Page 45 of Strange Seduction (Strange #2)

You’ll see.

First Day of Work.

Day Seventeen.

I dropped my purse on the reception desk, and it landed with a sharp thud that turned heads.

The receptionist looked up, startled. Her expression quickly shifted into that stiff, polite annoyance reserved for unhinged people.

I smiled brightly.

“Hi,” I said, chipper. “How are ya?”

She straightened slightly in her chair. “Carmen. I’m fine. How can I help you today?”

“Oh, you know. Just thought I’d stop by and say hey! I heard about you and your boss’s wild night last Thanksgiving.” I tilted my head. “So exciting.”

Her mouth twitched. “Well. Nothing happened, so no need to concern yourself.”

I leaned closer, still smiling. “Right. Well. Unfortunately for you, I have taken concern. Not about your night together. I know Theo wouldn’t touch you with a dead man’s dick, but what did concern me was how I was going to maintain my job after I go to jail for beating the fuck out of you if you ever try that shit again. ”

Her lips parted, some excuse forming, but I held up a finger and continued.

“Hit and run was the best option I could come up with. Quick, painful, with any luck, you’d wake up with no memories of what happened, and the police would write it off as a freak accident. Still, though, I don’t know if that will satisfy me.”

Her mouth opened and closed rapidly as she struggled to process my very obvious threat.

“I could be more creative, though,” I smiled. “If you want me to. And I’d get away with it, too. I’m a damn good lawyer.”

“Carmen—”

“Ms. Reyes,” I corrected.

She swallowed. “ Ms. Reyes , nothing happened between me and Mr. Clayton.”

I pouted with fake pity.

“Oh, I know. Theo’s a good boy. He doesn’t have a wandering eye. But you. I know your type. Normally, I’d respect it. But unfortunately for you, your target is taken by someone who would put a bat through your fucking temple without a second thought. I wouldn’t even lose sleep over it. Capire ?”

“ Sì …”

I gave her a look.

“Ms. Reyes.”

“Smart girl.” I grinned. “Now press a button and get my man out here. I want to go for lunch.”

I watched her squirm to call him, and it made me feel…good. Maybe better than I felt after seeing Marcus. Knowing I could exert some control over someone and have them fear my reaction was like a breath of fresh air.

Doubt: You’re becoming one scary bitch.

Maybe that was what was needed to survive these next few days here.

These bitches were vicious, and if my father’s death taught me anything, it was that I needed Theo.

Doubt: That’s just the grief talking.

No, it wasn’t.

I had been trying so hard to fight the obvious, but the truth was so clear. I needed him.

When Alyssa called me and told me about everything he did to make sure I was okay after hearing about my father, I knew I needed to stay with him for a while. At least until I was ready to go back to New York, which could take days.

It didn’t matter, though. I have what I need right here.

Doubt: Carmen, don’t lose sight of everything you worked for. Theodore is good, and how he stood by you during your father’s death was amazing. But you still have a life in New York. Marcus won’t wait forever. Be smart about this.

I’m not giving up anything. I just…need time. I’ll handle my life how I see fit. We’re good.

I felt it— eyes . Someone was watching me.

I glanced to the side and sure enough, Vince was standing near the corner of the lobby, arms crossed, jaw tight. He wasn’t even pretending not to stare.

The receptionist cleared her throat.

“Ms. Reyes,” she said carefully. “Mr. Clayton’s in a meeting at the moment, but he said you can wait for him in his office.”

I kept my eyes locked on Vince as I replied, “Oh, okay. Thanks.”

I turned toward the elevator, heels clicking deliberately, tension simmering between my shoulder blades. I didn’t need to look back to know Vince was following. I felt him behind me, close enough to breathe down my neck.

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped in.

Silence.

Halfway up, he spoke.

“You got me in trouble.”

I snorted. “ You got yourself in trouble.”

“I’m not talking about work.”

I crossed my arms and turned to face him. “Vince—”

“He doesn’t deserve you,” he cut in. “And he’s making you a miserable person. Look at how you talked to the lady down there.”

I flinched, just a little. He’d said it with a calm edge that landed harder than if he’d raised his voice. I didn’t answer right away. Because for a second, I did think about it.

The part of me that had enjoyed watching her squirm. It was ugly. And it didn’t feel like me. It was Carmen from college.

“You don’t know me,” I said finally, keeping my voice even.

“I know enough,” he said, stepping a little closer. “I know you’ve changed since you got here. I know you used to smile more. Laugh more. And now?”

He paused, and I hated how sincere he sounded.

“You look exhausted, Carmen.”

I looked at my shoes. “My father died. I’m going through a lot.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Vince whispered. “But the way you’re acting, Carmen? It’s not right.”

The elevator doors opened with a soft chime. I stepped out without answering. Because I wasn’t sure if he was wrong, and that scared me more than I wanted to admit.

Vince followed me up to Theo’s office, not backing off. He leaned against the wall near Theo’s door, arms still crossed, but now with a softer look in his eyes.

“You don’t have to settle for this,” he said quietly, almost pleading. “You don’t have to let him keep you in this…place.”

I stopped in my tracks, facing him fully now, my voice steady but firm.

“I’m happy, Vince,” I said, my eyes locking on his.

Doubt: You’re lying.

“I’m not leaving Theo. You need to understand that. You can’t fix this, because I don’t need to be fixed, and you certainly can’t ‘save’ me.”

He frowned, a deep line forming between his brows. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt anymore.”

I could feel the genuine care, even if it came wrapped in the wrong intentions.

“I’m not going anywhere, Vince,” I repeated. “I’m not leaving him. Not for you. Not for anyone. I’m not the same person I was when I came here, but…I’m learning to be okay with that.”

Vince didn’t respond right away. His expression was unreadable, but I knew that if he was trying to get to me, it wasn’t going to work. I had made up my mind.

“I’m not trying to save you, Ms. Reyes. I was trying to get you to open your eyes, but I see you enjoy being blinded.”

Doubt: What the fuck does that mean?

“It doesn’t matter, though,” he finished. “I’m transferring out of this office. I’ve seen what Theodore Clayton has done to you, and I can’t watch anymore. I can’t watch him turn you into the miserable person you seem hellbent on becoming. You deserve better. And one day you’ll see it.”

I stared at him, letting the words sink into my flesh.

“Goodbye, Ms. Reyes.”

I walked into Theo’s office with my head high.

“Goodbye, Vince.”

And I shut the door.

˙???˙

Theo was up to something.

I could always tell by the smug little curve of his mouth and the annoying gleam in his eyes whenever he thought he was being smooth. He’d taken me to dinner—an actual dinner.

The last few days, we had been ordering room service or takeout while I cried in his arms when I thought of my father.

I tried to keep myself busy with planning his funeral while Theo was at work or talking to my friends.

Jayda and Tyler’s drama distracted me just enough for the grief to subside.

But the minute Theo would walk into our penthouse, I would unravel.

This day out was needed. I was tired of being locked up in that room, and my mind kept trying to set a date to go back to the States, but I continued to draw blanks. Of course, I’d have to leave Italy sooner or later.

At least for the funeral.

But the way Theodore looked at me made that decision hard.

It was hard to leave the man who had me on top of Rome, literally and figuratively.

The rooftop restaurant he picked had wine I couldn’t pronounce, and a perfectly cooked risotto that made me forget for a second that I’d cried in the shower this morning.

Yet, all I could focus on was him.

He didn’t say much during dessert; he just kept looking at me.

And when we walked down to the street afterward, hand in hand, I expected him to call his driver so that he could take me home and ruin me.

But no.

He stopped beside a sleek black coupe parked out front, turned to me with that smile—yes, that one—and said, “Here.”

I blinked. “Here what?”

Theo gestured to the car like he was unveiling a prize on a game show. “For you.”

“…The car?”

He nodded once. “Yes.”

“Okay, I think you had too much to drink, Teddy.” I narrowed my eyes, looking between him and the car.

“I barely drank, Sweetness.” He laughed, “And I got this car for you.”

I stared at him. “Teddy…I wish you didn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t drive.”

He paused, that smug smile faltering for exactly one second. “What do you mean you can’t drive?”

I shrugged, folding my arms. “I never had to.”

Theo stared at me for what felt like forever.

“Hm.”

I tilted my head. “What does ‘hm’ mean?”

“It means you depend on me a lot more than you think.”

Doubt: See? Now he thinks you’re helpless without him.

I pouted.

“That’s not fair, Teddy. I’ve managed on my own so far. I didn’t have you driving me around in California, now did I? And I’ll be in New York now, so I can take the train. Uber. My feet. If I wanted to learn how to drive, I could. It just never felt like a survival skill.”

His mouth twitched. “Well, you ready for your first lesson?”

My face screwed up. “Oh hell no.”

“Come on, Carmen. Let me teach you something.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I want you to drive and be able to get around.”

“Teddy,” I sighed. “I love that you did this, but I—”

“Let me teach you how to drive, Carmen,” he cut me off. “It’s a skill I need you to have.”

“I already have all the skills you need me to have,” I joked.