Buttons and Shame (Buttons 4)

“Of course. Any preferences?”

“I trust your expertise.” I walked up to the third floor and checked my phone again, expecting Cane to call me at any moment. I was a very paranoid man after everything I’d lived through. Once something was out of the ordinary, it was difficult for me to ignore it.

Before speaking to Button, I walked into my office and called him.

Cane answered on the second ring. “Hey.”

“Everything alright?” I poured a glass of scotch and sat behind my desk.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You didn’t call me last night.” I didn’t hide my annoyance or my accusation. It was unlike him not to check in with me.

“Does that mean you were worried about me?” he teased. “Pearl swears you have a soft side. Maybe she was right.”

His teasing nature assured me he was perfectly alright. There weren’t any problems with the deal. Calling me had just slipped his mind. “I only have a soft side for her, so don’t expect to see it.”

“I wasn’t counting on it.”

“So, what happened?”

Cane immediately launched into business mode. “I told Tristan the price, and he said he needed twenty-four hours to think about it.”

Our clients didn’t waste our time like that. If they wanted our services, they knew they had to pay top dollar for it. “You think he’s playing games?”

“No. Tristan has always been good to us. I think there’s something else going on.”

“Like?” I sipped my scotch.

“I don’t know. But I’m staying at the hotel until I have dinner with him again.”

The fire wasn’t burning in the fireplace because Lars only lit it when I asked him to. Now that Pearl was my wife, I rarely came in here anymore. Most of the time I ended up doing work in bed while she slept beside me. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I left pretty late last night.”

I suspected something was bothering him. I could feel his consternation over the phone. “You aren’t telling me something.”

“I had an encounter with one of his slaves. Can’t stop thinking about her.”

Cane couldn’t resist a beautiful woman under any circumstances. I’d seen him pick up whores right in front of me. Sex was on his mind more often than money. He and I were opposites in that way. “Get a go?”

“I fooled around with her. But I didn’t fuck her. She’s Tristan’s woman. Who knows what she has?”

Good point. “Then why are you still thinking about her?”

Cane usually talked too much, not too little. But right now, he didn’t have much to say. “I’ll call you after I speak with Tristan again. I’m sure he’ll agree to the terms. He didn’t try to negotiate.”

“Because Barsettis don’t negotiate.”

Cane hung up.

I downed the rest of my glass before I left my office and walked into the bedroom. My dark furniture had been replaced with pieces in a lighter wood color. Now there were vases of flowers everywhere and new paintings on the walls. The bedside lamps had been replaced, and there was a framed picture of the two of us on our wedding day. I didn’t care for the changes she’d made, but I didn’t make a fuss about it.

Didn’t care enough to.

“Button?” I loosened my tie as I walked inside. The bathroom door was open, and she was nowhere to be seen. I scanned the room and noticed the handwritten note on my nightstand next to the picture frame.

Husband,

I went into town to do some shopping. I’ll be back before dinner.

Love,

Your wife

Her tender use of husband and wife didn’t dim my anger. She went on an adventure alone in a country she still knew nothing about, and she didn’t have the courtesy to give me a heads-up. She did it on purpose because she knew I would never let her go. That just pissed me off more.

I pulled up her tracker on my phone to see where she was. After a glance, I realized she was in Florence, the next major town close to my estate. I zoomed in farther and found her inside a clothing boutique.

Did she really need clothes?

I stormed back out and down the stairs. I didn’t bother telling the valet to get my car ready. I was in too much of a hurry to wait for anything at the moment.

It seemed like Lars knew exactly where I was at any given time because he stepped out of the kitchen as if he expected me. “Your Grace, are you leaving?”

“Yes.” I didn’t break my stride or even look at him. “I should be back within an hour.”

“Dinner is still on, then?”

I may not have an appetite once I was through with Button, but she probably would. “Yes.” I got into my car and took off, heading down the lonely road to Florence thirty minutes away. I yanked my tie off and tossed it into the passenger seat beside me and drove with one hand. I didn’t call her because I wanted to catch her off guard, to prove to her that anyone could sneak up on her at any time.