Chapter 10

Kane's pov

“For the gala, the caterers confirmed Thursday, but the florist is saying they're booked and won't be available. I have two hundred guests to host on Saturday evening, and the planning is a disaster. I should fire the event hall manager……..that man is completely clueless…”

“You are becoming your father.”

Claudia's words echoed in my brain, overlapping with Jayson's rambling voice as anger swirled inside me, making my jaw twitch.

Six years ago, at my father's deathbed, I had sworn I would never be like him.

To become a man who changed women like clothes, who couldn't be bothered to show up for his family, opting instead to send gifts through courier services. I had watched my mother cry too many times, promising myself on my wedding night that I would never put my wife in that position.

Claudia knew that was my breaking point. And she had weaponized it anyway.

That ingrate.

“Kane? Are you even listening to me?” Jayson stopped rambling and frowned across the table.

“The florists aren't available this weekend, and your gala is a disaster waiting to happen,” I answered without looking up. “Yes, I heard every word.”

“Pretty sure you weren't listening,” he grumbled. He had always hated my photographic memory and my ability to recall details effortlessly.

“You need an experienced organizer,” I said plainly.

Jayson snapped his fingers. "Yes! Exactly that. Do you have any idea how difficult it is on two days' notice to find someone who actually knows what they’re doing?"

I considered it for a second. "Mrs. Hawkins."

He blinked. "Your secretary?"

"She organized the Ravello annual board dinner three years running without a single complaint.” I patted his shoulder reassuringly. "She is the best organizer I have ever seen. I will lend her to you for the week."

Jayson stared at me. "You would lend me Mrs. Hawkins? Your right hand, your office lifeline?" he asked dramatically.

"Consider it a favor."

"Kane," he leaned forward, "I could kiss you right now."

"Please don't."

Just then, a waitress approached our table carrying a tray of drinks. I reached for my glass without looking up.

Then I froze.

It was the woman from the night before….the woman I hadn't been able to get out of my head despite the hell unfolding around my life.

Here she was, serving me as if I were a total stranger, wearing the composure of a trained server.

For a second, I genuinely thought the whiskey was playing tricks on me.

So, I blinked hard.

“Enjoy your evening, gentlemen." Her voice was calm and controlled as she picked up her tray and turned to leave.

Something inside me refused to let her walk away. I pushed back my chair.

“Kane?”

I ignored Jayson and stalked after her. She had barely made it back to the private corridor near the bar area when my hand closed around her wrist. Caught off guard, she lost her footing and collided directly against my chest.

I reached out to steady her, my hand landing on her waist. For a second, time stopped. A sudden warmth rushed through my body, and vivid memories of our shared night flooded my mind.

“Get your hands off me,” she said quietly, pulling back from my hold.

I didn't let go. Instead, I took a long look at her. She was just as beautiful as she was that night, but seeing her in a server's uniform made an irrational anger burn in my chest.

“What are you doing here, dressed like that?” I snapped.

“I work here. As you can see.” Her tone was completely indifferent, and it infuriated me.

“Since when?”

"Since this morning." Her eyes met mine steadily. "I had no idea you would be here. I was assigned to your table. That is all.”

"What a coincidence." I let the words land heavily between us. "You end up in my suite. Then you appear at my friend's hotel, serving my table." I searched her face for any crack. "Tell me, have you been following me around hoping to extort more money? Or are you working with the paparazzi? Was that night a setup for my downfall? A story for the headlines? What exactly is your angle?”

Her eyes widened in shock, and she yanked her arm free from my grip. “I wait tables here for my daily bread. Whatever despicable notions you've built in your head are entirely wrong. Understand?”

“I find that difficult to believe,” I insisted, grabbing her shoulder to spin her back toward me.

“Mr. Whatever-Your-Name-Is,” her voice turned icy, “the world does not revolve around you, and I have zero intention of ever seeing you again. You were a mistake that never should have happened.” She glanced at her wrist, then towards the bar. "Move out of my way. I have customers to serve.”

A mistake!

I stared at the mouth that had whispered my name in ecstasy, the same woman who had clung to me just twenty-four hours ago.

“A mistake, you say?” The words shouldn't have mattered but they did. More than they should have. I chuckled darkly, and stepped closer, brushing my fingers lightly against the nape of her neck, watching her stiffen instantly. “You weren't saying that when I was inside of you. Taking your virginity.”

For a brief second, a raw flash of agony crossed her face. A mixture of deep sadness and anger.

“Oh, I saw the sheets. Thankfully, you didn't lie about that part.”

“You ass… You're the most arrogant man I've ever met.” She blurted, her eyes burning.

Heat rushed straight to my veins. For a split second, I was completely consumed by an urge to repeat that night. Her defiance only fueled my desire.

“I was your first, but it doesn't have to be the last,” I whispered, leaning into her ear. “Listen, I don't want you serving or entertaining other men. I have all the money you could ever need. Enough to set you up for life.”

Her mouth parted in utter disbelief.

“You sold yourself once. Don't pretend you're above it now. Why keep serving drinks to strange men? Stay with me instead. Be mine alone.”

“Say that again,” she whispered, looking completely bewildered.

“Be my mistress. Name your price.”

CRACK

Her hand connected with my cheek so fast I didn't even see it coming.

The force snapped my head to the side. The sharp sting spread across my face in a slow, burning wave. For several seconds, absolute silence fell over the hallway.

No one had ever slapped me in my entire life. Not once.

She looked at me, not with hatred, but with a profound, crushing disappointment. It was the exact look my grandmother used to give me when I failed to meet her expectations.

“You despicable, arrogant, man-child,” she said softly, a single tear spilling over her lashes. “Do you think I wanted to sell my body to you that night? Do you think I don't know my own value, or what I deserve as a woman? I regret ever doing it… especially with someone like you!”

Her voice was quiet, but the sheer pain vibrating behind her words felt like a scream.

I knew I should stop. But the raw, bleeding pride of being rejected by two women in less than forty-eight hours destroyed whatever restraint I had left.

“Being a virgin changes nothing,” I pressed on, digging the hole deeper. “Every woman in your line of work has a first customer, I just happened to be yours.”

The corridor went dead silent.

She stared deep into my eyes, looking straight into my soul.

“I don't want your money, keep it.” she said softly. "There are things in this world that your billions cannot touch. I am one of them.”

She turned to leave, but as an afterthought, she stopped. And looked down at my expensive leather shoes.

Slowly, she lifted her foot, and brought her sharp high heel down hard right onto my toes.

STOMP

Pain shot up my leg, making me take a sharp, involuntary step backward.

“I hope you heal.”

She whispered the words, straightened her uniform, tucked her tray under her arm, and walked away down the corridor without looking back once.

I stood alone in the hallway, feeling like a stranger in my own skin, watching her disappear around the corner. My cheek burned, my foot throbbed, and my mind was in turmoil.

For the first time in my life, a woman had walked away from my money. And somehow, that hurt far more than the slap.

“So… who was that?” Jayson’s voice broke through the quiet from behind me. He stood at the entrance of the hallway, arms folded, watching me with sharp eyes.

“No one. No one important.”

“That’s not what it looked like.”

“Jayson… drop it.”

For a second, Jayson looked like he wanted to press further on what he had clearly witnessed, but he thought better of it.

“Do you need me for something?” I asked, trying to regain my composure.

“The Board just called an emergency meeting,” Jayson said, his tone turning dead serious. “It’s your stepbrother, Adrian.”

“What has he done now?" I swore under my breath.

Jayson's grave expression gave me the answer before he even spoke.

Something was terribly wrong.