Champagne And Chaos의 모든 챕터: 챕터 31 - 챕터 40

The first thing I learned about having more freedom was that freedom came with invitations.The second thing I learned was that rich people apparently considered charity an excuse to put expensive objects on tables and convince themselves they were being responsible citizens.The third thing I learned was that I should never wave at Ruelle during an auction.Unfortunately, I learned that one too late.The charity auction was being held inside one of those Manhattan hotels where even the bathrooms looked like they had financial advisors. Everything glittered. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Champagne moved through the room on silver trays. Women wore dresses that probably cost more than my first car, while men stood around in tuxedos pretending they weren't checking how much everyone else was worth.I stood beside Ethan, trying not to look like I had accidentally wandered into somebody else's life.He looked perfectly comfortable.Of course he did.Ethan belonged in rooms li

I waited until evening to confront Ethan.Mostly because I needed several hours to decide whether I was actually angry or just dangerously pleased that my husband had apparently destroyed a multimillion-dollar business deal because someone had insulted me.The answer, unfortunately, was both.I found him in the study.No assistants.No lawyers.No board members.No security briefing.Just Ethan, sitting behind a desk with his jacket discarded over the back of his chair, sleeves rolled to his forearms, reading something beneath the warm light of a desk lamp.He looked different like that.Less like the billionaire whose name could make entire rooms go silent.More like a man.I hated that I noticed.“You did it.”His eyes lifted from the document.“Good evening, Grace.”“Don't.”He set the paper down.“Don't what?”“Act innocent.”“I wasn't aware I was acting.”I walked farther into the room.“You interfered with the Hartwell deal because Victoria insulted me.”“No.”I stopped.“No?”“

Ruelle knew.Of course she knew.Ruelle had known me long enough to recognize when I was lying before I had finished opening my mouth. She could tell when I was hungry by the way I insulted people, when I was nervous by how fast I talked, and when I was attracted to a man by how aggressively I pretended not to be.So naturally, she noticed Ethan.I should have known I was doomed the moment she walked into the safe house the next morning, looked at me once, and smiled.Not her normal smile.Not the harmless one.The dangerous one.The one that usually preceded criminal activity.“What?” I asked.“Nothing.”“You're smiling.”“I smile.”“Not like that.”She dropped her handbag onto the sofa.“I haven't said anything.”“Your face has.”Ruelle looked me up and down.Then she looked toward the hallway.Then back at me.“You almost kissed him.”I nearly choked on my coffee.“What?”She grinned.“You heard me.”“I don't know what you're talking about.”“Grace.”“I don't.”“You almost kissed E

Maybe possession wasn't what frightened him.Maybe wanting me was.And somehow, that realization scared me too.I stood there staring at Ethan, trying to decide whether I had actually heard him correctly or if my brain had finally given up on me after weeks of billionaires, kidnappers, security threats, secret files, fake smiles, accidental marriages, and enough emotional confusion to qualify as a neurological emergency.He had said there was a difference.Between possession and wanting someone.And when I'd asked which one he felt, he hadn't answered.That was the part that bothered me most.Ethan Bramhall always answered.He answered board members with numbers that made grown men sweat. He answered reporters with sentences so carefully constructed they sounded like legal documents. He answered threats with silence, which was somehow worse. He answered my ridiculous questions with that infuriating calm expression that made me want to throw expensive objects at his head just to see if

The name on Laura's screen stayed there long enough for my stomach to twist itself into something that probably required medical attention.I stared at the access record.Then at Laura.Then back at the record."You're telling me somebody inside Bramhall security gave them our route?""Not exactly."I frowned."Laura, we were almost pushed into a concrete barrier ten minutes ago.""I know.""So forgive me if I'm struggling to appreciate the difference between someone inside Bramhall security leaked our route and not exactly."Laura's eyes remained on the tablet."The schedule was accessed through an authorized security terminal.""Meaning?""Meaning the person who accessed it had legitimate credentials."Ruelle swore quietly beside me.I couldn't blame her.My fingers tightened around the edge of the seat."So you know who it was.""I know which terminal was used.""That's not what I asked."Laura finally looked at me."I don't know who was physically sitting behind the terminal."The