Chapter Twenty-Five

“You want to move in with me…here?” Elara asked with slightly widened eyes.

Atlas folded his arms. “I don't see what's the big deal, I spent the night here before, haven't I?”

“The big deal is that it's not one night anymore. I have no idea how many days-”

“You need my help, Elara. This world you've stepped into? It's not what most people think.”

He stepped closer, filling the space between them with that soft, clean scent that filled her thoughts.

“You came into sudden wealth, out of nowhere. It doesn't help that you're a lady, no offense.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he touched her hair, and she felt her voice go silent.

“You heard my grandma,” he went on softly. “They're not going to kneel and pledge allegiance. You don't know who to trust, and I've been in this game way longer than you have.”

She pursed her lips, forcing herself to hold his gaze without thinking of his touch on her hair or how blue his eyes were up close or how lovely he smelled…

“I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I?” she mumbled.

“I won't force you to do what you don't want to,” he replied. “But we've been placed together, and I suppose we have to make the best of it.”

He was closer now, his touch still on her hair. She felt frozen for a bit, trapped in those stormy eyes…

“Ahem,” Langford cleared his throat.

She jolted, almost forgetting he was there.

And she finally forced herself to look away, as Atlas stepped back, returning his gaze to her notes.

“I think I'll go get a cup of tea,” Langford said quietly and stepped out of the room before she could stop him.

Atlas stared after the lawyer for a bit, then returned his gaze to the rest of the documents spread all over the floor.

“This place is a mess,” he said, screwing up his nose.

“Oh God, don't make me regret this.”

“I'm just saying, you should be more careful.” He picked up some of the documents. “It appears your aunt hasn't been careful, though. These expenditures…what has she been spending money on?”

Elara paused in the act of picking some of them up.

“Why did she want to date you?” She asked, keeping her voice carefully neutral.

“You mean, apart from the fact that I'm young, handsome and rich?” He gave her a smirk. “Maybe because I've got great hair.”

She resisted the urge to fling something at him.

“Why did you refuse her?”

He turned again, this time, one brow was hooked in curiosity.

“Why are you asking me about your aunt? You don't trust her?”

“Not really,” Elara admitted. “But then, I don't have many people around me. And she's family.”

“And she's sneaky. She's been that way since we first met at a family dinner years ago.” He tossed a paper on the desk. “But she can't harm you. Not with me around.”

She scoffed, stacking the papers into a small, neat pile.

“Am I supposed to be grateful?”

“You should be honored. There's a lot of ladies wishing to have a Steele as a husband.”

“You're an insufferable dick, do you know that?”

“No,” he gave her a dirty smile, “but I do know I've got a great one. You might find out about it soon enough.”

She felt her heart leap at the thought of him naked, then turned away before he could see the heat rise to her face.

“You're disgusting,” she muttered.

“And you look absolutely ravishing in that gown. I can't get my eyes off you.”

“Ugh! I'm regretting this already!”

She stomped out of the study, heading to her room to change into new clothes.

But she couldn't help feeling her lips lift into a slight smile as she thought of his last compliment.

—--

Atlas chuckled as she walked out, returning his attention to the papers.

This was a nice change of pace, he thought. He was distracted enough with this: Harrington business accounts and files on the board members.

She was smart to be distrustful of them, but at the same time, she couldn't make them all enemies. They wouldn't dare to oppose her anyway, with him standing beside her.

That didn't mean she was safe. One misstep and they would find reason to depose her. He had seen enough of this since he assumed the role of CEO.

His phone chimed with a message from Dean.

A frown settled on Atlas' face, as he switched to that dark side of business once more.

‘No trace of the guy yet. But we did recover half of the goods.’

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Half wasn't a whole, and Cillian would soon start disturbing him for his money.

‘What about the cops?’ he texted back.

‘Two officers are on it, but I haven't heard from them yet. I did pay them.’

Atlas was in the middle of texting back a reply when he heard the door click behind him.

He turned, to find Amelia standing there in a light, flowery gown.

She smiled at him, but he didn't return it. His eyes tracked her as she crossed over to the shelves on his left.

“This is an unexpected visit,” she said.

“I'm not visiting.”

“Oh?” She turned with lifted brows.

He tucked his hands into his pockets. “I'm going to be here for a while.”

“Oh, that's right.” She touched her head like she had forgotten something. “You are engaged to Elara now. Or is it married? I can't tell, since you two did it behind my back.”

“Would you have accepted the proposal, even if it was done to your face?”

She snapped, “I would rather be kept in light of affairs taking place in my family, in my business.”

“But it's not your business.” He shifted his gaze to the portrait on the wall, of Thomas and Maeve Harrington. “It's theirs, passed down to their daughter.”

“Exactly. It was passed to her. Not to you, not to your poke-nose grandmother…”

“Careful.” His voice had gone cold as ice. “Consider the next words that come out of your mouth.”

Amelia clenched her jaw, her breath coming in short, quick draws. But before either of them could say anything else, the doors clicked open and Elara walked in.

She stopped short, when she saw the two of them glaring at each other.

“Is everything alright?”

Amelia was silent for a moment, but she turned to her, smiling pleasantly.

“Everything is fine, dear.”