Page 22 of The Lies That Shatter
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout like that. It was a text from my husband. He’s had an issue with one of my staff members, and I will need to deal with it as soon as we get in. I hope you don’t mind. It won’t derail our evening too much, I promise,” she says, turning to me with what I think is supposed to be a sweet smile. But as the anger is clearly still bubbling away under the surface, it looks more like a grimace.
Even though my heart lies elsewhere, I can admit that Mel is a classic beauty. Anyone looking at her can see that. But as she tries to hide her rage and replace it with a fake smile, she’s never looked uglier. It’s like a glimpse beneath the surface, and it has me questioning if Mel’s really the nice person I think she is.
Squeezing her thigh in reassurance, I throw a quick smile her way before turning back to look at the road. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is it not something your husband could deal with?” She’s about to answer me when another thought pops into my head. “Wait, isn’t your husband supposed to be away? That’s why I was going to spend the night.”
Fuck, I really don’t want to have to delay things any more than I already have. Tonight was the perfect night, and I don’t know when I will get this type of opportunity again.
“Mortimer deals with his staff, and I deal with mine. It’s the way it’s always been. They’re employed by me, and it’s my rules they’re supposed to follow. So I have to deal with it,” she snaps, her voice sounding about as short as her temper.
Whatever the member of staff has done wrong, it’s really pissed Mel off. I breathe a silent sigh of relief at the knowledge that tonight is McKenna’s night off, so it can’t be her that’s about to get her ass handed to her by Mel. Which is good, as I’m not sure I could just stand there and watch her being spoken down to.
My mind is pulled back when Mel takes my hand off her thigh and laces our fingers together, squeezing a little until I turn my head to face her, just for a second. I can see she’s smiling at me, her eyes sparkling the way they did when she was flirting with me back at the restaurant.
“You don’t have to worry about Mortimer coming home early. I would have taken you back to my place, whether he’s home or not. We have waited long enough… I want you. Tonight is our night. I just need to sort out the distractions first, and then I’m all yours. And I promise to show you just how sorry I am for all the interruptions.” Her voice is practically purring, and I put on my sexiest smirk so she’ll think her words are affecting me the way she wants them to.
In reality, my cock is as limp as a wet lettuce, and nothing about this woman will change that. There’s only one blonde who it works for, and it’s definitely not Mel.
“I like the sound of that,” I growl, trying to ignore the bile rising in my throat.
You’d think after years of practice, I’d be used to whoring myself out by now. But sadly, it never gets any easier. Thankfully, we make small talk for the short remainder of the drive, flirting a little to continue building the tension.
Once we arrive and Mel instructs me where to park, I get out of the car and quickly make my way round to her side, when I realise she’s not going to exit until I open the door for her. I’m really not a fucking gentleman, but I need to remember that I’m pretending to be one.
Mel takes my hand and leads me up to the front of the house. I try to take in as much of my surroundings as possible. When we first pulled up to the gate, a security guard had me open my window so that Mel could confirm who we were. A full check of my vehicle was undertaken, despite Mel firmly objecting that it wasn’t necessary.
I was actually pleased, as it enabled me to see into the security room, and to get a look at roughly how many guards they have working—which, from what I can see, is a lot less than expected.
Remembering that a normal guy would probably be freaked out by so much security, I turn to Mel as she leads me into the house. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many security guards. I mean, I knew you were rich. I can see how big this bloody house is, but I didn’t know you were so wealthy you needed this much security.”
Mel chuckles, looking almost proud as she talks about her wealth. “No, these aren’t all here because of wealth, hun. My husband has an important job, but not everyone likes the work he does. There’s always someone who wants to take away what we have, so we have protection to make sure that doesn’t happen. You can never be too careful,” she explains.
Does she really believe that? Or is she hiding the fact her husband is a monster with some very shady business dealings? I’m still holding out hope she doesn’t know, but there’s a small flicker of light inside telling me that may not be the case. I think there’s a chance she may be ignoring her husband’s illegal activities, in exchange for the lifestyle she gets to lead. If that’s the case, I won’t hesitate in letting Bree deal with her right alongside her husband.
The butler opens the door, and Mel practically throws her coat at him without uttering a single word, before pulling me towards her side of the house. I turn my head to look downthe opposite corridor and see a collection of security guards all crowding around one door. Obviously, Whitlock’s having an important meeting, as there are more men in the hall than I saw outside the property.
Once we reach Mel’s living room, I expect her to stop, but she continues pulling me towards her father’s room. She slams the door open, not caring about how loud she’s being, or if her dad might be resting. Her anger is back, and as soon as I catch a flash of beautiful long blonde hair, my heart sinks when I realise who her fury is aimed at.
“Do you care to explain what the fuck you were doing on my husband’s side of the house, McKenna?” Mel snaps, and I keep my eyes firmly on the floor.
I can feel my own anger bubbling under the surface at the way Mel is talking to Mac. She has no right to speak to anyone like that, but the fact she’s aiming her acid tongue at my girl makes me even more fuming.
The hand that’s not laced with Mel’s balls into a fist, and I take several deep breaths to try to calm myself down. I have to stay in character…and he doesn’t know or give a shit about Mac.
“I-I’m sorry. I-I was looking…for the kitchen,” Mac stutters, sounding far more scared of Mel than she should.
It makes me wonder if this is the first time she’s been yelled at like this, or if it’s a regular occurrence. Mel has no problems showing her staff that she’s in charge. I just never thought about her doing it with McKenna.
“Why the hell do you need the kitchen when we have one here? You know the rules… I have them for a reason. So I’m wondering if you broke the rules on purpose, or if you’re just a dumb bitch?” Mel snaps.
I swear, it’s like a red mist descends around my vision, and it takes every ounce of self-control not to say anything.
I keep my eyes down on the ground, as I can’t risk looking at Mac. But I want to scream at her to defend herself. Where’s the feisty, tough foster kid who is constantly arguing and bickering with me? Where’s the girl who could hold her own against any of my brothers in an argument?
That girl certainly isn’t here right now, and it’s breaking my heart to just stand by and do nothing.
“Don’t call me a bitch,” McKenna snaps, and I can’t help the corner of my mouth tipping up into a smirk, though I’m quick to hide it. When she continues, she’s found a little more of her backbone and I couldn’t be prouder. “As I was trying to explain, I needed to check on your father’s meal replacements. There’s not enough room for them all in our mini fridge, so I’ve been storing them in the main kitchen, which you agreed to. I went to check the order had been stored away correctly, and to do a stock check so I know when to refill. Your house is like a maze and I got lost. I ended up going down the wrong corridor, which is when your husband found me.”
The way Mac sayshusbandwith such disgust makes me wonder what the hell happened between her and Whitlock. Or maybe she’s just trying to remind Mel that she’s married in front of me? Either way, I’m not happy she was alone with that asshole.
