Frowning slightly, Victoria rose to her feet and moved over to him. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll try my best to find her, Malcolm. Then maybe you can explain the misunderstanding and patch things up with Elizabeth. You could have a family again with your daughter.” The thought of losing Malcolm made her chest ache, but she knew that he had never been hers.
“No,” he said firmly, turning to look at her. He placed a hand on Victoria’s face and tenderly stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I just want my daughter back. Lizzie was able to believe the worst of me even after all we had been through together. She tossed me aside like trash, and I don’t want anything to do with her.”
Victoria could see the pain behind Malcolm’s eyes, and she took a deep breath. “This explains a lot,” she murmured. “Why you were so cautious about having sex with me…”
He didn’t respond at first, and merely gazed down at her for a long moment. “Yes,” he finally said, as if it hurt him a great deal. “Getting a girl pregnant destroyed my life once already-I try not to make the same mistakes too often.”
“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” she said sympathetically, “but it does give me an idea.”
“Please share,” he encouraged. “I don’t like dramatic pauses.”
“You’re usually the dramatic one,” she teased lightly. “Anyway. You said Brantford helped her fake her own death and escape. So there is money to follow,” she said with a grin on her face. “His money. I just need to pull his financial records and hunt him down.”
“Good luck,” Malcolm said irritably. “I’ve tried that already. It was one of my first avenues to find her.”
“But I haven’t tried it,” she told him with a smile. “It’s my job to be a little smarter and dig a little deeper than anyone else can. Isn’t that why I’m here?”
“Of course,” he said as he raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry-it’s just hard to be positive. I don’t mean to snap at you.” “Then don’t,” she said with a small scowl.
“Brantford just called me a few minutes ago,” Malcolm explained. “He’s a cruel, threatening jackass. You’ll have to excuse me if I’m a little on edge.”
“I know what it’s like to be threatened,” she responded with a sulky tone, but she gazed out at the city thoughtfully as she began to piece together the information in her brain. “Did he use his cell phone to call you?”
“It was an unknown number. Probably a burner,” Malcolm reasoned gruffly. “He’s careful.”
“It doesn’t matter how careful he was,” she said in excitement. “I have a friend that owes me a favor. I can trace the serial on the burner and figure out where it was purchased. I saw you had some pictures of Elizabeth sightings. Where was the last one?”
“Chile, I think,” Malcolm said with a glance toward his desk.
Victoria nodded and went back to the scan through the pictures to locate the most recent time stamp. “I’ll do my best to uncover any secret bank accounts that Brantford might be using to send money to Elizabeth.”
Some of the tension eased out of Malcolm’s tightly knitted forehead. “I knew that bringing you in was a good idea,” he said with relief. “There is something else-something I’m assuming you don’t know. Brantford was the one who helped secure your invitation to my club.” “Really?” Victoria asked. “You mean the code I had to use?” Malcolm nodded.
“Fuck. That makes sense. Actually, that helps us out a lot,” she said with a grin. “You have access to all the records right? Can’t you track when he became a member?”
“Yes!” he said hopefully. “I actually haven’t tried that. It would have had to have been done over a wire transfer, and I doubt he would have used any of his normal accounts. That could create some new leads.”
“Maybe finding that account could get us closer to Elizabeth,” Victoria suggested, leaning proudly and confidently against his desk.
“You’re brilliant, my treasure,” he said in a soft and sensual tone.
“I know,” she said, grinning girlishly. She stared into his eyes triumphantly for a moment, enjoying the heated way he looked back. Under his gaze, she felt like the most desirable creature in the world. She knew that she should tell him to get lost, but he looked so happy that it was difficult to be angry with him. “Don’t count your chickens yet, champ. We still need to find her.”
“I have faith in you,” he told her. His tone was serious and his eyes were filled with passion. He walked over to his desk and placed his hands on her hips.
His touch took her breath away, and she felt her body tremble at the contact. She looked at him curiously as he leaned forward and she gasped when his lips pressed against her neck. Unconsciously, she lifted a hand to run her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. He began to kiss down her neck, his lips leaving a trail down her chest. She felt her body grow warm and supple as he kissed across her breasts and gently guided her back into her chair.
“What is this for?” she asked between heavy breaths.
“For being brilliant,” he whispered as he pulled her shirt off her shoulder. “Just relax.”
The chilled air tickled the exposed skin, causing gooseflesh to appear. His lips quickly provided warmth to the exposed skin, as he pressed his face against her body.
“This is nice,” she said, sighing in contentment. “You know, it’s a lot more fun working together when you’re being kind.”
“I’ll take that under advisement,” he said with a chuckle as he began to kiss lower.
She squirmed under his touch, leaning her head back to enjoy the sensation. “I need to get back to work though. There is a lot more to do,” she said weakly. She didn’t want him to stop, but she wanted this assignment complete more than anything.
“It’s okay. You deserve a break. I’ve been hard on you,” he said softly as he kissed her breast.
She felt her nipple stiffen under his attention and closed her eyes. It was impossible not to enjoy the sensation, but that was the problem; she was enjoying it far too much. “Please,” she gasped, “I really need to get back to work. I can’t work if you keep going.”
He ignored her pleas, lowering himself to one knee as he began to kiss down her stomach. He gently leaned her back and lifted up her shirt, kissing her bare flesh. A moan escaped her lips as she writhed in her seat. He placed a hand on her thigh as he kissed down her navel and she spread her legs slightly. His lips brushed her inner thigh as he traced a small line to her clitoris. He pressed his face into her jeans, sending shocks of electricity coursing through her body.
“Malcolm,” she said in weak protest. “I really can’t do this.”
He looked up at her with a devilish grin as he began to unbutton her jeans. “You seem to be doing just fine.”
When his fingers slipped into her panties, she grew nervous and forcefully pushed him away. “Malcolm!” she exclaimed. “I said I can’t do this. Are you deaf?”
He stumbled slightly but caught himself, his face a confused mess. “You were enjoying it,” he pointed out stubbornly.
She sighed. “That’s the problem,” she stressed. “I cannot work on this assignment and fuck you at the same time. I’m an all-play or all-work type of girl,” she explained. She was beginning to grow angry and struggled to keep her emotions in check.
“You didn’t seem to have so many rules last night,” he pointed out as he stood up.
A blush crept into her cheeks. “That was different. The pleasure was part of the job. I was exploring the inner workings of the club, and I still walked away with a good story. Not this, Malcolm. This is an assignment that has zero to do with sex; an assignment you forced on me, I might add. I want this to be over with as soon as possible so I can get the fuck away from you and back to my life.” She felt her emotions bubbling out of her in an uncontrollable explosion.
He narrowed his eyes and his nostrils flared in anger. “I understand,” he said coldly as he looked away.
She hated how he could appear so emotionless. “If you understood then why did you do this to me? Why did you fuck with my life and make me do something you knew I had a problem with?” “I didn’t know why,” he said softly.
“Why does it even matter?!” she said, nearing the point of shouting. “I said I couldn’t do this, and you’re proving me right at every turn.” While she was working, it was easy to hide her anger, but now that he had pulled her out of the job, the walls around her heart were crumbling.
“I did what I needed to do in order to protect those close to me,” he said quietly.
His words stung her deeply and she turned away to hide her pain. “Fuck you, Malcolm,” she said hotly. None of last night even mattered to him. He just wanted to use me for his own purpose, she thought to herself sadly. “Well go on and protect the people close to you, but next time leave me out of it. I’m not some fucking pawn on your chessboard.”
“Of course you aren’t,” he told her softly. “You’re my queen. The most important piece.”
She could tell he was trying to make her feel better, but was in no mood to accept his compliment. “Well, you treat me like garbage. Are you sure you didn’t poison your wife all on your own with this shitty attitude of yours? Maybe she’s better off without you.”
He averted his gaze to hide the impact of her insults. She felt bad for being so cruel, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself from lashing out like a wounded tigress.
“I wasn’t always this way,” he admitted softly. “I used to have friends and a family. I used to have fun for the sake of it. Not everything was some game I played with my enemies.” He looked back at her fiercely. “I’m sorry, Victoria, but that’s what this is. I’m at war, and you happen to be caught in the crosshairs.” He sighed as he raised his palm to rub his eye. “This war has already cost me everything.”
A knot formed in her throat as she reached out to place a hand on his chest. “I’m so sorry, Malcolm,” she said, not being able to think of anything else, “but it doesn’t excuse the way you’ve dealt with this.”
“I know,” he agreed softly. “I just want to find my daughter. I don’t want her to grow up without a father. I don’t want her to be told that I left, or whatever other lies the family will spin. They will, Victoria, I know them. I’m just a dog in their eyes, something less than human.”
“Why?” she asked in amazement. “That doesn’t make any sense. You’re one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. A self-made billionaire. You’d think that would count for something.”
He shook his head violently. “It doesn’t matter to these people. They are aristocracy; they inherited their wealth from a time where the rich ruled and the poor stayed poor. That’s still true today, because people like them make every effort they can to keep it that way!” He glared at her with red hot rage. “I’m a bastardization of what they hold as truth. A poor orphan that became powerful. I broke their carefully crafted mold and that makes me worse than poor. It makes me an anomaly and a perversion of the natural order of things.”
He took a deep breath and sat on the desk. His face was tired and his eyes broken. She couldn’t stand to see him like this and she rose to her feet so that she could wrap her arms around him. “Well, fuck those people,” she said with righteous indignation.
“I did worse. I married their last daughter and had a child,” he said bitterly. He accepted her embrace, pulling her closer. “Anyway, I’m telling you this because you need to understand that everything you thought you knew about the way the world works is wrong.” He sighed again and gently pushed her away.
She wanted to say something more but she bit her tongue. Nodding softly, she reached out to gently brush his cheek. “I like you, Malcolm,” she said gingerly, “and understanding a bit more of your past almost makes me want to forgive you. Almost,” she teased.
A light chuckle escaped his lips. “I will make this up to you,” he said through a small smile. “I’m always good at making things up, my treasure.” She flushed slightly and glanced away. “I know, but not right now. I think I need to work from home, because you’re way too much of a distraction. I’ll come to the office when you aren’t around if I need anything, but I don’t like being glued to a desk. I’m more of a field worker.” “You’re right, and I want this over as quickly as you do,” he said softly. “Bring any updates directly to me-you can call me at any time, day or night.”
She nodded a bit sadly. The thought of parting with him was more difficult than she expected it would be. Just a few moments ago, she had wanted nothing more than to run away, but now, she wanted to cling to him. This wild emotional rollercoaster irritated her, and she wondered how she had let someone have so much power over her so quickly.
“Don’t look so sad, my treasure,” he said with a twinge of lust. “You’ll conquer this obstacle soon, and we can start all over again.” He reached for her crotch once more, gently rubbing his warm palm over the junction of her jeans. His words and touch dripped with promises of undeniable bliss.
Victoria felt her body flush and her thighs tremble. Damn him, she thought to herself in exasperation, wondering if he could feel her arousal soaking through the thick denim. “I am not sure we can start anything all over again after what you’ve done, Malcolm.”
“We will,” he assured her. “You won’t be able to resist.”
She rolled her eyes. “Hopefully you’ll be so busy taking care of your daughter that you’ll forget all about me.”
“I could never forget about you, Victoria.”