Read Online Behind the Green Curtain by Riley Lashea - Free Book Online Page B

advance. I’ll make sure my lawyers are present.”
    Smile never wavering, Slater got up
from his seat, appearing even more hulking from Jack’s lowered perspective.
“You sound like a guilty man, Mr. Halston,” he declared. “Or at least a man who
isn’t entirely sure he’s innocent.” Though Slater left room for response, Jack
had nothing to say. “Tell Mr. Taylor I’d love to get in that game of squash
sometime.” Slater smiled.
    Following the path of his
self-assured exit, Jack knew he would never fall to whatever allegations the
cocksure agent tried to turn into charges, but it was the first time he had
ever been worried about the inquisition.
     
     

Chapter 12
     
    If you need me, you know where
to find me . Jesus Christ. She may as well have said, ‘I’ll be waiting in
the basement to strip on command.’
    Since the work she’d been given to
keep her busy, as Amelia had freely admitted, was the most mindless on the
planet, Caton had nothing but time to think. So, she thought about what would
have happened if she hadn’t given in to Amelia’s request, if she had never gone
up to Amelia’s office in the first place. It was what she needed to be
thinking, how to avoid further entanglements. She couldn’t undo what she had
done, but she could certainly make her time left at the Halston Palace less
complicated.
    Mostly, though, as desperately as
she tried to force her mind in the other direction, she thought about what would
have happened if Sole hadn’t made her untimely entrance, and it was that inner
musing that drew Caton’s eyes to the doorway every few minutes.
    Of course, Amelia never came. If
she was paying any attention to Caton at all, it could only be through the one-way
street of the security system, on which she could watch her subject without
having to engage.
    Caton left without seeing Amelia
again. The next day came, and she left early to keep her promise to Laura.
Friday came, and Amelia was nowhere to be found.
    It was as if nothing had happened.
    Over the weekend, Caton tried to
forget about it, but those few moments in the foyer entered her thoughts more
often than she would have liked, especially when Laura was right in front of
her and Caton knew how unfair she was being.
    Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Caton
fluctuated between relief that Amelia wasn’t using what had happened against
her and the overwhelming desire to track Amelia down and ask her who the fuck
tells someone to take her clothes off and then returns to ignoring her as if
she’s never seen her naked.
    Then, maybe it just wasn’t all that
memorable for Amelia.
    Though Sole had made her usual
efforts, Caton avoided their small talk and any unnecessary interaction,
keeping to her crypt, where she could suffer her thoughts in relative peace.
Every morning, she stopped in to say hello, and each night she said goodnight
on the fly as Sole was preparing dinner with the precision of someone who did
it every day and could handle the task without conscious thought.
    Leaning into the
delightful-smelling kitchen after a full week of civil avoidance, Caton did
exactly that, saying her goodnight in a rush and turning to go.
    “Caton,” Sole called, and Caton
paused in her fleeing, hand tightening on the strap of her bag as she glanced
back. “Do you want a cookie?”
    When Sole gestured to the racks on
the counter with a smile, Caton instantly shook her head, self-preservation
compelling her to flee in a hurry. “No, thank you.”
    “Amelia is out,” Sole added, before
Caton could make her escape. “Are you ever going to talk to me again?”
    The powerful desire to save herself
superseded by an unexpected flood of guilt, Caton sighed. Feeling called out,
which she had definitely earned, she stepped into the kitchen, stopping across
the bar from Sole, slowly meeting her gaze. “I’m sorry,” she uttered, but Sole
looked more sympathetic than upset.
    “Do you want a cookie?” she offered
again.
    “Yeah, kinda,” Caton