Page 50 of Obeying Mr Kingsley

Emily shuts the door and follows me inside, taking a seat in the one armchair.She takes in my empty cereal bowl and glances around.

“It feels so weird being back here.”

We always meet at a café or at the fancy penthouse she lives in with Sebastian.I bet it feels like she’s stepped back into her old life.

“I haven’t changed anything.”I shrug.

After another round of eye darting, they land on me with concern.“What’s going on?SOS?I figure it’s not your hand.”

I shake my head and cross my legs under me.Shame fills me, and that’s not something I’m familiar with.I’m normally hotheaded and mouthy, but I think life might have dealt me a good one this time.

I hate more than anything that Mason believes that I’m some terrible person when I’m not.I hate that I missed him over the weekend and tried to compensate by getting really drunk and tripping over, hurting my wrist.

That all he could say wasGo home!After what we did on his desk.

Not that I’m sharing any of those details with Emily.

I flop down on the sofa and chew my lip, wondering where to start.

“Lexi, talk to me.”

I draw in a deep breath.“I’ve been set up, accused of fraud and have no proof that I didn’t do it.”

She gasps.

––––––––

“LEXI, THIS IS horrible.”Emily shakes her head, sipping the glass of water I got her after I tell her the entire story.

The last thing I want is for her to miscarry.Not that my tragedy is going to affect her.I feel terrible for not thinking about that earlier.

“It’s fine.Well, it’s not, but don’t worry.I’m sure there’s a way we can fix this.”

She doesn’t look convinced.

Neither am I.

“So, this Johnathan guy has the money?”

I shrug.

“I guess.I don’t have a clue.”

Johnathan stole over fifty thousand pounds from Harrow & Armstrong Engineering.He framed me and got away with the entire thing.

Late one afternoon, Johnathan asked me for my login details to the finance system, saying he’d been locked out and needed to approve the month’s payroll.

“Hurry up, Lexi.Four hundred people are not going to get paid unless I sort this out,” he pressed.

Aside from being the Director of Finance, a senior executive, he was a bully and creep.So, of course, I was going to give it to him.

It was the single most stupid thing I’ve ever done, and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.

I didn’t want to be responsible for everyone not getting paid, and never in a million years did I think he’d steal from the company.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.His dominance and aggression that afternoon never allowed me the space to think it through.

But he must have.