Partners (Fire & Lies - One) (16 page)

“
I see,”
Chloe stated. Stepping into the room and noticing that a few of her
things were already in there, placed neatly upon surfaces.

“
You’ll
have everything you want here. In public, we put forward a united
front but in private, you can do as you please, as long as it never
interferes with our image or the company’s. When the time comes,
we’ll have children and they’ll carry on the Donovan-Goldsmith
name. It will be the dawn of a new era for the world of corporate
finance.” He waved his hand as if he was simply saying a rehearsed
speech but didn’t really care about what he was saying. It made
Chloe curious.

“
Why did
you agree to this, Sebastian? Why did you marry me? You obviously
don’t want me.”

He looked at
her, his eyes travelling from her face, down over the simple
wedding dress she still wore, to her feet and back up again. “Our
families had planned for us to marry all along. It made sense for
the two families to unite as one.”

“
But what
about what we wanted? This isn’t the dark ages. We could have said
no.”

“
Don’t you
get it, Chloe? It never mattered what we wanted. And it never will.
Our family name is our duty.” He reached out and placed his hand on
the door. “Good night, Chloe.”

With that, he
withdrew from her room, closing the door behind him and leaving her
on her own. Feeling anything but the blushing bride she was
supposed to be, she walked over to the bed, curled up in a ball,
hugging her knees to her chest, and that’s where she stayed,
letting sleep overcome her as she hoped that this time, she would
wake and it would all be a dream.

***

Waking with a
start, the room around her had grown dark. She wasn’t sure what
time it was, but when she heard someone’s voice, she realised it
was what woke her.

Climbing off
her bed, she walked to her door and peaked down the hall. There she
saw Sebastian talking with a man who was slightly shorter than him,
but much stockier. His skin was tanned and he appeared to be an
Islander of sorts. But the light was dim and she couldn’t make out
his features.

“
I told you
not to come here,” Sebastian whispered sharply. “Not yet.”

“
Where is
she?” the man asked.

“
She’s in
her room. I think she’s asleep.” He turned his head, looking down
the hall and Chloe tucked back inside her doorway, her heart
beating in her chest as she hoped she wasn’t seen.

“
Did you
fuck her?”

“
What?
Leah! No. I told you no. Is that why you came here? Fuck you’re a
jealous bastard,” he chuckled. It was a nice sound, something Chloe
hadn’t expected to come out of a man who had seemed to her, so
emotionless.

“
I don’t
like sharing.”

Chloe strained
her ears, trying to hear what they were saying, but they were
moving away from her. Checking down the hall, she could see a beam
of light coming from around the door to what she assumed was
Sebastian’s room. She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help
herself. She needed to see what was happening. Needed to hear what
they were saying. She’d just married this man and she didn’t know
anything about him.

Keeping close
to the wall, she gathered her long dress in her arms to quiet its
movement as she snuck along the hallway to take a peek.

She heard a
moan. And her eyes widened, her heart beating rapidly with nerves
as she paused and listened again. She felt like a spy, felt like
she was doing something wrong. But she couldn’t seem to make
herself go back. Curiosity drove her on.

She heard
hushed words. Gentle words. And she paused beside the door, barely
breathing as she moved, ever so slowly, to look through the small
gap where it hadn’t clicked shut.

From in the
darkened hallway, that line of light painted a yellow stripe down
Chloe’s face, highlighting her features as she saw. For some
reason, it shocked her and she didn’t understand why. For the
moment she saw them together, she knew. But seeing it. Seeing
exactly what was happening, still came as a surprise. So she
watched. Watched as the man Sebastian had called Leah, knelt on the
floor in front of him and took Sebastian’s member into his mouth,
his head moving back and forth in an erotic rhythm as soft groans
left Sebastian’s lips.

She watched.
Seeing the way Sebastian’s hands ran over the other man’s head and
clenched within his dark hair. And she watched, until his head
rolled back and he released a groan, shuddering in ecstasy.

“
Can I help
you ma’am?” a quiet voice asked from behind her, causing her to
spin around quickly, embarrassed to have been caught
peeking.

The voice
belonged to the housekeeper, Ms Prescot, who had moved into the
role after Sebastian became too old to require a nanny. She had
made it her life’s work to keep his proclivities away from his
father’s knowledge and now that he had been forced to marry, she
wasn’t about to let this new woman make things any worse for
him.

“
I…” Chloe
started, shaking her head. She had no explanation. She was spying
and she knew it.

Ms Prescot
reached out and quietly closed Sebastian’s door. “Perhaps you’d
like some help with that dress before I leave for the night. It
can’t be too comfortable for you, dear.”

“
I…I’ll be
fine…thank you,” Chloe whispered, her eyes darting toward the now
closed door as she quickly backed away and rushed back to her
room.

Quietly, she
closed her door, pressing her head against the cool wood as she
felt a great sorrow wash over her. She didn’t belong in that house.
She didn’t belong with that man. There were too many secrets in her
world and she hated every single one of them. She didn’t want this
life. She didn’t want any part of it. What the hell had she
done?

PRESENT,
7 days before the job

CHLOE LAYS
beside me, looking peaceful in her sleep, her dark blonde hair
falling in waves over the skin on her back. I let out a slow breath
and tuck my hands behind my head, looking up at the ceiling as I
think.

The last time
I woke beside her, I didn’t see her for three years and as much as
I’m glad I have her back, I can’t help but wonder for how long. She
seems so hell bent on doing this job. It’s a fool’s errand that
will land her exactly where her dad is–behind bars.

But I get why
she wants to do it, hell, if my dad was still alive and in the same
situation, I’d probably be doing this exact thing. But she’s not
experienced enough to pull this off. She needs more help than what
she’s asking for.

I just need to
decide whether I’m willing to give it. If we pull it off, I’ll be
more than compensated for the time and effort. But the problem is,
I’m not exactly wanting for money–more is always good. But one has
to weigh the risk against the reward…

I glance over
at her again, watching her back rise and fall with her breath as
she continues to sleep on her stomach, the blankets twisted around
her naked body. My cock hardens just looking at her, and I need to
look away or I won’t think this through. I’ll just wake her up and
fuck her again.

Personally,
I’d rather we both ditch this whole idea and spend the rest of our
lives free with the ability to fuck each other until we die. But
I’m pretty sure she’s not going to go for that, and in all honesty,
I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t help out. Chloe
is a stubborn woman and I know that she’d just go in there
regardless and probably unprepared. My help could be the difference
between success and failure.

I chew my lip
as I picture the interior of the bank. We’ll need to watch it for a
while and pick the best time of the day to go in there without
causing too much of a scene. The less people in there, the less the
risk of needing to hurt one of them. And banks aren’t the same as
they used to be. I wouldn’t be able to get into that safe without
someone to open it, without finding the same model and practising
on it…
shit,
I can’t believe I’m actually considering this.
I could fucking lose everything over this.

I look over at
Chloe again, noticing how her features are worrying as if she’s
having a dream that isn’t going so well. And I realise that this
girl next to me, a girl I tried to hate but couldn’t, has lost so
much more than I ever could. She’s surviving. But she isn’t free
and she won’t be until the right people are behind bars.

Suddenly, her
eyes fly open and she frowns, then rolls on her back reaching up
and touching the side of her head, her fingers gripping at her
hair, pressing into her scalp as if she’s trying to dull a
pain.

“Bad dream?” I
ask.

Inhaling
deeply, she looks at me, nodding. “Kind of. More like a
memory.”

“Obviously not
a good one.”

She shakes her
head no. “I dreamt of the day I had to give you up.”

I roll to my
side and run my hand gently down the side of her arm. “Tell me
about it,” I whisper. “Start from the beginning. I want to know
everything.”

“Everything?
It’s a rather long story.”

Reaching up, I
run my fingers through her hair. “I’ve got time.”

She closes her
eyes and nods, opening them again to meet mine before she speaks.
“I loved my father. Always admired his power and his vision, and
when I went to university, I worked my arse off to be the top of my
class and become the perfect successor to his role when it was time
for him to retire. I thought that’s what he wanted. I mean, who
doesn’t want their only child to take over the family business. But
he was old fashioned in some ways, and thought it better to leave
the big business to the men.

“For as long
as I can remember, Goldsmith and Donovan had been at loggerheads in
the business world, but personally, my father and Michael seemed to
get along. I think it was a case of keeping your friends close and
your enemies closer. They had always joked about marrying their
children to each other. And it seemed to have always been that–a
joke. But, just after I finished my degree, that joke became
serious, and it was suggested that Donovan and Goldsmith join
forces, and to make sure that the companies stayed within their
families it was decided that Sebastian Goldsmith and I would
marry.

“At the time,
it seemed like a genius idea. The union of two power families would
send our stock price through the roof and as the companies merged,
investor confidence would increase and we’d all stand to make a
huge amount of money and gain control of the market.

“Seb and I
agreed. In a way, we saw it coming. Kids tend to see the serious
side of adult jokes, so when they told us what they wanted, we
didn’t fight it. Wealthy families married wealthy families. Unions
rarely happened out of love and from where I stood, I was fairly
lucky. I could tolerate Seb, which is more than I could say for
some of my girlfriend’s match ups. In the end, we both looked at it
as a marriage of convenience. Both of us were more focused on our
careers and the family business to even consider falling in love
and having a family for real. I mean, all my life it had been the
company this and the company that. We lived it and we breathed it.
And we were willing to do whatever it took to make our own mark in
the world. So, the deal was struck and plans were made and
then…”

“Then you met
me,” I interrupt.

She nods.
“Then I met you. And everything changed. I went to my father, fully
intending to tell him that I didn’t want to go through with the
wedding. I wanted you. And I didn’t think the company’s profits
should come before my own happiness. But when I got to work, they
were already waiting for me.

“Michael and
Sebastian Goldsmith were with my father in his office and they
presented me with the collected footage of you and me. It was like
this collage of looks and sly touches. Things we probably didn’t
even know we were doing. I denied everything. Something about the
way they were confronting me made me wary and then they played the
rest of the video. It showed us…together–here–in your house.
Someone had been following us. They told me that the wedding had to
go ahead or they’d destroy you. I couldn’t let them.”

“And your
father was all right with this?”

She closes her
eyes and nods again. “He said that I’d made a promise and I had to
follow through–not everyone gets to live out their happy ending.
Then I was told to pack up my desk and go home to prepare for the
wedding. I felt like I’d been sold.”

Confusion
furrows my brow as I wonder how Terry Donovan could do that to his
daughter.

“Why aren’t
you angry with him?”

“I was. For a
while, I really hated him. But in the end, I realised that he was
just a man trying to do what he thought was best for his daughter.
He thought that joining the two companies would secure my future.
Goldsmith wanted to reign and he would never have stopped coming
for us. Joining seemed like the only option to make it stop.”

“But the
merger was just a ruse,” I add. “It was a way for them to see our
books and frame your father.”

“It was a way
for them to weaken him and take him down. Goldsmith smiles and
shakes your hand while reaching around with the other to stab you
in the back.”

“And he
couldn’t get enough stock for a hostile takeover while the company
was healthy but when the stock fell, he could buy it all and force
his hand.”

“Exactly.”

“But why? Why
was Goldsmith so intent on tearing your father down?”

“I wondered
that too. It turns out, it has a lot to do with my mother.”