t you come by my office—”

“Do you mind if we meet at Jay’s Café on First Street?” I said quickly. It was quiet and public, but didn’t garner press. The thought of going to the capitol didn’t sound like a good idea.

“If that’s what you prefer, Miss Levine. Can you be there in an hour?”

I glanced at my tablet. Leo was done with his meetings, and the work day was basically over.

“Yes.”

“Great, see you then.”

The phone line went dead, but I just looked at my cell as if it could somehow provide answers. Because all I knew was that I was about to meet a powerful man of New York and shit was going to go down.

“Thank you for coming, Miss Levine,” Eric said as I slid into the corner booth and looked at him from across the table. “Would you like something to eat? Drink?”

“No, thank you,” I said, and threaded my fingers together on the tabletop. “Can you tell me what this is about, please?”

I had taken the past hour to practice my calm voice and prepare myself for anything. Eric sighed and opened a large folder containing a stack of papers.

“I have a few questions for you, but before we get started, I want to remind you this is confidential.”