Page 34 of Obeying Mr Kingsley

“Morning, Mr.Kingsley,” Lexi’s chirpy voice greets me.

“Morning,” I reply as neutrally as possible, quickly glancing her way.

I stop.

“What happened?”My voice sounds much grittier than it needs to be.

“Oh.”Lexi lifts her hand, which is wrapped in a white bandage.“Nothing.I just hurt it.”

Jesus.

“Obviously, you hurt it.I asked what happened?”I take a step closer to the desk, and her eyes dip.

Shit.

Did someone hurt her?

I feel my arms tense, my chest swell.

“Lexi.Who—”

“Nothing.Forget it.It happened during my personal time, and it won’t interfere with my work.”Her eyes dart back, her cheeks warming.

Is she kidding right now?

Like we aren’t friends outside of work.I want to wring her damn neck.I’m not just some...

Yes, you are.

We glare at one another until I nod and take a step back.Then, continue to my office as I press my lips together and imagine who hurt her.

Does Emily know?

My imagination is going crazy.

Did someone...pleasure her and things go awry?Images of her tied up and some other guy having access to her body infuriate me.

I want to storm back out there.

What if it’s broken and she’s not had the medical treatment necessary?

Can she even afford it?

Fuck.

I sit at my desk and glance up when she appears in the doorway.

“The meeting this afternoon.Do you have the list of attendees?”Lexi asks.

I’ve kept this contract close to my chest because of the confidential nature of business.They’re a foreign organization, and there are only three people at Nexus Obsidian who know about it.

Ezra, my financial director, is one of them.His face appears in the doorway.“Good morning, Lexi, Mason.”

“Morning,” we both mumble, and he glances between us.

“Are we ready for this afternoon?”His attention focuses on me.

“Yes.Lexi, can you arrange some pastries and drinks?Actually, have one of the administrative girls downstairs do it.”