Chapter 11

Lionel cleared his throat. I finally allowed myself to look back up at him. His face was unreadable, the same stoic face that I was used to.

His brown eyes were dark and heavy, and I couldn't look away from him, no matter how much I wanted to. I wanted to run away in embarrassment.

I opened my mouth to try to explain, but Lionel beat me to it and spoke before I could find the words.

"I didn't really expect you to have clothes like that." He said, clearing his throat again. His voice was as calm and clear as it always was, like he wasn't affected at all by this awkward moment.

I felt my face flush bright red. I didn't know how I was supposed to explain myself. I could say that my sister gave it to me, but if I did, would he ask why?

I really couldn't think of a way to explain it all without telling him everything. I didn't know how to explain that my sister had tried to convince me to try seducing him. And I could not tell him that.

I had a contract, but that didn't mean he couldn't fire me if I acted inappropriately. And I wasn't willing to be fired over this. But I couldn't think of a lie that I could use to explain it away to him.

He interrupted my thoughts, finding his next words much faster than I could find an excuse.

"Are you planning on going out to meet someone?" He asked, nonchalantly. He crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head as he looked at me.

"Someone like Joseph, maybe?" There was something dark in his voice. Something almost like displeasure or maybe even jealousy.

"No, no, no." I squeaked out, as I shook my head quickly. "I wasn't planning on going out at all."

Part of me tried to argue that I didn't need to explain myself to him. I was his employee, he didn't have the right to tell me what I could do or wear when I wasn't on the clock. That part of me was quickly quieted when I looked at him.

Lionel nodded slowly and deliberating. His eyes searched my face, as if he was trying to read my inner thoughts. "Alright."

He let out a huff, eyes finally leaving my face. "Just so you know, you should stay away from my brother." He advised me seriously.

I almost wanted to laugh. It was funny that Lionel was suddenly so interested in me and my safety. He didn't care about me at all, by taking Patti he hurt me more than Joseph ever could.

"I know him. I know him better than anyone, so let me tell you plainly. He's a terrible playboy." Lionel explained, looking at me with a pointed look.

I opened my mouth to respond, but thought better of it. Lionel didn't look like he was finished speaking.

"He is the kind of man that enjoys breaking hearts. He thinks it's funny." He made a face as he stepped towards me.

I didn't like his conceited tone of voice, almost like he didn't trust me to make decisions for myself. It was ridiculous. He barely even knew me.

I stepped backwards towards the door to my room, putting more space in between us. "I really wasn't planning on meeting with him." I promised, walking back until my back pressed against the door.

I reached down towards the door handle, ready to make my escape from him.

Lionel nodded again, stepping towards me once more. "Good. I would hate to see anyone, especially one of my employees, suffer because of him."

He stepped even closer to me. He was close enough that I could feel the heat emanating from his body. My heart pounded against my ribs as my mouth went dry.

My hand fumbled for the door handle, my bag starting to slip off of my arm. I quickly moved the bag back up onto my shoulder. Lionel looked down at the movement, before looking back at me.

I could not think of an explanation to why he kept getting so close to me. He had made it clear that he didn't care about me or my opinion. The only reason I was here was because my adoptive daughter ended up being his biological daughter.

He crouched down. My breath hitched and I squeezed my eyes shut. My brain raced in a thousand different directions as I tried to figure out what was happening.

"The lingerie fell out again." His low voice said.

I opened my eyes again. His dark gaze was locked onto my face intensely as he held out the lingerie, still in its packaging.

"Thank you." I mumbled, taking the lingerie and holding it close to my chest, trying to hide it, and maybe myself, from further scrutiny.

Slowly, he leaned forward, his breath was warm against my ear. "It suits you." He murmured, almost gently.

Almost like a lover would do.

My face was once again as red as the lingerie and I was sure my ears were even brighter than the rest of my face. My face was red, my heart was racing, and I almost felt like I was going to pass out. How was I supposed to respond to that?

I cleared my throat, trying to calm my racing heart. "Thank you." I muttered out again.

I wish I could find something else to say, but Lionel being so close to me just left me speechless.

As he stepped back away from me I finally felt like I was able to breathe again, but my face was still burning. It felt like there was electricity zipping throughout my whole body.

He nodded to me in response as he backed further away. "Have a good night while you're staying in." He said, emphasizing the 'staying in' part as he was walking back towards the main area of the house.

I raised one of my hands in an awkward wave as I watched him walk away. My mind whirred with a hundred different thoughts as I replayed everything that had just happened. I was just trying to figure out what everything meant.

What did Lionel mean? Why was he acting like this towards me?

Lionel’s POV

I looked down at the business card I had swiped from Nan's pocket, a sneer on my face. It was clean and elegant, a near exact copy of mine. Except it had my brother's name on it.

Joseph had thought he'd been sneaky, slipping her the business card. He should have known better than to think he could pull something like that over on me. I had told him before that my employees were off limit, but that hadn't stopped him yet.

It bothered me that he tried to sneak it past me, of course, but what bothered me more was that Nan had kept it. She hadn't thrown it away yet.

I tried to rationalize that she probably just had forgotten to throw it away or that she hadn't noticed that it was still in her pocket. Maybe she hadn't even noticed he slipped it into her pocket. But if she had the card, then that meant there was a small chance that she would consider getting in touch with Joseph.

The thought made me uncomfortable. I tried to be rational and calm, but I didn't like the thought of Nan and Joseph. I didn't like the way Joseph had looked at her during our meeting.

I didn't like the way he spoke to her.

I ripped the business card into two pieces, before I crumpled up both pieces and tossed it into the nearest trashcan. For the next six months at least, Joseph wouldn't be allowed in the mansion. I didn't want him anywhere Nan.

I tried to convince myself that I just wanted Nan around to help Patti acclimate to our lifestyle, but then I remembered the lingerie. My heart rate was picking up at the thought of it.

I couldn't help but imagine her in it. The soft curves of her body draped in red lace. I felt something heavy and hot settle in my gut at the mental image, my body reacting in a way I hadn't expected.

I didn't want anyone else to see Nan like that.