Falling from Grace: A Billionaire Romantic Suspense series (The Filth Monger Series Book 1) by Annabel Chant Page B
Authors: Annabel Chant
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did it to get you off the hook,’ he said, but it was a lame excuse, and I could tell he knew it.
‘You know I’m going to have to let you go, don’t you?’ I said, turning again to stare out the window. I didn’t want to look at him. I hated this kind of thing, but he’d brought it on himself.
‘Oh, no, Sir.’ He spoke quickly now, the words tumbling out on top of each other. ‘Please, Sir. Where am I going to find another job like this? With pay like this?’
‘It’s not my concern.’ I shrugged and turned to him, trying to suppress my anger. ‘My only concern at the moment is protecting the people you’ve put at risk. Look,’ I relented slightly. ‘I’ll give you some cash to tide you over. After that, it’s up to you.’
I went into the room next door. I always had a decent amount of cash in the safe, for emergencies. It took a few minutes to get the combination lined up correctly. It was an old safe – it had been my father’s – but it was solid and dependable enough for the amount I kept in it.
Finally, I got it open, and counted out enough cash to give him a few months’ breathing space. I shut the safe quickly, and went back into my office.
Rick was gone. As I looked out the window, I saw his car hurtling away up the driveway, past the avenue of lime trees and out on the darkening roads of Berkshire. I wondered why he hadn’t waited…why he was leaving empty-handed and in such a hurry.
It was only when I turned back to my desk to sort out the rest of my business, that I found the answer. Rick hadn’t left empty-handed at all. He’d taken the tape, and the letters, with him.
Nineteen
As the first strains of music crept out across the audience, people were still laughing and shouting, but as soon as Liv began to sing, the room fell silent. Her voice, though low, was rich and melodic, and it stopped the audience in its tracks.
I recognised the song straight away. It was one Leo and I had danced to when we’d first met, and the memory brought back the hurt all over again. We’d been happy then. He’d been a youth team player, and I was at college. He’d come to our student prom with a friend and we’d fallen in love almost at once. He was awkward and shy, and it had taken him the whole evening to get up the courage to ask me out. From the moment he had, we’d been inseparable.
The song brought it all flooding back but, after the initial shock of hearing it, the pain began to dwindle. I was too interested in the way Liv sang it. For such a dainty creature, she could sure kick out a tune. She’d put her own twist on it, taken a light love song to another plane entirely…dragged it kicking and screaming into a power ballad. She’d destroyed the original for me forever, and I was glad. There was a gothic edge to this version, too, which gave it a haunting quality. The audience loved it and, as she sobbed out the final notes, they yelled and cheered for more.
I put my empty glass down on the sawdust-strewn floor and clapped, feeling almost as proud as if it were me up there, drinking in the applause. Liv was loving it, beaming out at the audience and squinting against the bright lights. She spotted me and waved excitedly. Then her smile faded. She seemed to be looking behind me, and worry was etched into her face.
I turned to see what she’d been looking at. Chris and Stef were standing either side of me, drinks in their hands. I smiled at them both, relieved to have some company to take my mind off Leo.
‘Come with us,’ Stef said, handing me a beer. ‘Meet our mates.’
I followed them to the farthest corner of the room. There was a cluster of young guys there, sitting on benches. They all had surfer-dude hairstyles and tight tee-shirts that strained across their chests, and they laughed and cheered as we walked over to them. I felt awkward and shy.
‘Here she is.’ Stef pushed me forward. ‘This is Grace, and she’s on her own.’
‘Not anymore,’
‘You know I’m going to have to let you go, don’t you?’ I said, turning again to stare out the window. I didn’t want to look at him. I hated this kind of thing, but he’d brought it on himself.
‘Oh, no, Sir.’ He spoke quickly now, the words tumbling out on top of each other. ‘Please, Sir. Where am I going to find another job like this? With pay like this?’
‘It’s not my concern.’ I shrugged and turned to him, trying to suppress my anger. ‘My only concern at the moment is protecting the people you’ve put at risk. Look,’ I relented slightly. ‘I’ll give you some cash to tide you over. After that, it’s up to you.’
I went into the room next door. I always had a decent amount of cash in the safe, for emergencies. It took a few minutes to get the combination lined up correctly. It was an old safe – it had been my father’s – but it was solid and dependable enough for the amount I kept in it.
Finally, I got it open, and counted out enough cash to give him a few months’ breathing space. I shut the safe quickly, and went back into my office.
Rick was gone. As I looked out the window, I saw his car hurtling away up the driveway, past the avenue of lime trees and out on the darkening roads of Berkshire. I wondered why he hadn’t waited…why he was leaving empty-handed and in such a hurry.
It was only when I turned back to my desk to sort out the rest of my business, that I found the answer. Rick hadn’t left empty-handed at all. He’d taken the tape, and the letters, with him.
Nineteen
As the first strains of music crept out across the audience, people were still laughing and shouting, but as soon as Liv began to sing, the room fell silent. Her voice, though low, was rich and melodic, and it stopped the audience in its tracks.
I recognised the song straight away. It was one Leo and I had danced to when we’d first met, and the memory brought back the hurt all over again. We’d been happy then. He’d been a youth team player, and I was at college. He’d come to our student prom with a friend and we’d fallen in love almost at once. He was awkward and shy, and it had taken him the whole evening to get up the courage to ask me out. From the moment he had, we’d been inseparable.
The song brought it all flooding back but, after the initial shock of hearing it, the pain began to dwindle. I was too interested in the way Liv sang it. For such a dainty creature, she could sure kick out a tune. She’d put her own twist on it, taken a light love song to another plane entirely…dragged it kicking and screaming into a power ballad. She’d destroyed the original for me forever, and I was glad. There was a gothic edge to this version, too, which gave it a haunting quality. The audience loved it and, as she sobbed out the final notes, they yelled and cheered for more.
I put my empty glass down on the sawdust-strewn floor and clapped, feeling almost as proud as if it were me up there, drinking in the applause. Liv was loving it, beaming out at the audience and squinting against the bright lights. She spotted me and waved excitedly. Then her smile faded. She seemed to be looking behind me, and worry was etched into her face.
I turned to see what she’d been looking at. Chris and Stef were standing either side of me, drinks in their hands. I smiled at them both, relieved to have some company to take my mind off Leo.
‘Come with us,’ Stef said, handing me a beer. ‘Meet our mates.’
I followed them to the farthest corner of the room. There was a cluster of young guys there, sitting on benches. They all had surfer-dude hairstyles and tight tee-shirts that strained across their chests, and they laughed and cheered as we walked over to them. I felt awkward and shy.
‘Here she is.’ Stef pushed me forward. ‘This is Grace, and she’s on her own.’
‘Not anymore,’
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