Overlooked(2)(43)

Even if he didn’t know about my working for Kelso beforehand, he sure took advantage of my employment as soon as he could, when he came into Kelso’s bedroom and, and…

And gave me the most mind-blowing experience of my life.

My body warms just remembering it. His touch, his voice. Everything seemed to be focused on pleasuring me. Was Lawson’s real pleasure in knowing we were in Kelso’s bedroom? Did he know Kelso would come home and walk in on us?

The whole idea, all the possibilities, make me so angry — so incredibly frustrated — that I can’t fall asleep at all.





The Interview

(Lawson)



It’s six in the morning and I’m pacing my kitchen. Skye’s ignored all my phone calls and texts. There’s no point in going over there just to sit in her driveway and stare at a closed door again.

But there’s no fucking way I’m giving up on getting her back.

Before Skye, I lived my life alone. Sure I have my sisters, but they’re the only ones I could relate to.

All the other women I’ve dated were only interested in my money, so I used them for a good time. Not once did I ever connect with one of them. They were either shallow or vacuous or only interested in agreeing with whatever I said for fear of pissing me off.

Skye’s different. She isn’t afraid to challenge me, or offend me. I love how passionate she is about life, and how much she cares about other people. Skye keeps me grounded, and constantly reminds me how privileged I am. Plus she keeps my head from getting too big.

I could listen to the sound of her laugh for all eternity.

Not to mention the sounds she makes when I have her in my arms.

I’d given up on ever finding anyone. Figured it wasn’t in the cards for me to ever get married. I was fine with that, until I met Skye.

Now I can’t imagine my life without her in it. More than anything, I want to share my life with her, in all her crazy artistic glory.

I chew my nails down to the point of pain while I try to think of a way to fix the situation. I keep coming back to one thing: Skye thinks I’ve ruined her career. The best way forward is to give her career a real boost.

It’s almost seven and I phone my assistant.

“Hi Lawson.”

“Hey, I’m just checking on the Skye Simmons paintings, does the gallery have more in yet?”

“I asked Gordon to phone me as soon as anything comes in.”

“Phone him and ask, just in case he’s forgotten.”

“Sure thing.”

“Great, thanks. Make it a priority and let me know as soon as you talk to him.”

I end the call but can’t put the phone down. My housekeeper pours me another cup of coffee and I retreat to my home office.

The gallery doesn’t open for at least two hours. This may well be the longest two hours of my life. I can’t even think about how long the rest of the day will be. I’m almost tempted to drive over to Skye’s, but come to my senses. It would only be a useless trip to sit in her driveway.

Instead, I try to distract myself with work. That lasts thirty minutes before I descend into creating a battle plan for taking down Kelso.

The gallery may not be open yet, but Julie always is.

“Ugh, isn’t it too early for a phone call from you?” my sister says into the phone, her voice groggy.

“I needed to update you on a situation.”

“Lovely. Good morning to you too.”

“Good morning. From now on, my objective is to suck every penny from Kelso I can. I don’t want to settle. I don’t give a shit about making it neat and tidy, I want to bankrupt the asshole.”

“Fucking hell, Lawson. Really?” she whines.

“Yes, really. Why are you complaining? You’ll be able to retire from the extra legal fees.”

“It’s going to take years.”

“No skin off my nose. I need you to set me up a secondary company for me, from now on all new hotels will be run through it. As for the old stuff, I know I’m guaranteed to win, so tie up this thing and grind him down as much and for as long as you can.”

“This sounds personal,” she says and sighs.

“Absolutely.”

“Care to fill me in on the situation? As your lawyer, I need to make sure this is in your best interest. And as your sister, I need to make sure you’re okay.”

I quickly fill her in, leaving out the finer details of our time in Kelso’s bedroom.

“Fine. Since I think this’ll blow over and you’ll change your mind about it, I’ll send him a letter today notifying him that the offer to settle has been rescinded.”

“Perfect, I can always count on you.”

“Uh-huh.”

We talk a little longer, mostly about Skye but also about Kelso. I even told Julie how I showed Skye my room dedicated to my charity. If she’d had any doubts about my vendetta against Kelso, they’re gone now.