Burning Your Lies (King and Queen Duet #2)

10

Xavier

There’s a knock at my door. I gesture for them to enter and close my laptop. Ray and Savannah are golden from their honeymoon. They walk with a skip in their step and a wide smile on their face. Whatever joke was made before they entered still has them chuckling between themselves.

“I trust you had a nice honeymoon.”

She smiles at me.

“Wonderful. Thank you for the private jet. I didn’t know you owned one of those.”

I match her light tone.

“There’s much about me you don’t know, Miss Hayes.”

“Mrs Ray-Hayes,”

she corrects with pride.

With a nod, I hold my hands up in surrender.

“My apologies. Let’s get to business.”

I slide across her new employment contract.

“Welcome back to XR Securities. We are glad to have you back, albeit with a new name.”

She takes Ray’s hand in hers.

“I am glad to be back.”

Her focus turns to him.

“And to be working with my husband.”

It’s hard to conceal my excitement when I deliver the news to them.

“Unfortunately, you won’t be working with Ray. The company policy doesn’t permit couples to work together.”

Ray’s head snaps towards me. “What?”

I shrug my shoulders.

“It’s always been that way. It avoids any in-house betrayal.”

I smile apologetically.

“It’s out of my hands.”

Ray opens his mouth to argue, but Savannah grips his hands. She turns to me with a shrug.

“Okay. That’s fine. It’s probably smart to spend some time away from each other. Don’t shit where you eat and all that. Who are you assigning me to? As long as it’s not Oscar the creep, I’m fine with that.”

She points at her husband.

“I kept this one in check. I can do it again with someone new.”

This time, I don’t fight the smile.

“There’s no need to worry about that. You’ll be my PA.”

The colour drains from their faces. “What?”

she splutters.

“Where’s Francesca?”

“Because of the reputation that precedes Ray, it was impossible to recruit a decent PA. Luckily, Francesca was happy to step in. Which left me without a PA.”

Unable to hide the laugh building in me at their burst bubble, I disguise it as a joke.

“Let’s hope Ray doesn’t screw his new PA and marry her.”

Neither of them laughs. They stare at each other, having a silent conversation. But I don’t need words to confirm his worries; he doesn’t trust her alone with me because he knows she still wants me.

“No,”

Ray declares.

“Hux,”

she pleads.

“No!”

he snarls.

“We’re not doing that. Take this as her formal resignation, effective immediately.”

He stands.

“Let’s go.”

She remains in her seat, staring up at her husband. A fire of smugness spread through me because her hesitation only reaffirms his belief; she wants to be my PA. She wants to spend all hours with me.

“Let’s just—”

“I said no! You can find a job somewhere else.”

And there’s the first crack in their marriage.

Putting on my best face of innocence, I clasp my hands together.

“Why don’t you think about it? Take a few days and then come back to me with a decision.”

I know what the decision will be because it’s Savannah nature to rebel. He will be forced to accept it and seeing us together will drive him insane. When he walks past the office and sees her leaning over so her breasts are on show, jealousy will consume him. When I call her to the office in the middle of the night for something, he’s going sweat with worry that I have her bent over the desk, fucking her like he never could. And it will build until he can’t take it anymore. He will explode and she will come running back to me.

“There’s nothing to think about. The answer is no.”

“It’s nice of you to check in, Maria. Elise and I are both fine.”

“No problem, Mr Rivers. I missed her today. Will she be back in daycare tomorrow?”

“I hope so. She seems to be feeling better. Perhaps it was just a slight spike in the morning.”

She hums.

“Better to be safe than sorry. Well, I hope to see her tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

I hang up the phone with an eye roll. Grabbing my laptop bag, I head into the house. It’s pin-drop silent for a few seconds, and then I hear the giggles coming from the kitchen.

“I’m home!”

“Daddy!”

She comes bounding towards me and wraps her arms around my legs. “Cake!”

Brynn leans against the wall and laughs. Flour covers her clothes and her hair pulled into a messy bun.

“I think she’s had a little too much sugar.”

I press my lips against her temple.

“It’s going to be a late night, huh? What did you and Brynn get up to today?”

She walks into the kitchen, and I follow behind her.

“Shall we tell daddy what we did today? We ate some breakfast, played some games, and then Elise had a nap while I cleaned up. What else did we do today?”

“Book!”

Her smile is breathtaking.

“Yes! We did a little reading. Ate lunch. Played some more and then we cooked dinner and baked a cake for daddy.”

Elise wriggles free and runs to the living room.

“Thank you,” I say.

She waves me off.

“No problem. It’s not your fault that your nanny needed a sick day.”

Maintaining the lie, I let out a sigh.

“I know, but I’m sure you had better things to be doing today.”

Brynn props her hand on her hip.

“It’s no bother. Honestly, I had a great time with her. She’s so sweet and intelligent. I had a lot of fun with her today.”

I stand back and watch as she works her way around my kitchen as if it’s ours. I don’t need Savannah. Not when I have the perfect Brynn. Brynn doesn’t need to be taught how to cook and clean. Brynn is always dressed immaculately. Brynn looks at me like I’ve given her the world. And we haven’t even fucked yet.

“I hope after all you’ve done today, you’re joining us for dinner.”

She tucks the escaped tendril behind her ear.

“I have to be up early tomorrow. And I’m really exhausted from Elise,”

she laughs.

“We have plenty of spare beds here.”

She lets out a soft sigh and avoids my gaze.

“We’ve only known each other for two months.”

I can’t help but let out a laugh.

“I wasn’t suggesting that we share a bed. But no worries. It was just a suggestion.”

Brynn frowns.

“You don’t think I’m leading you on, do you?”

My steps are slow towards her.

“You can lead me anywhere you want and I will blindly follow you.”

Unable to hold my heavy stare, she looks away.

“I feel like this is all happening too fast. We’ve spent almost every day together since we bumped into each other at the grocery store.”

Brynn never replied to the message I sent her the day after she bumped into me. Worried something had happened to her, I tracked her phone and saw she didn’t leave her flat for two days. I sent another message on day four asking if she had any luck making friends. She ignored that one, too. I was almost certain something had happened to her, so I parked outside her building and kept an eye on her. She spent a lot of time on her balcony. Sometimes she was reading, other times she sat solemnly and watched the sky. She had nobody. So, I took it upon myself to watch over her. It was day seven when she bought groceries. I only followed her to make sure she got home safely. But I realised it was probably my only chance to speak to her, as she clearly had no plans for a virtual conversation.

I bumped into her this time and apologised. There was a look of relief in her eyes when she recognised me immediately. We did our shopping together, and like a gentleman, I offered to pay for her shopping. She refused but agreed to having coffee with me. And the rest has been history.

“There’s no such thing as fast. Only what feels right.”

Her eyes drop to my lips before she shakes her head and steps away.

“Why don’t you freshen up while I plate up?”

The hot shower helps relax my muscles. Today was a good day. I got to see Savannah and had a pleasant exchange with her. She and Ray are probably arguing about me right now. Brynn is undeniably falling in love with me. Life is wonderful.

“How is the job hunt going?” I ask.

She shrugs.

“Not great. London is a competitive market.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something soon.”

“I hope so. If not, I’ll have to look further out.”

I stop cutting my steak.

“How far out?”

“A different city.”

The food barely makes it down my throat.

“That will be a difficult commute.”

“I’ll probably leave London. It’s not like there is anything really tying me here.”

She speaks the words with such ease, completely dismissing Elise and me.

I playfully clutch my heart.

“You wound me with your cold words.”

She looks up at me with regret.

“I didn’t mean it like that. But I’m blowing through my savings living here. If I don’t get a job, I’ll be homeless soon. I need to be smart and practical.”

“I can give you some money if you need it.”

I thought my job and wealth would impress Brynn, but upon learning about it, she looked utterly unbothered.

She vigorously shakes her head from side to side.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that. I’m sure I’ll find something. At this point, I’ll do anything.”

I’d offer her a job at my company, but mixing her and Savannah is asking for a disaster. Brynn doesn’t exactly know about Savannah and our tragic love story. But as we eat dinner, I wonder if it is worth the risk. It’s nice having Brynn around. If only I had a way to keep her here every day.

And then the idea comes to me.

I wait until Brynn is saying goodbye to Elise when I feign receiving a call. I excuse myself to my office, where I sit in silence for a few minutes. Then, with fake worry, I descend the stairs.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

“Maria’s broken her leg.”

“Oh no. How did that happen?”

“She fell down the stairs.”

I look at Elise.

“What am I going to do? How am I supposed to vet a new nanny? By the time I complete a background check and get an NDA sorted, Maria will be fit again. I won’t be able to work.”

I rub my face.

“The board is going to be so vexed because we’re meant to be preparing for a new big client.”

Apprehension takes control of her face. She looks between me and Elise for a few moments before she throws in the towel.

“Maybe I can help?”

I shake my head.

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

She smiles with more conviction.

“It’s not like I have anything to do, or anyone to see. Maybe Elise can help me apply for a few jobs.”

I pull her into a hug, and when she can’t see my face, I grin.

“Thank you so much. I’ll pay you double what I paid Maria.”

She pulls away.

“That’s not necessary.”

Holding her hands, I plaster on my best charming smile.

“I insist. You’re saving me in ways you could never understand.”