Page 80 of The Illusion of Power (Passion and Politics #1)
CAL
I walk into Aubrey’s home office with Beck one step behind me and the ball of our shared frustration bouncing between us. It’s been there all morning, well, really, since last night, but it pulses and explodes when I see Selene sitting on the couch in the corner of his office.
She’s wearing a soft purple sweater and some simple jeans. Her hair is curly like it’s been freshly washed, and I can smell her pear and cherry blossom scent from over here. I want to go to her, to kiss her, to tell her I’m so fucking sorry for how this is about to go down.
“Gentleman!” Aubrey exclaims, standing to open us with a wide spread of his arms. He’s all smiles despite the fact that he’s completely broken the agreement we made late last night in my living room.
He’d shown up unannounced, didn’t bat an eye when he saw Beck on my couch in nothing but a pair of low-slung pajama pants.
While we were still reeling from his sudden appearance, he made himself at home, examining the pictures on the mantle over my fireplace while he explained that he knew all about our affair with Selene.
From there, the conversation quickly devolved.
Beck asked him why he’d offer a job to the men he thought were sleeping with his wife.
Aubrey proved it was more than an assumption with a folder full of photos of Selene leaving my house.
Beck threatened to kill him. I had to put myself between them, saving Aubrey’s life by keeping Beck at bay with one hand, and now I kind of wish I’d let the bastard die.
“Please, take a seat,” he’s saying now, gesturing to the armchairs in front of the desk.
“We’d prefer to stand,” I respond, refusing to play into this little act of his more than I need to.
The agreement was that we’d come in and formally accept the jobs he forced us to take by promising to make any one of the continuing threats aimed at Selene online come true.
After what she’d just lived through, there wasn’t a chance in hell that we’d gamble with her safety.
Aubrey knew that.
He had smiled so wide when we finally caved, and it occurred to me then that he wasn’t even upset about the affair.
In fact, he seemed happy about it, that we’d created circumstances he could use to get what he wanted.
And what he wants is us at his beck and call.
What he wants is Selene miserable and lonely.
What he wants is to punish her, to break her spirit and her heart.
His eyes flare at the rejection of his command, but his smile doesn’t fade even a little. “Very well.” He shrugs, sinking into his own seat. “Tell me, where did you two put the medals of commendation you received last night?”
Beck has no patience for this; he brushes right over the question, getting to the point. “We’re here to give you the answer you asked us for last night.”
The subtle allusion to the coercion he subjected us to gives Aubrey pause. He glances at Selene, who shifts in her seat. She seems uncomfortable, but nothing about her expression suggests she’s caught on to the meaning Beck’s tried to hide in his words.
Aubrey chuckles. “Straight to the point, then? Go on, I’ve been dying to hear your answer.”
My fingers dig into the leather of the armchair in front of me as anger swells in my gut.
This is not how it was supposed to go. Selene wasn’t supposed to be here.
We’d specifically asked to have a private conversation with her, to give her some sense of closure, and Aubrey had agreed.
He said we could speak with her after we gave him our answer in person.
I should have known he had no intention of giving us the chance to make a clean break.
Clean breaks can be healed.
What Aubrey wants is a messy shattering of bone and fissures in flesh.
He wants us to break her heart in front of him, so he can watch her bleed.
The only kindness I can extend to her, to the only woman I’ve ever loved, is a swift gutting.
A precisely placed blade that severs our bond and sets her free to start the part of her life where she incorrectly assumes we care more about a promotion than her.
I clear my throat, and Beck’s spine straightens. His entire body is stiff with resentment. Mine is too. And yet, we have to act like we’re at ease. We have to act like we want this when all we want is her.
Aubrey lifts his brows, silently imploring us to continue as if he doesn’t already know what we’re going to say, like he didn’t tell us word for fucking word.
Together, and through teeth we try not to clench, Beck and I seal our fates and break Selene’s heart, our voices blending into one discordant sound as we say:
“It would be our honor to serve at the pleasure of the President.”
THE END