Chapter 70
Things had been hectic at Hawksley Group these past few days.
To clear his schedule for the wedding day, Justin had intentionally packed all his meetings and work into this tight window.
He sat behind his desk, the surface cluttered with paperwork, exhaustion flickering in his usually sharp eyes. As he lifted a hand to rub his brow, a knock sounded at the office door.
He raised his voice just enough to be heard. “Come in.”
His assistant entered, tablet in hand, but Justin spoke before he could say a word: “No more work today.”
He glanced at his watch–six o’clock. He was thinking about inviting Edith to dinner.
If he waited any longer, she might have already eaten. And considering how hard it was to get her to agree to dinner in the first place, he didn’t want to risk missing the chance.
While Justin stared at the message window on his phone, searching for the right words to make the invitation sound casual, his assistant finally broke the silence, sounding hesitant. “Mr. Hawksley, it’s not about work.
It’s about Miss Sumner.”
The assistant was always astute, knowing exactly what would catch
Justin’s attention–and what to monitor.
Justin arched an eyebrow. “About Edith? What is it?”
The assistant handed him the tablet. One look at the large, clear photo filling the screen, and Justin’s expression darkened.
The assistant spoke carefully. “I just saw this online a minute ago–Miss Sumner’s photo was posted. The man’s face is blurred out, but it’s
obviously targeted at her. The caption is nasty, accusing her of seducing a married man and all that…”
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He hesitated, then asked, “Should I have it taken down?”
Justin’s eyes narrowed, his voice suddenly icy. “Of course. In the future, you don’t need to ask about things like this–just make sure nothing that exposes her privacy ever gets out. And negative coverage? Even less acceptable.”
The assistant nodded and hurried to follow orders.
It was an easy enough problem to fix–the important thing was knowing exactly how Mr. Hawksley wanted it handled. With his stance so clear, who in their right mind would dare cross him?
As the assistant moved to take the tablet back, Justin stopped him. “Leave it. Come get it later.”
Not quite sure why Justin wanted to keep the device, the assistant awkwardly withdrew his hand and left.
When the door closed, Justin’s face grew even grimmer.
He stared at the tablet. The photo showed two people sitting face–to–face in a café. The man’s face was pixelated, but Justin recognized Beckett instantly. He’d watched this man from afar for so long that he could pick him out by the shape of his hands alone.
Beckett was holding Edith’s hand. The atmosphere between them was intimate, unmistakable.
Justin pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, his brows drawing together in a tangled knot. Even his heartbeat felt off–kilter, skipping a beat as anxiety tangled with guilt.
Had Beckett confessed everything to Edith? Was Edith planning to go
back to him?
The thought made Justin’s composure crack. A wave of fear and panic spread through him, so overwhelming that for a moment, he could hardly think at all.
Right now, even the smallest disturbance felt like a threat.
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When the assistant returned to retrieve the tablet, he found a different Mr. Hawksley than he’d ever seen before.
In the assistant’s mind, Justin Hawksley was the epitome of decisiveness, a force of nature–never shaken, never uncertain.
But this–this was something else. Justin looked lost, defeated.
Annoyed by the sudden intrusion, Justin quickly masked his feelings, his eyes narrowing before slipping back into the controlled calm he wore in public.
The assistant grabbed the tablet and made a quick, silent exit, not daring
to utter a word.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.