“But that’s what all of this is about, right? We’re here because of Abigail.”
She hated the way he said her daughter’s name. She hated how he looked at her, his tongue flicking against his lip. She hated how easy it was for him to get under her skin after all theseyears, after all of the pain and trauma he put her through when she was young and naïve.Ethan thought he was naïve?Nothing compared to how Monica continued to beat herself up.
“If you free yourself from the Château, you won’t ever have to go back up there again. You can stay in the city, with your lovely Salon and your expanding urban projects. Besides, nobody does full-service work here, right? You won’t be in anybody’s crosshairs like you are up in the mountains. Let me take care of your girls. I know more people in politics than you.”
“What makes you think I don’t know enough people inpolitics?” Didn’t matter their affiliation or political background – Monica knew everyone at the local and state level. Some she had hosted fundraisers for. Others were customers and clients of her enterprises. And some were known quantities she kept an eye on because she knew they would love nothing more than to knock the Warrens down a peg.The kind who don’t like women who know their worth.
“Despite your chosen profession, you’re still a goody-two-shoes. Your idea of a political bribe is to hook a man up with your best girl on the roster. But you’d still charge him.”
Monica didn’t take the bait with that.
“I’m not selling the Château to anybody. I’d rather close up shop thansellit.” She let the emphasis on that word convey what she really meant.Sell it to you.There are a half dozen other people and companies she could approach first if she was that hard up. If Judith couldn’t buy her out at this point, then Ethan could do it. Or – and Monica wouldn’t think twice about it – she’d sell it all to the Monroes. They would know what to do with it if anything.
“You might not have a choice soon.” Jackson flicked the side of his daiquiri glass. “Just remember, I’ve given you an out.”
“And why should I take it? It’s almost like you set this up so I’d think I have no choice.”
“You know I’m not a big chess player, Monica. 3D, 4D… hmph, no matter how high you go, I’m still down here figuring out which piece is which. Do you think I would invest in something like this and the Château to get to you?” He didn’t let her formulate an answer. “There are so many other ways I could make your life hell if I wanted to focus my time on that. Which I don’t. I’ve got other things to do in the ten years since you left me. Although… it's fascinating to think that you and I could have been celebrating our twentieth anniversary this year.”
Even ten years was a decade too long with you.Monica didn’t try to paint those earlier years with Jackson as anything but how she had experienced them.Wonderful. Loving. Endearing.In retrospect, many of the signs of Jackson’s possessive narcissism were there, but it tookyearsfor it to come out in full. The things Monica overlooked in the beginning were too few and in between for her to know better at that young age. Now? She knew the lessons. She knew what to look out for. What tohearin his voice.
He would never admit to trying to get to her. He probably didn’t want her to notice.
“I’m not selling,” she reiterated. “And it’s probably a good idea for you to no longer invest in my business. I’m happy to return what money I have of yours left and, of course, forward your share of profits when they come in. But after that, please do not touch any of my portfolios again.”
“You can’t stop a man from investing in the best business opportunities, Monica.”
Watch me.“You’ve heard my answer. Kindly remove yourself from my business. The only reason I contacted you a couple of weeks ago was because you were the only one who could help me. Now it’s time for us to part again.”
“Before or after you threaten me with a gun once more?”
He’s needling me.Now that Jackson was no longer her Dom, he had to find new ways toget to her.Haunting her subconscious had been enough for ten years, but now he yearned to make her suffer in more… corporeal ways.The closer he gets to me, the closer he gets to…
Abigail.
She stood up. “I think I’ve given you plenty of myself over the years, Jackson. You don’t need the one thing I built from the ground up, too.”
He followed her to the door, plucking his hat off the bartop on his way by. “Forgive me for plundering that businesslike mind of yours, Monica.” When she least expected it, he picked up the pace and stood between her and the entrance to Le Salon. “If I had known you had it in you when you were with me, I would have put it to better use.”
She kept her neutral countenance on hand, although she wanted nothing more than to sneer at him. “You would have seen it more pertinent to keep me locked up in your mansion. I’d have been lucky to ever enter the city again.”
Her deadpan delivery caught him off guard, but Monica played a deeper, more dangerous game. So revealed when he advanced on her, pushing her up against the entryway wall.
Monica’s heart raced at a speed she knew wasn’t good for her. But when adrenaline reared its ugly head like this, she capitulated. What other choice did she have?He could do anything to me.God knew he probably thought about it. Fantasized about it.
And here was his chance. To show Monica who she was to him after all this time.
But he didn’t touch her. All Jackson did, as he made his point, was loom over her with thethreatof violence. Something he was good at. At least, leading up to the actual violence.
“Never forget that you were mine first,” he hissed. “And I was as much yours.”
She pulled her lips into her mouth before she said something stupid.
“No matter what life you build, no matter what image you project to this world, Monica…” His breath was hot on her face, toasting her lashes and licking her cheeks. “I was your first Dom. I was the man who taught you everything you ever wanted to know.Iam the reason you could build any of this crap to begin with. So, yes, I like to think I have a stake in it. It was our memories you’ve recreated here, after all.”
His knuckles grazed her cheek. She seized up against the wall, refusing to let his skin come close to her mouth. As her entire body radiated poison to ward him off, Jackson chuckled, as if her fear was still a game to him.
“I wonder what you will say to your little girl one day.” Jackson straightened his hat on his head and checked for his wallet in his pocket. “What will you tell her about me? You won’t be able to hide me from her forever.”
