Big Ben Read online

Not that I was one to judge, but very likely I’d want to disinfect myself after leaving here. We definitely would not have had fun. “Yeah, next time, love.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  I made a mental note to never step foot in there again.

  Hilton glared at me. “What is it you want? Why are you ruining my perfectly good evening?”

  “Well, I needed your attention.”

  “Out with it.”

  “There’s a certain rumor going around the Elite that you are one of the Five.”

  He laughed. “Is that why you’re here? I already told Van Linsted I’m not. So you’re wasting your fucking time.”

  Fuck. He’d beaten us to Hilton?

  I didn’t know how far the Five would go to protect their identities. I only knew that I still had to try to get his vote. And if not his vote, then I needed to at least try to get his thoughts on who might be in the Five.

  “Look, I’m not trying to jam you up. But this is vital. I don’t know what Van Linsted said to you, but if you’re like me and several other members of the Elite, the idea of another Van Linsted having control of our future for years to come is, at best, concerning.”

  He sniffed and drained his glass. “You’re barking up the wrong tree, lad. I can’t help you.”

  I nodded. “I understand. And honestly, I get it. You have a life to protect. But we are at an impasse. We simply cannot allow the Van Linsteds to gain more power, so we need to do what we can to remove them.”

  He frowned at me. “You don’t seem to understand, Covington. Why did you never learn the lesson that your father did? You can’t just be unhappy about the scenario. You have to provide an alternative solution. One everyone would support.”

  “And get the Five to endorse him?”

  “Exactly. No one can back a horse they don’t know.”

  I took out the envelope that was in my pocket and handed it over. “What I want is your support against Bram Van Linsted regardless of the candidate.” I could see now that we’d have to offer up an alternative.

  He laughed. “Again, I hear you saying things that you want. But what do I get?” He looked inside the envelope. There was one photo… of his son. He sputtered. “Where the hell did you find this?”

  “Doesn’t matter where I found it. The point is that you have a child. A child with a woman who supposedly is your wife. Funny thing is this wife is young… so young.”

  Even in the dim light of the club, I could tell he’d gone ashen. “Why are you doing this?”

  I blinked at him. “None of this information needs to come to light. Your wife, the one with the money, need not know about your other wife in Spain who has a child. She doesn’t need all that pain.”

  He sighed. “You don’t know what you’re playing at, boy.”

  “I think I have an idea.”

  He frowned. “I can’t give you blanket approval on a candidate.”

  “Yes, you can. You just know that it’s not going to be Van Linsted. Adam, this is what we need. Either you’re with us or you’re not. And if you’re not, well, I’m sure you can guess what will happen.”

  He stared at me and then back at the envelope.

  “It’s not what it looks like.”

  I placed my hand on my chest. “I swear I’m not judging. I’m sure there’s a very good reason you shagged a sixteen-year-old girl and knocked her up. I’m sure there’s a reason her family doesn’t seem to know that you’re already married. I’m sure there are reasons for all of this, but I don’t care about any them. I just want your support. Do I have it?”

  He swallowed, glowering at me. “Fine.”

  I nodded. “One more question. When Van Linsted came asking for your support, what did you tell him?”

  “He hasn’t asked yet. He called for an appointment.”

  “Excellent. So what will you tell him?”

  “I’ll tell him that I can’t be bribed. I’ll tell him what I’ve already told him, and you, that I’m not one of the Five.”

  “Excellent. It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Hilton.”

  “And I have your word? The word of a gentleman, that you won’t expose me?”

  The man made me ill. Those poor women, both his wives… I didn’t know them personally, but they didn’t deserve his deception.

  “On my honor as a gentleman, I will not be the one to share these details. But if my team found it, it’s entirely possible someone else will.”

  He drained his glass. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

  I didn’t bother looking at him as I left. I was pretty sure I would never wash the taste out of my mouth. But at least we had won his support, and that was all that mattered.

  Ben

  Knowing what had to happen and actually making it happen were two very different things. Bridge had finally managed to secure a Van Linsted meeting. I didn’t particularly think he was one for an Academy Award, but we were all counting on him to sell it.

  East was in my office as we listened. Bridge’s comm device was loud and clear.

  He’d greeted Van Linsted in the lobby, buttered him up, and said it was great that they were really talking after all these years.

  Van Linsted wasted no time with a personal jibe at me. “Well, I figure we would have forged a stronger relationship a lot sooner if you had chosen your friends more wisely.”

  Bridge’s response was immediate. “I hope you don’t hold Ben’s actions against me. Ben and I aren’t as close as we used to be. His recklessness has become a problem, as has his lack of foresight.” His lies rolled off his tongue smoothly, and I could only be proud of him. He was good, better than I had given him credit for.

  He managed to pull off that cool air of disdain and indifference, which was exactly what we wanted. We wanted it to seem like he gave two fucks and that he was willing to do whatever was called for.

  Bram’s voice was smooth as they rode in the elevator. “You know, I will admit, I was unsure of you for the Elite. But you have proved yourself more than capable of being the right kind of man.”

  “Well, I certainly worked to get here.”

  My gut churned. Once a wanker always a wanker. I forced myself to listen as Van Linsted both stroked Bridge’s ego and simultaneously put him down.

  Ten minutes in, even East had grown weary of the bullshit as Van Linsted made his pitch for why he was a fit for Director Prime.  “Do you feel sick too?”

  I slid him a glance. “Yeah, it doesn’t feel brilliant.”

  Finally, when their phones had been in close proximity a few minutes, East hit Compile to see if the program he’d put on Bridge’s phone had done its job. We’d hopefully be able to get more valuable information from Bram’s phone.

  “It’s going to take a minute. After it’s copied, I’ll still need to decrypt it. Don’t you have to get ready for the Blake Boynton meeting?”

  “I’m meeting him a few blocks from here at six.”

  “I can’t believe he took a meeting.”

  “I was surprised too. I have a feeling he’s not one of the Five, but we need to be sure.”

  “We do. You’re caught up on the file?”

  “Yeah. Basic embezzlement from the family trust. But leverage is leverage.”

  He nodded, and I stared back. Finally, he just kicked me out. “Mate, get off my tits. I’ll call you if I get anything.”

  I took a left out of East’s office and was surprised to find Olivia barreling down the hall toward me. “Good, there you are. I have been looking for you.”

  My brows lifted. I had to make a visible effort to calm the erratic uptick in my heart rate and kill any interest from my dick. “You have? Is there a problem?”

  “I wanted to talk more about Peterman, you know, the meeting and how it went.”

  I frowned. “Okay, why?”  I planted my feet and it seemed like she was trying to back me up. “What’s going on? Do you want to discuss it in your office?”

&nbs
p; Her eyes went wide. “Um, my office?”

  Her body language said she wanted me to back up, like she was trying to herd me in the direction she wanted. “Yes, your office. Or is there somewhere else you’d rather talk? Does my office work better?”

  She glanced behind her. “Yep, why don’t we do that.” She physically tried to turn me, and I had to laugh because she wasn’t getting very far.

  I lifted a brow. “What’s going on?”

  She gesticulated as she spoke. “You know, just... let’s go this way. There’s something I wanted to show you. It’s at the other end of the hallway.”

  It took another moment before I realized she was trying to steer me away from Bridge’s office. She knew who was in there and didn’t want me to blow up.

  “But I wanted to go this way. I wanted to ask Bridge something.” I was a prick. I knew I was, but I couldn’t help having a laugh with her.

  “No. Honestly, you’re the smartest of the London Lords. I’m sure you don’t need his input.”

  Now I knew she was shitting with me. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Oh, absolutely have always said so.”

  I finally allowed her to turn me around so that we were walking toward my office.

  I couldn’t help laughing at her antics. She was a badass in the board room and a complete spaz out of it. Also, I wanted to kiss her.

  What? No. No kissing.  The fuck was wrong with me? We were in a mountain of shit. I should be focused on keeping her away from this mess.

  Yeah, there was that. Also, she worked for me, and likely, the Elite knew about her, so kissing her was a big fat no-no. It would just set the target on her directly, and I wasn’t going to be responsible for that.

  I leaned close, letting her tease of perfume dull my rational senses. “Hey, Olivia?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Is there a reason you don’t want me going down to Bridge’s office?”

  She swallowed hard. “Yes. Bram Van Linsted is in there with him. I think they have an appointment. Given how you two reacted the last time you saw each other, I figured it would be ugly. And you don’t want your employees seeing you get into a fistfight, so I’m trying to take you away. Anywhere but there basically.”

  I grinned down at her. She really was very cute. “Fine. Where are you taking me?”

  She blinked in confusion. “What?”

  “You said you were going to take me away so I don’t lose my shit over Van Linsted. Take me somewhere.”

  “Oh, right.” Her brow furrowed slightly as she tried to think. And then away went the worry lines and that brilliant smile appeared. “Follow me.”

  It scared the shit out of me that my immediate response was to follow her anywhere.

  15

  Livy

  Why wasn’t he mad?

  I would be mad. I would be so livid if Telly started having secret meetings with my arch nemesis. Amy Sorensen from the second grade who told everyone my hair was like a Brillo pad. But no, Ben seemed cool as a cucumber. Not fussed at all. Why not?

  He waited until we passed the square that sat kitty corner to the hotel before he leaned over. “So, you were worried about me?”

  Jackass. I frowned. “No. Just so happens that I like my new job, pain-in-the-ass boss notwithstanding. It would be a shame if he got put in jail and then I lost my new gig. I’m being self-serving, really.”

  His low chuckle was like warm whiskey by the fireplace on a winter’s night. Warm and crackling, sending a chaser of heat through my core. “So, you’re enjoying the new gig?”

  “Jessa is amazing. She’s a powerhouse. I mean, she lives on two different continents and handles it with a husband and royal duties. I dig her so much. Can you explain to me how it is you know a princess?”

  His smile was quick. “Starting to believe in my magical abilities, aren’t you?”

  “No. Never that.”

  “Of course not.” His gaze searched mine, leaving tracks of heat everywhere it touched. “How are you doing?”

  That was a good question. Was his question about the job or about my emotional state after our night out? It was such a loaded question. It had been a couple of weeks since the attempted mugging, and I was mostly normal if normal meant that sleep was a distant memory, but I was sure that would come back at some point. “I’m fine.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t lie. You don’t look fine. You look tired.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “You are the worst. How is it someone hasn’t told you yet that you can’t tell a woman she looks tired?”

  I watched with rapt attention as his big shoulders moved up and down in a shrug. Even though he had a lean frame, his shoulders were set wide. I had never noticed anyone’s shoulders before, but I certainly noticed his.

  “I have a thing about honesty. I didn’t say you still weren’t stunning, but you do look tired.”

  “I’m fine. Everything is just peachy.”

  So far from peachy.

  Dexter had his own bad couple of nights. He’d been so drunk last night he hadn’t made it to the toilet… or the bedroom.

  I’d found him asleep on the bathroom floor, so I’d had to wake him, toss him in the shower, and then clean up the bathroom. Not like I was sleeping anyway, but it would have been great to have pretended.

  At least we’d finally been able to pick up a new prescription for him last night, so he didn’t complain of pain this morning. Sooner or later, I was going to have to have a huge come-to-Jesus talk with him.

  But it was easier to be at work, easier to deal with challenging new responsibilities. Coward.

  Easier to run.

  I didn’t want to run. Hell, I wanted to stay and make it work, which is why I’d done it for so long. But God, it was hard. Too hard. I was getting to that point that I was losing so much of myself and had no idea where the old me had gone.

  “Penny for your thoughts?”

  I didn’t realize I’d sunk into a reverie. “No, it’s all good.”

  “So, you are having fun?”

  “Yes, and you know, in case I didn’t say it the other night, thank you.”

  “I wish you’d told me about the earlier incident.”

  “What was I supposed to say? You’d just become my boss. I didn’t want to share with you that I’d been mugged. You know the deal; don’t be a problem child.”

  “You’re not a problem child. I take offense to someone trying to hurt you.” He spoke through gritted teeth.

  “Yeah? Why is that?” He didn’t even really know me.

  “Well, considering you blackmailed yourself into the job, I want to protect my investment.”

  “I did not blackmail you.” How could he still think that? It was only after I caught the corner of his lips turning up that I realized he was kidding. “Are you just trying to get a rise out of me?”

  “It’s so easy, honestly, you have got to work on your poker face.” We walked past a bustling boutique of women fighting over bargain-bin clothing. “Can you tell me more about the thing with the ashes? What were you doing?”

  “My mom passed away six months ago. Cancer.”

  “You were saying. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine. I mean, not fine, but anyway, I haven’t been able to spread her ashes yet. Every time I even think about it, I get locked up. She was so full of life. And I’ve been trying to finish her book by the one-year anniversary of her death. In Ghana, the one-year mark is a huge celebration of someone’s life. I’d love to have it done by then.”

  He stopped right in front of the La Perla store, and it was all I could do not to stare at the display behind him. “You’re writing a book?”

  “Well, she was. I’m just trying to finish it for her. It’s kind of a fictionalized true crime.”

  He blinked at me several times as if only just now seeing me. “That’s incredible.”

  I shrugged. “Yeah well. According to my therapist, it’s also helping me cope with the grief. But sometimes I wonder
when I’ll feel better, you know?” It was far too easy to talk to him.

  “Well, that’s... I’m pretty sure that’s normal. I think it took me years before I came to terms with my mother’s death.”

  My heart cracked in two for him. “How old were you?”

  “I was eight. The worst part was watching my father, who had never been overly affectionate, completely shut down. She was the bridge, you know. Between us. And it’s like without her there, we had no idea how to talk. We grew further and further apart, and our relationship deteriorated. And let’s just say lots of mistakes have been made along the way.”

  “Families are complicated. Mom was always working. My dad died when I was a kid. A car accident. And from that point on, she was always on the move. I needed to have a bag packed and ready to go for whenever a quick move would happen.”

  “That must have been rough on you.”

  “It was. But I thought, you know, she needed me. I think she threw herself into work. She would take any assignment. I spent a lot of time in embassies around the world, never really getting to explore or see the countries we lived in. It wasn’t until she was much older and she retired that she decided she was going to live life a different way, you know? Enjoy it. That’s when she and I got really close.”

  “I’m glad you got that time with her when you were older, when you could really talk. That must have been really special.”

  I nodded and tried to blink away the tears at the same time. “Yeah, it was.”

  “So, since I didn’t get to interview you, tell me, who is Olivia Ashong?”

  I laughed then. “Well, my friends call me Livy, and there’s not that much to tell. Like I said, I was a diplomatic brat. Went to Uni, partially in the States, then when Mom retired and opted to settle in the UK, I transferred here to be with her and finished school at LSE. It was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. I fell in love with London. I fell in love with travel and food and, I don’t know, it was just a very impressionable time for me.”

  “Well, for a Yank, you fit in decently.”

  I took offense to that. “What? I’m almost more a Londoner than you are. I doubt you know the London I know.”