My glass is placed back down on the table and I concentrate solely on the five-course meal that I’m about to devour. There’s nothing worse than these business dinners, especially when the eyes of all Lucien’s partners are on me. Ever since my body started to change, I’ve noticed it getting worse and worse. The way they look at me…it’s almost as though they know some sort of dirty secret, but it’s fine. These dinners never last long, at least, my role. I’m only expected to show my face during dinner and then I can scram while Lucien and Maria continue to entertain.
Two hours later, I lay on my stomach in the very center of my bed. My legs swing back and forth as I look down at my phone, chuckling as I read over my best friend’s text. Luce and I have been joined at the hip since the day I started school. She’s everything to me and I don’t see a day where that would ever change.
My hair hangs in wet ringlets over my shoulder, dampening my bed as my music plays softly in the background. A knock sounds at the door and I reluctantly look up from my phone to see one of our housekeepers peeking her head through the door. “Excuse me, Miss Skylah,” she says, bowing her head. “Your presence is requested in your father’s study.”
My jaw clenches. I hate it when they refer to him as my father. He’s not my father. I had one of those and he was brutally murdered in front of my eyes. I shake my head. “I’m in my pajamas, I can’t see him now.”
“Miss…,” she cringes. “I insist.”
I let out a sigh. In other words, she’d lose her job if she didn’t come through with his request and despite this request being all on me, she’s the one who’d suffer the consequences. I pull myself up off my bed and toss my phone down.
“Do you know what he wants?” I ask as she holds the door for me.
“I’m sorry, Miss. I do not.”
Of course. I don’t know why I’d ask such a stupid question.
Wanting to get this over and done with, I skip past her and throw myself down the stairs. I never got a chance to respond to Luce’s text and if I don’t respond within three seconds, she’s bound to send another, demanding an explanation. She’s going to make an incredible CEO, boss bitch one day.
I hurry through the big house while doing my best not to run. Maria will have a hissy-fit if I’m caught running inside, you know, all that expensive china that was worth so much more than me. She’s probably more worried that I’d run into her and cause one of her fake titties to burst.
I get to my father’s study and throw the door open only to find he’s not alone. There’s a man here, one of his business partners from dinner. They’re both sucking on cigars and the room is filled with smoke. It’s a freaking hotbox in here, it’s disgusting. The smell instantly fills my lungs and I struggle to breathe without succumbing to a coughing fit.
“What are you wearing?” Lucien demands in distaste, standing from his expensive chesterfield couch as his eyes rake up and down my body with strange darkness that puts me on edge.
I glance down, unsure of why he sounds so put off. It’s not like he’s never seen me in my pajamas before. It’s cold out so I’ve got my winter pajamas on. I’m completely covered up and respectable. I don’t understand. “They’re my pajamas,” I explain. “I was just about to go to bed when you called for me.”
Lucien looks positively pissed off but when his business partner stands and looks over me, the anger seems to fade. The man walks forward, his eyes still sweeping over my body, taking in my face, my neck, my new curves and making me feel more uncomfortable than any fourteen-year-old girl should ever be made to feel. The man holds his hand out and I reluctantly take it, knowing Lucien would have something to say if I was to decline. “It’s a pleasure to officially meet you, Skylah,” the man says, hungrily.
I nod while glancing at Lucien in confusion. What’s going on here? “Um, thank you,” I say, trying to play the polite daughter role.
“Skylah, this is Marcus Mahony,” Lucien says as though that name should mean something to me. “Marcus and I have been in discussion about the future of our families and you’re lucky that he seems to have taken a liking to you.”
I shake my head, not understanding why dread is filling me as I release Marcus’s hand. He steps around me, circling me like I’m some kind of prey. “Umm…okay.”
Marcus steps into my back and places his hand at my shoulder. He trails it down my back and skims it over my ass, making me jump away. My eyes bug out of my head and I look to Lucien for some help. Why is this man touching me? That’s not okay. “She’s responsive,” Marcus comments, glancing up at Lucien who nods in agreement.