“Get up, Miss Landry,” he ordered.
Confused, I frowned and remained in place. “I don’t understand. I thought this was what you wanted.”
“I’m not in the habit of forcing women into sexual acts, Miss Landry. It’s not my jam. All I wanted was to see how far you were willing to go. Now I know.”
Rage flushed through me, and I launched to my feet, stumbling away, putting as much distance between me and this… this… vile creature as I could. It had all been a game, one for him to test my limits.
“Why? Why would you do that?”
He shoved his hands casually into his pants pockets and shrugged, the picture of nonchalance. “In any business transaction, it’s important to discover your opponent’s limits. Suffice to say, yours are fairly loose.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“You’re… you’re… disgusting.”
“We’ll see if that’s still your opinion once you’ve begged me to push my cock between those pretty red lips of yours.”
“Never,” I expelled, my breath coming in gasps as shock took hold of me.
I have to get out of here.
His large frame had cut off the exit I usually used. I made a dash for the front door.
“I wouldn’t leave if I were you,” he drawled the second my fingers closed around the handle. “Not if you want your brother to stand a chance of beating this disease with as little pain and discomfort as possible.”
I paused, my feet glued in place, my hand still wrapped around the steel handle.
“I have a proposition for you.”
I glanced over my shoulder. That I was still here, and hadn’t run from this building screaming sexual harassment, ceded all the power to this man. Then again, I’d already shown him the lengths I was willing to go to, as he had demonstrated so savagely.
Should I listen to him? What if his next suggestion was more heinous than his last? I almost laughed aloud. What could be worse than demanding fellatio from an unwilling participant?
Forcing me to go through with it, maybe?
My love for Aiden made me turn around and agree to listen to the man holding all the cards. I smoothed my skirt beneath my thighs and sat on one of the boxes, my back upright, hands balled into fists lying in my lap, an obvious symbol of my rage.
“Well, what is it?”
He smirked at my prickly attitude, yet his eyes narrowed as he stared down at me. He tugged on his bottom lip, seemingly deep in thought. I didn’t believe that for a second. He just wanted to use the silence as another weapon to torture me with. He’d gotten my ballet studio, but that wasn’t enough for him. I had no idea what I’d done to make him want to punish me, but I had no doubts that was his intention. Fear prickled over my skin, and goose bumps showered my arms. I resisted the urge to rub them.
“Like I said. I will pay for your brother’s treatment and associated costs. Every cent. As long as he needs.”
I held my breath, waiting for the punchline. I even leaned a little closer, a concession he acknowledged with an arched eyebrow and an even wider smirk.
“And what do you want in return?”
My body.
My soul.
My life?
“I want you to work for me.”
My forehead wrinkled. I knew nothing about the corporate world. I couldn’t type or take shorthand or draft a contract. I didn’t know how to draw up a balance sheet or pay invoices. My whole life had revolved around dance. What job could he possibly have in mind?
“Doing what?”
“Whatever I desire.”
My vision clouded, and the sound of blood rushing through my ears sent me lightheaded. This man was playing with me, toying with my emotions, yet my fear for Aiden’s future led me to sit there and let him get away with it.
“Calm down, Catriona,” he said, that malicious grin making a comeback. “When we have sex, it’ll be because you want to, not because I’ve forced you into it. That little stunt I pulled was just a test. I already told you I’m not in the habit of coercing women into performing sexual acts.”
I dug my fingernails into the palms of my hand. The bastard was enjoying my discomfort. Every moment of it.
And we would not be having sex. Not this side of the apocalypse, nor the other side.
“Just tell me what you want,” I snapped, the urge to run growing larger by the second.
He sighed as if my reaction suddenly bored him. He bent down and picked up a stray paperclip, then fed it through his fingers, his eyes on me the whole time. “There are occasions I need a companion to accompany me to certain events. Business dinners, functions, meetings with local officials. Things like that. On occasion, I might have a use for you at the office, too.”
“Why do you need me to attend events with you?” I asked, confusion drawing my brows into a deep frown. “Surely a guy like you doesn’t lack for willing female company.”
A chuckle left his mouth. “You’re right. I don’t lack for willing company. Call me sadistic, but unwilling company is so much more entertaining to me.”
I shook my head and laughed. “Let’s call this what it is. Blackmail. Aww, is that what brings you pleasure, you sad bastard? To find someone’s weakness and exploit it?” I laughed harder. “You’re pathetic.”
Blind fury crossed his face, and I rose to my feet, ready to make my escape. Garen Gauthier was a man to be feared. And I did fear him. Not that I would ever allow him to see how deeply he affected me. He had all the power for now, but one day, maybe, the scales of justice would tip in my favor and, goddammit, I’d make sure I was ready to take advantage.
His anger passed as quickly as it arrived, and he schooled his expression back to his trademark flat stare. “So, do we have an agreement, Miss Landry?”
I glared, fueled by anger, my teeth aching from clenching them too tightly. “Yes.”
“Excellent. I’ll be in touch. Make sure you leave your phone on at all times, including overnight. I occasionally keep strange hours, and you will be expected to do the same.”
He gave me a cursory nod and, without saying another word, spun on his heel and left through the side entrance.
As soon as I heard the door close, my legs gave out, and I found myself sitting on the box once more. I curled my hands into fists and made a solemn vow. Whenever this got difficult—and there wasn’t a doubt in my mind it would—I’d remind myself I was doing this for Aiden.
One thing was for sure, though. My opinion about this man had been wrong.
He wasn’t just a bastard.
He was the Devil.
And I’d made a deal that had the ability to destroy me.
13
Garen
“I’ve transferred the first month’s payment to the hospital in Switzerland.”
Catriona remained quiet on the other end of the phone, but I could hear her soft breathing, and my dick responded accordingly. The scene of her kneeling before me, reaching for my zipper, was one I’d masturbated to so often in the last couple of days, I had wrist ache. She hated me with a passion that flayed my skin and made me even more determined to break her, to bend her to my will.
To fuck her.
For me, bedding a woman was all about the thrill of the chase. The problem I had was that most of my potential conquests didn’t even put up a feeble fight. Catriona, on the other hand, excited me far more than I’d felt in years. Maybe ever.
“Thank you,” she finally responded without a hint of gratitude to her tone.
I chuckled to myself. “His physicians tell me his first treatment takes place on Monday.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “How do you know what his treatment plan is? My brother’s care is none of your business, Mr. Gauthier.”
“On the contrary, when I’m funding it, everything is my business,” I stated.
“Don’t be so sure,” she challenged, her spunky attitude hardening me even further inside my pants.
I shifted my cock to a more comf
ortable position. “I have work for you to do,” I said, ignoring her last comment. “Be at my office building within the hour.”
I didn’t have any work for her to do. What I did have was an overwhelming and worrying desire to see her. I’d figure out a relevant task before she arrived.
“I can’t,” she replied, her tone beseeching. “I have to pick up our passports. I have our flights to organize, I need to find an apartment to rent, and I have to shop for essentials for Aiden. As soon as I get back from Switzerland, I’ll be at your beck and call, but please, I have to make sure my brother is settled first.”
I liked the way she’d said “beck and call”. Gave me all kinds of ideas.
“I own a private jet. It’s at your disposal. I also have a house in Geneva that your grandmother and brother can use for as long as they need. And I will have one of my interns pick up your passports. As for shopping for essentials, send me a list and I’ll get my executive assistant to have whatever you need sent directly to your house.” I smiled to myself. “Any other obstacles you’d like to put up, Miss Landry?”
Catriona was quiet for so long, I checked to make sure she hadn’t hung up on me.
“Why would you do all that for us?” she asked breathily, giving me a preview to how she might sound in the throes of passion.
Fuck.
I forced myself to focus on raindrops pattering against the windowpane and, finally, my raging erection began to deflate.
“Are you still there?”
“Yes. Someone came into my office,” I lied. “You ask why? Because, Miss Landry, contrary to your opinion of me, I am not completely heartless. Besides, this way, you have no excuse to avoid the task I have for you. Now please, get your fine ass down to my office, pronto, and I will make the arrangements for your travel to Switzerland.”
I hung up before her sweet voice sent my dick on the rise again, and buzzed James.
“Catriona Landry is on her way here. When she arrives, have Tulip take her down to the archive room in the basement and wait there for further instructions.” I somehow withheld a snort at the intern’s ridiculous name.
“Yes, sir,” James replied, doing a good job of hiding his perplexity at my request. If I didn’t know him as well as I did, I’d have missed the slight change in cadence.
“Also, call the airfield. Have the plane prepped and ready to fly to Geneva on Wednesday afternoon.”
“Got it.”
“And let me know as soon as Catriona arrives.”
“Will do.”
I killed the connection and sat back in my chair, rubbing at the stubble on my chin. I watched the minutes tick by, unable to concentrate on anything. Damn, this girl had gotten under my skin. I couldn’t figure it out. Sure, she was beautiful, with a lithe dancer’s body and eyes I could drown in if I allowed myself to stare into them for too long, but my metaphorical black book was full of women like that. Why was Catriona Landry so fucking different? The only disparity I could come up with was her abject and very obvious hatred of me. That kind of loathing drew a line in the sand that I couldn’t resist wanting to scrub out.
Finally, the intercom on my desk buzzed, and I pressed the answer button. “Yes.”
“Miss Landry has arrived, sir,” James said. “I’ve sent Tulip to fetch her.”
“Thanks.”
I waited ten minutes, then rode my private elevator down to the basement of my building. My grin grew the farther along the hallway I ventured. The idea I’d come up with was a shitty job, and not exactly required, but given my generous offer of a private jet and accommodation, I didn’t want Catriona to think I was going soft. I had a reputation as a bastard to uphold, after all.
I pushed open the door to the archiving room, a rather depressing, windowless space that I last visited when ROGUES decided to open offices in Vancouver and I was tasked by the board to find a suitable building to purchase. Most of our files were electronic these days, but there was still a necessity to keep paper copies of some specific documents, usually a legal requirement.
Tulip jumped down the moment she spotted me from where she’d perched on a box, a deferent dip to her chin. Catriona, on the other hand, greeted me with a cold stare and a very pointed check of her wristwatch.
“Mr. Gauthier,” Tulip gushed, eager to please following our first disastrous encounter. “James asked me to bring this lady here and wait for you.”
“And would you look at that,” I drawled. “You didn’t mess up.”
Tulip blushed, her cheeks blooming with color. Catriona made a noise that sounded remarkably like a growl.
I suppressed a satisfied smirk, then beckoned to the two of them and strolled over to a stack of boxes assembled on a steel, industrial-looking shelf. Lifting down the top one, I opened it.
“I need all these files scanned and saved onto the computer.” I jerked my chin at the monitor and tower stack sitting on a desk covered in a sheen of dust.
Catriona’s eyes widened. “I-I don’t know how to do that.”
“I know,” I said, my eyes gleaming as I reveled in her uncertainty. “Why do you think she’s here?”
“Oh, it’s easy,” Tulip said with far too much enthusiasm for such a mundane task. “Come on, we’ll have you trained up in no time.”
“And when you’ve finished that box, move on to the next, and then the next. You are not to leave until I return.”
I swept out of the room, feeling Catriona’s venomous stare burning into the back of my neck. I grinned the entire way back up to my office.
The rest of the day passed by in a blur of meetings, phone calls, and emails. By the time I lifted my head and checked my watch, I was shocked to find it was already past six. This often happened when I became embroiled in my work, and while I vaguely remembered James fetching me a grilled chicken sandwich and standing over me while I ate it, my growling stomach was more than happy to remind me that I hadn’t eaten nearly enough.
And then horror rolled through me. Catriona. Fuck. Was she still in the basement? I strode across my office and wrenched open the door to find James’ desk empty. Frowning, I returned to my office to call him, and then remembered him telling me he had a date with some guy he’d met on Elite Singles.
I dashed to the elevator, jabbing at the button several times as if that would speed the damned thing up. When the elevator stopped at the basement, I shouldered my way through before the doors had properly opened and paced toward the archive room.
I found Catriona still sitting at the computer, and next to her, six closed boxes, a seventh open to her right, and a mountain of files on the desk. She wearily glanced in my direction, the earlier fight gone from her eyes.
“Shit.” I rubbed my forehead. “I completely lost track of time. I didn’t expect you to still be here.”
She swiveled the chair around. “You told me I couldn’t leave until you returned.” Standing, she stretched out her back and groaned. “Permission to go home, sir?”
I scraped my fingers through my hair. “I’ll drive you.”
Her hand shot in the air. “No, you won’t.”
“Please.” I formed my face into one resembling penitence. Not a natural expression for me at all, but this particular situation warranted it. “Sometimes I get embroiled in work and forget the outside world exists. I honestly never expected you to spend the entire day down here. Please let me make it up to you by seeing you safely home.”
She narrowed her eyes, and her lips curved into a small smile. “Apologize, and I’ll think about it.”
My own lips twitched in response and I lowered my chin while keeping my eyes on hers. “I’m sorry. Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”
She stared at me for a few seconds, then relented. Reaching down to pick up her purse, she winced. “I really need to use the bathroom before we go.”
My eyes widened at a moment of clarity. “You haven’t left this room all day?”
She glared at me, her fiery spirit returning, her emeral
d irises glistening with barely contained anger. “Tulip left, and there was no way for me to get upstairs.”
I frowned, confused.
“You need a pass, jackass, and you didn’t see fit to leave me one.”
Fuck. It hadn’t occurred to me. Jesus, this was a new low, even for me. If she hadn’t used the bathroom, then she hadn’t eaten all day either, unless she saw fit to bring food with her, which I sorely doubted.
“Follow me.” I turned my back so she couldn’t read the remorse stretching across my face.
I paced outside the bathroom in the lobby while Catriona used the facilities. When she reappeared, I clutched her elbow, surprised that she didn’t shake me off.
“The car is right outside,” I said.
Once I’d settled her inside the warm interior, I activated the privacy screen then opened the drinks cabinet.
“What’s your poison?” I asked.
She closed her eyes and let her head flop back. “I’d like to poison you.”
I snickered as I poured two brandies. I handed one of the glasses to her. “Here.”
She reached out to take it, and our fingers brushed.
I shivered in delight.
She recoiled as if I’d held her hand to the fire.
Her reaction brought a smirk to my lips. I had a long way to go to win over this one, and I was going to enjoy every single step of the journey.
The car drew to a stop at a set of traffic lights, and Catriona’s stomach growled loudly. She pressed her forearm to her midriff.
“Let me take you to dinner,” I said, finding the idea of her sitting in my multi-million-dollar car without food in her belly oddly uncomfortable.
“No, thank you,” she replied stiffly, then turned her head to gaze out of the window where the view just happened to be a packed Italian restaurant, the tables bursting with customers stuffing fully loaded pizza into their faces. She rubbed her fingers over her mouth and swallowed.
“They do takeout,” I said. “I can have Darryl fetch whatever you’d like. For your grandmother and brother, too. It’s the least I can do.”
She moved her head slowly, her eyes eventually sliding to mine, a mischievous twist to her lips.
Entrapped: A Billionaire Romance (The ROGUES Series Book 3) Page 7