beside him.”
“Not all of them,” he tells me cryptically.
“No, I would assume Jaxon went home to his wife.”
“And Wyatt went home with you,” he states.
My stomach sinks and I stagger back, feeling the blood rush from my face. “How did you know that?”
His smirk is smug, and I immediately want to slap it off his face. “I told you, I have your home watched. Now, I’m wondering if the man you are having sex with knows who you are.”
“We didn’t have sex,” I lie. “I was drunk, and he took me home. Unlike you, he is a gentleman.”
What I want to know is how he knew. I might have been drunk last night but I would have noticed someone hanging outside. Hell, most of my neighbours are nosey and part of the neighbourhood watch. They would have seen. There is no way he hired someone to watch me. No. He did something worse. He has cameras on me. I know it from the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I don’t let him see my suspicion. If I’m right, I intend to find them when I get home. I will search high and low for them.
“Do not patronize me. I suggest you give me useful information soon, otherwise I’ll be paying the Hayes a visit. After all, it would look suspicious if I turned up today. You wouldn’t want them to find out who you are, would you?”
“I mean nothing to them. I’m just a receptionist, and let’s not forget you want me there,” I argue. “What you mean is you will do something else to destroy their business.”
“Yes, precisely. They won’t get away with defying me. My men are having the destroyed building and offices swept. I want to know what was taken, and if I find out they’ve stolen from me, I will wreak havoc upon them.”
“I’ve sent you enough. This has to end,” I tell him, flinching when he raises his hand and grips my cheeks.
“No, it ends when I get what I want. And what I want are those shipment routes and their clients. I will get them. I just hit a snag when I found out it is all owned by the Hayes family. They don’t have investors, only contracts with firms that won’t work with our company. I want the information as to how. They live on a farm, for goodness sake. There is no way they have that kind of money to invest without illegal activity. To prove myself and make my company great again, I will do what it takes. Mark my words.”
I scoff at his insinuation. “Believe it or not, they don’t deal in illegal activity. They are just that good at what they do. You should try taking a page out of their book. Or maybe you’re scared dear old Granddad will take it all away from you.”
His grip tightens, and my nose stings when I fight back tears.
“The company is mine.”
“Until it’s not. I heard you. Your dad gave you a time limit to get the numbers up for the company. You haven’t,” I reply sharply. “What I didn’t get until now is why you were set on having the Hayes business when there are other companies in the area. You want something they have.”
“You know nothing, Evelyn. Give me what I want, then all this can be over. I might even be generous and let them keep parts of their business.”
“Go to hell,” I spit out.
“I’ll even let you see your mother on Friday’s visit,” he tells me, ignoring my words.
“Whatever,” I wheeze out.
He lets me go, shoving my face away. “You have always been my greatest regret, Evelyn. Your mum was only ever a little bit of fun to me, and I never wanted you. I had my son,” he explains, scrunching his face up. “Don’t make me regret letting you do this for me.”
I stare at his back as he walks away, and grip my thighs, my shoulders shaking as tears fall from my eyes.
He’s not only a monster but fucking crazy. He made it sound like I’m only doing this to please him, forgetting that he’s forcing me.
Shakily, I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial Rebecca’s number. We have the information we need as to why he wants their company. Now I’m going to make sure he never gets his hands on it.
But first, I have to deal with the cameras.
CHAPTER TEN
EVIE
My eyelids still feel heavy from lack of sleep. I