Page 91 of Masked

“I’m going to stay out here, but I’m going to ask you to leave the door open, Ms. Calhoun,” the guard said.

Reva smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up.

When Monica sat, Reva asked if she wanted coffee.

“No, thank you. I saw that awful viral video and had to come and talk to you.”

Reva kept her face neutral even though she’d managed to put that video out of her head and didn’t like being reminded of it.

“What could you possibly want to talk to me about? I heard you dumped Parker.”

Monica frowned, as if she wasn’t expecting Reva to be so straightforward. But she regained her composure. “I’m wondering if you’re really with Noah Jasper. And if you are, I need to warn you what he’s like. Parker may be boring, but he’s not abusive like Noah.”

Reva folded her arms across her chest. “Is he abusive or not your taste? Let me guess how things went down. You met him somewhere. A charity function perhaps, and heard that he was single. And he showed some interest. I can picture it. You’re gorgeous, Monica. And you got it in your head that you could bag yourself a rich whale. But then he springs his kinks on you and asks if you’re submissive. Because you’re after his money, you figure you can get on your knees and suck a dick. So you agree to his terms, figuring you can talk him into more than thirty days. But when you can’t, you get pissed and decide to go after his son. How long were you fucking Parker before I got involved with him?”

Her face was red with fury as she stood and clenched her fists. “Why you little…” The guard stepped in and grabbed her when she lunged over the desk.

“I would rethink that if I were you Ms. Harrigan. It’s time for you to leave.”

“You got it wrong. I dated Parker first, and his dad showed interest in me when we had our first fight. I was a sophomore in college. Your boyfriend is a fucking predator.”

Reva only glared. “I’m afraid I have an appointment in five minutes, so I agree with my security. It’s time for you to go. Thank you so much for coming, though, Monica. Always lovely to talk to you.”

When Monica was gone, she sucked in lung fulls of air and tried to shake off the anger. But the trouble was she wasn’t sure who she was more pissed at, Monica or Noah.

She made it through her appointment without incident, then headed for campus to teach her class and drop off a section of her research with her adviser for a review.

By the time she got done, she was drained and the thought of spending the evening with Noah was overwhelming, so she sent him a message.

Reva:I need the apartment to myself tonight. I need some time to clear my head and be alone.

He didn’t respond, so she let her bodyguard escort her to the car that would drive her home.

But instead of her driver, Noah was there.

“I just got your text, little siren. If you still feel that way when we get to the apartment, I’ll let a bodyguard walk you up and I’ll stay at my house for the night.”

She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the seat.

“Thank you. I’m not trying to shut you out, I swear. It’s just been a very draining day, and I don’t know how much I have to give anyone else tonight.”

He reached for her thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I hear you. But I do want to talk about this soon.”

She looked over at his handsome face and smiled. “Yes, Sir. I promise. I don’t have anything until ten tomorrow morning. We can have breakfast.”

That seemed to relax him and she almost told him she’d changed her mind and he could come up. But it felt important to hold her ground on this one.

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

Chapter 23

Noah

Noahsatintheupscale bar and waited for Monica to show up.

He hadn’t intended on giving her an audience, but at the point that she was harassing Reva, he had no choice.

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