I hiss at him.
He laughs but gets the hint. He collects his clothes and heads to the bathroom before I open the door. Enzo and I really need to have a talk. He thinks his team is just punishing him for the minor indiscretion of choosing me over saving them. But it’s more than that. I’m not sure he believes the story about what happened in previous generations. I don’t care if he’s grown up around these people his entire life. They can still turn on him if they think their way of life is being threatened.
“Sorry, I was just about to step into the shower,” I say as I open the door to Denziel.
He looks from me to the bed behind me. The covers are crumpled, and the pillows are thrown around on the bed. Not to mention the smell of sex. Who am I kidding? They all know Enzo and I are fucking. I just need to go with the angle that he means nothing to me, and I mean nothing to him.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Now that you are in charge, there are some things we need you to handle.”
His vagueness isn’t reassuring.
“Okay, what do you need me to decide?”
His jaw twitches just the tiniest bit. “The doctor wants to take Clifton to the nearby hospital. He lost a lot of blood, and he wants to do a few x-rays to ensure everything is okay.”
“Okay?” I ask, confused.
“You have to approve the transport of Clifton. Boat or helicopter?”
“Helicopter, he should get there as fast as possible.”
“It’s not an emergency.”
“I don’t care; we take care of our injured people. From now on, if anyone needs medical care while under my watch just send them. I don’t care about the costs; my approval isn’t necessary.”
He smiles at my words.
Shit. Shouldn’t I be making Enzo look better as a leader instead of myself? I don’t want to win. I can’t rule this empire and take care of my baby. It would be ridiculous.
“There is more,” Denziel says, indicating for me to follow him.
I follow him upstairs to the main deck where a half-dozen of the team is mulling around. There are papers scattered on the table. None of these men have given me the time of day before, except Langston, who is standing in the corner looking mortified to see me still in charge.
Trust me, I’m mortified too. This can’t be happening. I need to find a way to show that Enzo is the better leader fast, before another attack happens. I can’t put my life at risk like this.
I give Langston a look that says, help me.
But he shrugs like he has no clue how to.
Ugh, this is ridiculous. Why can’t I go back to being invisible to these people?
Langston’s eyes turn from me to behind me, and I know without looking Enzo has arrived. But this time, when he enters the room, everyone ignores him. I’ve never seen his team ignore him. They worship him. They jump at the chance to gain his approval. One snap of his fingers and they jump into action for him. But now, not a single person in the room other than Langston looks at him. They show him zero respect. They act like he’s invisible.
I decide I need a coffee if I’m going to make it through today. So I turn in the direction of the kitchen.
“Your coffee, ma’am,” a man holds out an iced coffee exactly like I drink it.
“Um…thanks,” I say, taking the cup from him.
“Can I get you anything else? We weren’t sure what you eat for breakfast.”
My stomach growls, giving my hunger away. I’m pregnant; I should eat. And then I remember I’m not sure if I should be drinking coffee. I decide one iced coffee probably won’t hurt though and start sipping.
“An omelet with toast would be great, but I can fix it myself,
” I say.