Page 47 of High Rise Secrets

My phone buzzes with a new message from Landry. Speak of the devil.

Landry:Heard you’re coming to the cookout tomorrow. It’ll be good to not be as overrun by the female population.

Me:Watch it, I’ll have Addy tell Lia what you said and you’ll be in the dog house until next year.

Landry:I’m sure she could kick my ass easily with all the kickboxing classes she does. I’m surprised Addy hasn’t shown you a few moves.

Me:She’s shown me a few moves all right. Just not the self-defense kind.

Speak of the devil. Addison knocks on the door and smiles warmly at me. “Hey, I’m going to head out a bit early. I have a few errands to run, and then I have to go to the club. One of the girls called out, and I said I’d cover her shift.”

My smile pulls down into a frown at the mention of her doing another shift there. I don’t want her putting on a show for other men. She’smine.

“Please don’t, Addy. You don’t need to work there anymore.” She opens her mouth to say something, and I hold my hand up, stopping her. I stand from behind my desk and walk over to her, closing the door behind us. No need for everyone to know her little secret. “I don’t like you being there. It’s not safe, and I don’t want you taking your clothes off for anyone else.”

She crosses her arms over her chest and pushes her hip out to the side. “You done?” she sasses.

I shake my head. “No. Besides the fact you co-own the place, why do you still need to dance?”No time like the present to get this out in the open.

She tosses her arms up and slams them back down over her hips. “Where’s this coming from, Ethan? You know the men there don’t mean anything to me. I share the stage time with some of the other girls, especially if one can’t come in for whatever reason, like tonight. Plus, I enjoy dancing. I’ve been doing it sincelongbefore you knew I existed or cared.”

My jaw ticks and I take a deep breath before I start talking. I keep my voice low and under control, even though I want to scream at her. “Because you’re better than that girl. You told me you started stripping to get by, but you don’t need to anymore. You have a good job, with good pay. Fuck, Addy, do you want to me increase your salary? Would that make it better?”

She narrows her eyes at me, her entire face turning red in anger. “Screw you, Ethan. Don’t judge my choices when you don’t understand my reasons. You know it’s not about the money, and don’t make me out like a whore.”

“Isn’t that basically what you were the night we fucked nine years ago?” Her hand comes at my face so fast I don’t have time to respond as the sting behind her slap burns my cheek. The sound echoes in the quiet office. I keep my focus on the floor next to me. I deserved that.

I know I need time to get my head on straight, and if I try to talk to her right now, it’s not going to end well. “Go,” I command. She doesn’t even glance back as she opens the door and gathers her stuff. I watch her retreating form as she walks through the office front door and gets into the elevator, not even sparing me a glance.

How the fuck do I keep managing to put my foot in my damn mouth? I open the top drawer of my desk and see the envelope my dad handed me earlier this week. Now’s as good a time as ever. I know if I try to focus on work right now, I won’t be able to concentrate. At least, this way, I can see what the old man is up to.

I pull a bunch of papers out, and a few photos fall out onto the desk. I look at the pictures first and turn my face up in repulsion.Who the fuck managed to get these?There are several of me and Ember, from the first night we were together. It’s not possible that these should even exist. I have her pressed against the wall, I’m shoved deep inside her, and the look of her face is pure bliss.

There is another one of me fingering her while my face is buried in her neck, but there’s no denying it’s me. Again, her face is twisted in pure ecstasy in the picture. She has on a mask, but I would remember this night anywhere.

The next set of pictures, though, I think I really will be sick. Addy is straddling my father. I’d know her body anywhere. His pants are down around his thighs, and his hands are on her hips, holding her in place. Addison...my Addison... slept with my father and didn’t even bother to tell me.

Maybe she didn’t know it was him?My mind is spinning as I try to make heads or tails of what I’m looking at. I flip through a few more pictures, all of them different men and all of them withthe same girl.I knew she slept with people, but I assumed it was a once in a while thing, not all the time.

I drop the pictures. My whole body feels numb, but with shaky hands, I pick up the small stack of papers. There are several pages filled with names, dates, and times. Addison’s name is at the top of the paper, and the wordsThe Devil’s Playgroundis printed on the letterhead. There must be over a hundred names here, some of them repeat customers.

She did what she had to do to get by.

I stop at the last name on the page in my hand.Ethan Freeman.I turn the sheet of paper over, expecting to see more, but there aren’t any.The old man must have stopped at my name to make a point. Have I always been the endgame for her? Was this all part of some big scheme to drag my name through the mud and ruin the reputation of the company?To ruin me?

I Google some of the names to see the type of men she slept with, the type of men she lettouch her. Image after image infiltrates my mind as I continue the search. Young, old, skinny, fat, it doesn’t matter. If they were willing to pay, she was willing to sleep with them. It doesn’t appear she had a preference. As long as the money is good... who cares.

I pick up my phone and dialhisnumber. He picks up after a few rings with a smug hello.

I clench my jaw and speak through it. “Why are you showing this to me?”

“I told you that you were no better than me. Except my assistant wasn’t also a whore who slept her way around Atlanta. Do you know she begged me for a job atEmulationwhile she was riding my cock? Said she would do anything. Her tight little body felt good wrapped around me. She stopped by last week, in fact. Loves it when I call her filthy names and degrade her.”

My heart sinks to my stomach. She knows I don’t get along with my dad. She wouldn’t do this to me—to us!My muscles are wound tight, and I can feel the blood trying to pump through my body. Everything feels upside down.

I shake my head, not believing him. “You’re lying.”

“What gain do I have by lying? I’m doing you a favor. I’ve heard rumors you’re sleeping with her and wanted you to know the truth about what type of girl she really is before you get in over your head. She’s willing to play any side she can to get ahead. Imagine what other board members she might be sleeping with to secure a nice paycheck?