Page 46 of Her Ruin

ISLA

The momentI’d pushed open the doors into the main club yesterday, I’d felt different.

Lighter.

Freer.

It was the same feeling today. The door downstairs had opened easily, and there were no huge hulking guys waiting. I’d ascended the staircase alone, no eyes tracking my every move. No more silent, watchful presence in the corners of the room. Scanning the main club with the lights on and daylight streaming through the high windows, I smiled.

He had given me what I wanted.

My eyes flicked to the many cameras that dotted the walls and ceiling. Discreet. Unobtrusive. I only noticed them because I’d been inside his office and seen the wall of screens.

Well….one pair of eyes was possibly still watching. Swallowing hard, I looked away, remembering the way he had touched me yesterday. He had mocked me, healwaysmocked me, but I’d never met anyone like him, someone who was soconfidentin taking control.

Checking my watch, I saw how early it was. I knew I had woken Zayn the other day, and I doubted he would be awake yet. So there was someone here but possibly not him. Or Rye.

My eyes flicked to the door leading to another entrance I was desperate to peek at, but I stopped myself from taking one step towards it. Yesterday, I had been outside it, my hand reaching for the handle before I stopped myself.

He had trusted me with this. Trusted me to respect thetrusthe was showing me. I would not prove him right. I would do what I needed and relish in the freedom of being able to move without being watched.

Unpacking my tote and setting up my workstation, I started checking all the checklists, including the one I had sent to Rye for the cleaners, who I noted had already been here. I knew Elixir had been open last night, but the place was spotless.

A tentative knock had me turning around as the first of the vendors poked his head around the door. “Hey, Isla, we’re parked out front. We good to start unloading?”

I greeted him with a wide smile. “Absolutely.”

The morning rushed past, more and more things started arriving, and despite how busy I was, I still found myself looking forhim.

It was ridiculous. I should have been relieved—no, I should’ve beenfocused—but my mind kept circling back to the way he crowded my space, the way his fingers brushed my skin, and the way his voice wrapped around me like a promise. Or a threat.

I didn’t trust myself when I was near him.

And yet I kept looking. A glance too often at the main door. A sweeping look up at the cameras.Was he there? I snorted. Zayn did not strike me as a voyeur.

I shook the thoughts away, pushing them deep down where they belonged. I had work to do. Everything I had been working so hard for the last few weeks had finally arrived.

The gala was tonight, and I had so much to do.

The event would either cement me as a power player in this industry or have me crashing and burning in front of Gracemont’s elite.

I moved through the space, taking in the layout, lighting, and flow of the room. I adjusted the tables slightly and shifted a chair an inch to the right, my eye for detail focused as I set up the space, using the existing layout and enhancing it until luxurious dining tables were created. The tables would be dressed later; for now, they were preparing the stage for the charity speakers. I was checking the placement of the high-profile guests so they could see everything and, most importantly,be seen.

The venue was perfect.

The problem? It wasn’t supposed to be here.

As if summoned, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I sighed when I saw Gerard’s name on the screen.

He’d called me four times this week, and I was still pissed enough not to answer him, directing him to voicemail, but as I scanned the space, I felt guilty at the ease with which I had stepped into Elixir and claimed it for this event.

The Grand’s event.

With a sigh, I answered the phone, pressing it to my ear. “Isla Wells speaking.”

“Isla.” Gerard’s voice was tight, frustrated. “How kind of you to answer.”

“I can hang up if you prefer?”Easy, Isla. One week in Zayn’s space had me being far too free with my tongue.

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