29. Claire

CHAPTER 29

CLAIRE

MONDAY – THREATS AND INTIMIDATION

A s I stepped into the office building on Monday morning, the weight of dread settled in my stomach. The air felt charged, thick with anticipation and unspoken accusations. I hadn’t slept well last night, the thought of facing Damien Turner again making me uneasy.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Luca had asked before I left this morning, concern etched on his handsome face. He’d been fantastic over the weekend, passionate, supportive, and caring. Everything I could want in a man.

“No,” I had replied firmly, trying to hide the tremor in my voice. “I need to handle this on my own. Besides, Vlad will be there. I’ll be fine.”

The truth was, I didn’t want Luca in the crosshairs of whatever chaos was about to unfold and it would only make matter worse if he was there. I knew he was itching to protect me, but this was my fight, and I had to face it head-on. If I was going to continue working with Damien, I needed to show him I still had backbone and that his little stunt hadn’t dented my steely nature. Even if it had, just a little.

With my resolve in place and Vlad at my side, I felt a little more grounded, though the knot of anxiety in my chest refused to loosen. I made my way to my office, each step echoing in my mind. As I approached the door, I caught sight of Damien’s office—shuttered and quiet. He was likely nursing his injuries. I wondered for the millionth time since Friday night what he’d told his mother. Surely he wouldn’t tell her the truth. No, he’d make up some other story. But what? So long as it didn’t involve me, or Luca, I didn’t care.

Just as I settled into my chair, my phone buzzed with an incoming call. It was Margaret Turner’s secretary, asking me to come her office. My stomach dropped. What did Damien’s mother want? Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

As I walked into her office, I braced myself for impact. The room was filled with polished wood and expensive art—everything about it screamed power and prestige.

A movement to the side caught my eye, and I glanced towards it. My stomach dropped further.

“Why are you here?” I asked Lady Frost who was sitting, arms folded, face neutral, watching me intently.

“I’m here as a friend, Claire,” she replied, her slight smile and syrupy tone not giving me any comfort.

Of course, how could I forget that’s it was her connections to the Turner’s that got me my job here in the first place.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” She gestured to the chair a few feet from her own.

A flicker of uncertainty filled me. What was going on?

She signed. “I’ve been a close family friend of both you and the Turner’s for years, I came to offer my support.”

Support? For what? And to whom?

My gaze flicked to Margaret, sitting behind her imposing desk, arms crossed, her expression a mixture of anger and disappointment.

“Claire,” she said, her voice sharp, “sit down.”

I took a seat, trying to maintain my composure. What had that bloody bastard son of hers told her? “Margaret, I don’t know?—”

“Don’t.” Her eyes narrowed. “Let’s cut to the chase. What happened with Damien was unacceptable.” Maybe he’d told her the truth after all. Or someone else had. Either way, relief washed through me.

“Your behaviour was intolerable.” Wait, what?

My behaviour? I clenched my jaw, fury threatening to overcome me.

“Margaret. I don’t know what he told you, but I didn’t?—”

“Save it,” she snapped. “Damien just got engaged to a woman from a prestigious family, and your behaviour could have jeopardised that. If anyone had seen you attempting to take advantage of his inebriated state, and word got back to Lorraine’s family, they might have thought he was cheating on her. That’s not something they’d tolerate. I won’t have you ruining his future marriage in an attempt to use him to further your career.”

“Use him?” I felt my anger rising, hot and prickly. “That’s ridiculous. He?—”

“Enough! I don’t want to hear any of your excuses,” she said, her voice shrill with barely controlled fury. My eyes blazed in response and I took a deep breath, desperate to maintain my control. I was bloody raging at how the bastard had twisted the narrative, painting me as the villain in a story I never wanted to be part of.

“I never took you as the type who’d throw yourself at a man just to get on in life. Although with your ambitions, I suppose I should have.” The look of disgust and the disdain in her voice cut through me.

“Not only did you try it on with Damien, but you were then discovered by your thug of a boyfriend, who beat my son, breaking his tooth and almost breaking his jaw. I’m appalled, Claire,” she finished her tirade with a shake of her head.

“Oh, Claire, I’m so disappointed in you,” Elizabeth said, feigning shock.

I narrowed my gaze at her, then Margaret. What were these two up to?

“Naturally, Damien doesn’t wish to press charges against either of you,” Elizabeth said quickly.

Press charges against us? That fucker!

“Not when he understands how it might have looked to that Orlov man. How it might look to Lorraine if she was also to mistake the incident.”

“And we wouldn’t want the firm to be the centre of a scandal. That wouldn’t do anyone any favours,” Margaret pipped in, her expression smug. “However, that’s not to say we can just sweep everything under the rug, so to speak.”

I could feel Elizabeth, Margaret’s accomplice, in whatever was about to come, shift slightly in her chair, her expression unreadable but her eyes glinting with barely concealed amusement.

“Why did you do it, Claire? Did you think by seducing my son, the newest partner in the firm, you’d somehow be able to get a fast track to partnership?” Margaret continued, her voice laced with venom.

I shook my head about to deny things, but held her hand up, stopping me as she continued. “Because let me be clear—your actions have consequences. If you don’t do what we say, you’ll find yourself in a great deal of trouble.”

“What do you mean?” I managed to choke out, a sense of foreboding washing over me.

“That thug of yours has enemies in high places, as I believe Elizabeth already explained to you. One of those enemies in particular has plans for him and his associates. You getting him out on bail caused his plans to falter, and he wants them back on track, and that means revoking his bail,” she said, leaning forward, her tone conspiratorial.

“You’re going to plant drugs in his car and then arrange for the police to find them. It’s the only way to ensure he goes back inside where he belongs. After that, you’ll withdraw any help you’ve been giving that lawyer of his, and steer clear of the man.”

The audacity of her words left me speechless. Seriously? What the hell did they take me for?

“You can’t be serious. That’s illegal. Reprehensible.”

Margaret smirked and waved a dismissive hand. “What’s reprehensible is you attempting to sleep with a junior partner while you’re with someone else.”

“I bloody well didn’t!” I retorted, clenching my fists to stop me from flying across her desk and punching her in the jaw. “I’m not going to do what you asked. Why does the MP want Luca to be put away so badly? Surely, he doesn’t need him in jail to have him killed?” I had to know what the heck the MP had planned.

Elizabeth’s gaze sharpened. “So, you know who wants this man dealt with then. Very good. I’ll get right to the point. Luca Orlov is Bratva. The Bratva were responsible for the death of the MP’s father, and he’s been trying to get revenge on them for some time now. His original tactics proved fruitless and, in fact, resulted in his current problems. So now, he is taking a less subtle approach. Incarcerating the Orlov man sends a message to the Bratva, letting the individuals within the organisation know that they are not untouchable. The MP may be down, but he’s not beaten.”

“But isn’t framing Luca enough to do that?” I asked, determined to find out all I could about the MP’s plans.

“It was until you got the man out on bail. Now, he’s decided to take a leaf out of the Bratva’s book and ensure the police discover their less than stellar activities. Planting the drugs in Mr Orlov’s car is just one of the steps he’s taking to make that happen.”

Oh hell. That meant the Bratva had more trouble to come.

“Do this and we will not only forget all about the incident with Damien, but you are guaranteed your promotion next year when Hanson retires,” Margaret said, smugness in her voice.

They really thought I would do anything to get a partnership? Truly? Well, hell no! I might have been relaxing my previously strict moral code and be willing to overlook some things, to dance in the grey with Luca, but I wasn’t going to compromise my integrity entirely.

I shook my head. “Not happening!”

Elizabeth sighed. “You are so like your mother.”

“And proud to be!” I spat out.

“Quite, but she didn’t always know when to act in her own best interests either and look where it got her. I just hope you won’t be quite so foolish,” she said.

A chill raced down my spine. “What are you implying?”

“Nothing at all. Just giving you a friendly warning,” Elizabeth replied, her smile devoid of warmth. “You wouldn’t want your life to end in the blink of an eye, like it did for your mother. I suggest you think long and hard about the choices you make moving forward. It would be a shame if you found yourself facing unexpected consequences.”

Fury ignited within me, a fire burning away the fear. “How dare you?” I shot back, my voice rising. “You think you can intimidate me? You’re wrong. I will not do this. Not now, not ever.”

Margaret’s eyes flared with anger. “You think you have a choice? You don’t. I’ll ruin your career before it even begins. You’ll regret this, Claire.”

I stood up, the chair scraping against the floor as I pushed it back. “Fuck you, Margaret. And fuck you, Elizabeth. I won’t be part of your twisted games.”

Elizabeth blocked my exit. “This conversation never happened. If you think to disclose our discussion, just remember what we said.”

“Get out of my way!” I glared at the woman who’d been my mother’s best friend for years.

Had she only implied my mother’s death was something other than an accident to scare and intimidate me, or was there a more sinister explanation for the night her car ran off the road during a snowstorm? Bile rose in my mouth, and I shuddered at the thought.

Fighting to maintain a semblance of control and not let just how much she’d rattled me show, I held her gaze until she finally stepped aside.

I yanked the door open to find Vlad on the other side looking concerned.

“I know you said to wait for you here, but I heard raised voices. Everything alright?”

“Fine. Take me home please,” I replied, and he nodded, his gaze still fixed on the women in the room.

“You’ll receive my resignation by email in due course,” I shouted over my shoulder as I stormed from the room.

I was going to get Marko and Luca to help me look into that. If I found out it wasn’t an accident and that Elizabeth had something to do with it, I’d make the bitch pay.