if John didn't give you permission to leave—"
Gillian swung around abruptly as her eyes immediately found his. "Permission?" she yelled as she put her hands on her hips. "I don't need John's fucking permission! Maybe you forget, but I don't work for John, nor am I one of his whores!"
"Miss—"
"It's all right, Stewart," Duff said as he walked into the room, interrupting their conversation. "She can leave. Luther and I will see to it that she gets back to her home safely."
"I don't need you driving me anywhere, Duff," Gillian replied snidely as Stewart nodded at the Scottish man and left the room. "I can take a damn cab."
"We either drive you, or you fucking walk," Duff replied, his eyes roaming over Gillian's lovely face and body. The woman was beautiful, but she was beyond stunning when she was angry. His dick twitched to life as her eyes shot daggers at him. "You can be pissed at John, but I haven't done anything to you, sweetheart. We are at least an hour from the city of London. You feel like walking all of that?"
Gillian stood there and brooded over the Scottish man's words. Truth was she had no idea how to get back to the city from John's estate. All she knew was that she wanted to get as far away from John Kenric as she could! Even if that meant having Duff drive her home. "Fine, you can drive me home," she replied through clenched teeth. "But we leave now."
"Follow me, sweetheart." Duff smiled as he led Gillian out the entrance of the manor and into the courtyard. Luther sat waiting for them in the black Escalade. Opening the car door, Duff climbed in behind the beautiful woman. Gillian immediately distanced herself and kept her emerald eyes cast out the window. They sat in silence for several minutes before Duff asked, "So, you want to talk about it?"
Gillian rolled her eyes and harshly laughed before looking directly at Duff and saying, "Really? Do I look like I want to talk about it? Forgive me for not being in the mood for small talk right now, Duff. Just shut your mouth and enjoy the silence, okay?"
The Scottish man cracked his thick neck from side to side in irritation. Why was Gillian being such an ass to him? He wasn't the one who had told her to leave. "Fuck your silence!" Duff barked back at her. "There is no reason for you to be a bitch to me. If you hadn't pissed John off, we wouldn't be here now. What did you do to piss him off anyway?"
"What did I do?" Gillian asked in disbelief as she stared incredulously at Duff. Looking out the window and noticing that they were within the city limits, she yelled, "Stop the damn car!"
"Gillian…" Duff began, but the woman lunged at him and punched him in the chest.
"Stop the damn car, Duff! Now!" Gillian frantically yelled as she continued to fight with the Scottish man. As soon as the car came to a stop, the beautiful American threw open the door and got out. She immediately began walking down the sidewalk. Before she got very far, she felt Duff's hand gripping her arm to stop her. Her eyes and face were wet with tears when she turned to look at him.
"Stop and talk to me, dammit!" Duff ordered softly, wanting to comfort the woman. Although he didn't know yet what had occurred between John and Gillian, he knew it was over.
"Please, Duff," Gillian brokenly sobbed, her voice breaking. She simply wanted to get back to her apartment and disappear. She hated showing anyone how weak she could be, let alone Duff. "Let me just have a little pride and have some time to myself. I appreciate you helping me, but I just want to be alone."
Duff's heart was breaking as he watched the tears flow down Gillian's lovely face. He cupped her cheek and stroked her slender neck with his thumb. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," the Scottish man said softly." He then reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small envelope. Clearing his throat, he said, "John wanted me to give this to you."
Gillian straightened her back and wiped at her eyes. Taking the envelope, she opened it to find a check for a million dollars and a note that read: Here is a little something for services rendered. The painful gasp escaped Gillian's lips as she closed her eyes. How