Page 98 of Unwritten Rules

Stupid, stupid girl. You fell into his trap again.

By the time I had oversized clothes on that covered more than everything, Brent stirred in my bed.I need to wash those sheets immediately.

“Too bad you’re not still naked,” he yawned.

“I’m heading out after breakfast. I have a meeting at Montgomery Group.” I kept my voice soft so he couldn’t hear the trepidation in my voice. He didn’t deserve to get that from me. I was just a fun time for him and a business deal for Chamberlain Industries.

“Let them know you’ve been formally invited to the compound with the head of Chamberlain Industries to spearhead conversations about the business partnership.” He stretched out and planted his feet on the ground. Sometime during the night, his boxers found their way back onto his body.

I grunted an agreement and left the room to let him do whatever it was he wanted to do. He had no bearing on my life, and he could see himself out.

Ew, he was probably going to use my shower.

“Morning!” I entered the kitchen, fussing with my oversized clothes. Maybe I went too big but I wasn’t going to chance another change withhimin my house. No way.

She carefully laid out a buffet of whatever we had in the fridge on the kitchen island. I wanted to feast with how empty my stomach felt after throwing up in the shower, hoping it would stay down this time. Hashbrowns and bacon felt like the safest options for my first plate.

“Ready to grab today by the balls?” Loading up her plate, Kelly flashed me a smile. Too calm, too unbothered. It freaked me out.

Suspicion grew with everyone I was around.

Before I could make her suspicious ofme, I grabbed a breakfast sausage and bit into it, smiling back. “Yup. I may not know what’s going on, but sounds like a plan.”

Brent emerged out of my room looking like he never fell asleep. Freshly cleaned and put together, it was easy to put last night behind me. “I should keep extra clothes here if I’m going to be staying over.” He looked down at his clothes. They didn’t even look like second day wear.

Kelly snorted. “You live across the street.”

He loaded up a plate and plopped down at the table with the same casualness as Kelly and I did living here. Like he was a current resident at my fucking house. What an asshole. Two days was all it took for him to become roommate level casual at my house.

“James will be picking me up to go to the office today.” I looked over at Kelly dumping ketchup on her hashbrowns and tried pretending last night never happened. Everyone at the table knew and didn’t talk about it while I silently finished most of my plate, praying that my phone would ring to save me from this awkward breakfast.

Brent winked at me over his food and my phone buzzed.

Unknown: Secrets spilled create a stain just like blood

Well, that wasn’t ominous at all.

Incoming Call: Evans

“Looks like that’s me,” I said, standing to grab my purse and bolt out of the house. “Hello?”

“Your car is waiting. James and an associate will escort you.”Click.

I held the phone out in front of my face. “Nice to talk to you too,” I replied to no one, closing the front door and escaping the events of yesterday.

“Hello, Miss Montgomery,” a man at the door greeted, opening it up for me. He offered to take my coat and purse for me, but I opted to keep everything on me. No way I’d trust anyone for a while–even with just my coat.

A few men walked around me, making me feel like I had the freaking secret service at my disposal. Boarding the elevator, they circled around me in a protective manner. The upcoming CEO deserved protection, after all.

That’s why I had James stationed on me day and night, swapping out occasionally with someone else for around the clock eyes.

They escorted me to the boardroom, full of men in expensive suits, and stood in a strict line outside the door. Hands at the ready in front of them and eyes forward–it was kind of cool, but a bit off putting.

“Miss Montgomery,” Evans said, holding his arms out, walking towards me to greet me in a hug. “You look wonderful! Look how much you’ve grown up.”

Very different from when he was on the phone. I scanned the room, everyone looking at me and only me. “Um, thanks.”

Mr. Evans, CFO of Montgomery Group, shifted around some power due to the lack of a CEO, was acting CEO in preparation of my arrival. My birthright as they said. I was set to take over at twenty one, but why I wasn’t aware of things earlier or brought around say, when I was eighteen, madenosense.