Page 25 of High Reward

Victor

IcatchGracestaringat the roses, and I step between her and the wet bar, blocking her line of sight. “Don’t think about it, Butterfly. We’re going to figure it out. Tonight, just focus on your duties.”

“Grace told me about the flower deliveries. What was today’s letter?”

“R. But we don’t have a clue what any of it means yet.”

Lili hums. “A puzzle indeed.”

“A puzzle for another time,” I admonish, not wanting to give Grace any more time to dwell on her stalker.

“You’re right. Are you ready to join the festivities?”

I look to Grace who gives me a small nod, and I motion to the door. “Let’s go, ladies. There are still a few things to handle before we officially open.”

In the club, most of our staff are in place for the evening, prepping behind the bar, making sure the play stations are freshly stocked with cleaning supplies and condoms, and the dozens of other tasks required to run a club that caters to pleasure.

Grace finds Bellamy for a VIP tablet so she can read up on the two guests she’s been assigned to assist, and Lili settles into a chair near mine.

“Harper, get one of the other subs and have them help you move that loveseat to the front of the room where my seat is. Move my seat behind the loveseat for now.”

Harper looks at me and then to Lili, but she knows better than to argue, so she ducks her head in a respectful nod and leaves the room to find Tyson.

“You don’t have to move your furniture around for me,” Lili says as I walk past her to inspect the play station Griffin Price requested be reserved.

“I want you at my side. This is the easiest way to accomplish that. If you choose to stick around when all of this is over, we’ll come up with a seating arrangement you like.”

She stands and joins me at the St. Andrew’s Cross and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Do you think I don’t want to stay?”

I close my eyes, realizing I let my lack of trust that she’ll stick around show in my tone.

“I want to believe that you do. But I can also see a lot of valid reasons you might not want to,” I say, turning to face her.

She nods thoughtfully. “You’re right. There are some things that might be easier if I disappeared. I’m worried about putting you and Grace in danger if we don’t rid the world of Finn and his mother, but I desperately want to be here.”

I cup her cheek and press a kiss to her forehead. “If you want to be here, be here. You’ll be well protected, and so will Grace.”

“Who protects you?”

I wave my hand around the room. “This place. My partners in ownership. We protect each other.”

Before she can say anything else, Harper returns with a male sub in tow. Lili excuses herself to find Grace or Zara, and I return to the inspection of my space.

I give Harper a list of small tasks to keep her busy until the guests arrive and go in search of Owen.

His office door is shut, and I hear Bellamy’s whimpered apology for something followed by the unmistakable sound of his hand landing on her ass.

I don’t want to interrupt, so I back away from the door and nearly run into Tobias.

“Everything all right?” I ask, nodding to the closed office door.

Tobias smirks. “All good. Someone just needed a reminder of her place, and I’m not the one to deliver such a reminder. Did you need to speak to Owen?”

I glance at my watch. “It would be helpful, yes.”

He taps the door four times and waits for a beat before delivering four more quick taps of his knuckles.

Owen opens the door and frowns. “What is it?”