Her.
Time slows down as Raven wobbles in her black stiletto heels. I see her falling before it happens, and my hands shoot up to bracket around her. Once she’s in my arms, I pull her toward me.
Raven feels small in my arms, fragile, and I feel the need to protect her. Keep her safe from all harm. But as I inhale the soft fragrance of lilacs, I know I can’t do this.
You need to let her go. You cannot be enough for her.
With a cough, I steady her body, then drop my arms and step away.
“Thank you, I—” she says, but I cut her off.
“If you can’t walk in women’s shoes, Miss Bennett, maybe you should try something different. We don’t have that strict of a dress code. Maybe trainers would be best from now on.”
Based on the appalled look on her face, she opens her mouth to argue. I don’t wait to hear what else Raven has to say, as it won’t help this feeling I have when I’m such an arsehole to her.
I’m already gone.
Thirty minutes later, I’m pulling up to the nondescript building in the meatpacking district. Parking my car, I look back at the navigation.
There is no way this is the place. This hole in the wall needs security; it’s not a security center.
But Drew Lawson told me this guy was the best. Called him a world-renowned hacker who runs his own security business. Comes from a well-known family that is legit in real estate.
I must get to the bottom of who is trading in Cavendish Group secrets. Cameras, computer spying, the whole works are needed in my offices, and I can’t have anyone finding out.
I have no choice but to take Drew at his word. Hopefully this bloke is as good as he’s supposed to be. We don’t have time to spare losing clients, especially now with London becoming an issue.
Stepping out of the car, I look for the address, but I don’t see it. I do see a door, though. I’m not even a few steps away when the door opens.
Fascinating.
“You can come in.” A voice says from fuck knows where. The brick? There must be a built-in camera and intercom somewhere I can’t see.
I step inside the door and am transported into what I can only describe as a high-tech lair that would make a Bond villain jealous. I walk farther inside, and as I do, I see a man who looks to be my age sitting in front of a full wall of monitors.
“You must be Charles Cavendish,” he says as he swivels his chair to face me. “I’m Jaxson Price.”
17
Raven
“You did what?”My mother chokes around the sip of margarita she had just taken.
We’re in the middle of discussing my day, and somehow, we got around to the part about how I went to a meeting with Paxton. Then the topic turned to how I went about securing said meeting, leaving out the whole Silver ordeal. Obviously.
“I sent him a fruit basket and asked for a meeting,” I repeated with a one-shoulder shrug.
“A fruit basket?” my mother asks, looking at me as though I’ve lost my mind.
I offer a toothy grin. “He’s mentioned before that he’s partial to fruit.”
“You’ve spoken to him before?”
Teresa Bennett doesn’t miss a damn thing. Ever.
Lily chuckles, piecing together when I would’ve learned that news. We share a look, and I hope she can see that isnotsomething I want to be brought up around my mother.
Mom and I have always been very close. We tell each other nearly everything. But I don’t want her to know about my lapse in judgment at Silver. It’s so unlike me, and I know it would taint her views of me working with Charles.