Chapter 59

“You did what?!”

Lucien cleared his throat, pretending to type on his laptop.

Justin shoved it shut, narrowly missing Lucien’s fingers. “Why?!”

He looked gratefully at his uncrushed fingers and then glared at Justin. “That’s none of your business. I don’t come to your office and demand to know why you’ve fired your employees.”

“But Kendall’s not just an employee. She’s Sabrina’s best friend. She’s like a daughter to you!”

Lucien’s gut churned. He clenched his jaw, looking away. “Exactly. That’s why I had to fire her.”

“In which world does that make sense? You fired her because she’s like a daughter to you?”

“Dad, you fired Kendall?”

Justin moved aside, and they both looked at the door.

Sabrina stood there, staring in at them.

“Uncle Justin? Did Dad just say he fired Kendall?”

Lucien sighed. “That’s not—”

“Yup!” Justin said, crossing his arms. “Have a go at him, Sabrina. He deserves to feel your wrath.”

Lucien made a face, feeling the fight melt out of him as his daughter came marching across the room.

“Why?! We didn’t discuss it!”

He sighed. “I don’t need to discuss that with you, Sabrina. Your opinion has absolutely no value when it comes to how I run my company.”

She huffed. “But it’s Kendall! She’s your favourite! Why would you fire her?”

“You think I don’t know that you placed her there like some sort of sentinel to watch over me? Like some CCTV?”

Sabrina blinked. “Kendall told you?”

“No, because she’s weirdly loyal to you, but it doesn’t take much to figure it out. The next time you interfere with my work, Sabrina, it won’t end with a warning.”

She scowled, crossing her arms. “You have no idea how horrible you are.”

He simply stared at her. “You stopped trying to get investors for your new company. Because you made a deal with Liam Ghates and got him to invest. What did you offer him in exchange?”

Dead silence.

Her face slowly paled, her eyes widening. “W… what?”

“You want to call me horrible?” he muttered angrily. “I’m not the one giving up my friend to a creep… for money.”

She swallowed hard. “Liam’s not a creep. He really likes Kendall, and she likes him too! You know nothing, they have so much history.”

He opened his mouth, but she spun on her heel and marched out of the room, leaving him there, seething.

Justin blinked, frowning. “You weren’t being an asshole when you said that Liam kid’s a creep?”

“It’s like he’s obsessed with her,” he muttered. “Doesn’t take her no for an answer.”

“Kendall lives alone?”

“She’s staying at a hotel.”

“Holy shit. Why?”

He sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t know, man. I’m trying not to get too involved.”

“Waiting for her mysterious family to intervene and help her?” He scoffed, grabbing his jacket. “Then you might as well be waiting for the girl to get seriously hurt, with no help.”

Lucien looked away, hating how true those words are.

“I don’t know what you need to do,” Justin said, turning to the door. “But you need to get Kendall to look past what a jerk you’ve been and agree to go to D.C. for us. Unless you want Christina to get robbed blind by her partners.”

With that, he left the office, leaving Lucien to stew in silent anger and overall misery.

He was feeling an odd mixture of guilt and anger. Anger at Sabrina for the way she treated Kendall. Anger at Kendall for allowing herself to be treated that way.

But then the guilt came in and told him he had no right to feel that way since he was no better than either one of them.

But he’d put a stop to it, hadn’t he? He wasn’t complete trash.

But now Justin, that donkey, wanted him to go back to the very thing he was fleeing. How would he face Kendall after last night? And, worse, he’d have to ask her to do something so shady for them.

Clenching his jaw in annoyance, he stood and started pacing behind the table.

He couldn’t do it. He had to find a way around it. Maybe he could make a call to Avery, the private club he had a membership in, and find someone he could trust.

There was only one thing wrong with that plan. Avery didn’t have working girls like other clubs. Every member was entertained by other members, and everyone who coupled up did so with whoever they were attracted to within the club. Of course, some people were in it just to make friends or to socialise.

Lucien had been introduced by his late father-in-law when he’d needed to meet with someone who would only meet him at Avery. Once that deal was done, he’d found it bothersome to cancel his membership, and then he’d found use for the club when the women started taking interest in him.

It was an elite club, so all those women were anything from famous actresses to politicians and the daughters of billionaires. Giving them enough information to help control the Al-Siddiq group would be dangerous, as any one of them could make personal use of the information.

He paused, tilting his head. But there was one woman. Someone who belonged exclusively to Jon, a very high-ranking member of the club. Apparently, she didn’t mingle with others unless she had something to gain from it, so not many people trusted her.

But Lucien had spoken to her on a few occasions, and he found that, not only was she deeply compassionate, she was also the most honest woman he’d ever met in that club.

They’d had a long conversation over some whiskey one night. It was on his wife’s birthday and, as usual, he was depressed. She’d been equally depressed and, together, they’d sat talking about their regrets and wishes.

That was when he’d learnt her reason for joining the club. Seven years ago, she’d left an exclusive gentlemen’s club in Miami to become Jon Oliver’s lover, solely for the reason that he was a notorious kingpin. His wealth and power got her into circles she’d never frequented before, and that was exactly why she’d chosen him.

Eight years ago, a girl had vanished, she said. She blamed herself for the disappearance of the girl and had entered the world of the cruel and wealthy with hopes of finding that girl. So, she spied on the rich people around her, following every lead she could find.

It was a secret, of course, one she’d begged Lucien to keep when she’d sobered up. The rich were an unforgiving bunch, and once they found out she wasn’t to be trusted, they’d ruin her life.

It had been two years since they’d last spoken. This was Lucien’s chance to call in a favour. Since he knew her secrets, she was probably the only woman he could trust with this. Anything to avoid sending Kendall. To avoid bringing her close to him again.

Picking up his phone, he dialled a number and waited.

The call was answered.

“Lucien Sinclair,” a feminine voice said. “What a pleasant surprise.”

He sighed. “Hello, Karma.”

There was a pause. “I’ve asked you not to call me that.”

“Right. My bad. Hello, Carmell. I… I need a favour.”