Chapter 65 Unexpected Response
Lara POV
That made no sense when he confessed to murder, torture, and clear enjoyment of it. When he was a tyrant obsessed with power and control, who said things like ordinary people are stupid and need their decisions made for them.
But I could start to see where he came from, how he became that way. That he was once a child that the world did not treat kindly, and as a result, he had no vocabulary for things that were soft and kind.
I still thought he was wrong. But not...evil.
Emmanuuel didn’t kiss in the same way that he had sex.
He turned stiff as a statue the moment that our lips met. I was kissing him, not the other way around.
He seemed hesitant. Inexperienced, even.
Then, after a few moments, he pushed me back and took a full step away.
He looked so disturbed that I almost wanted to laugh. It made me feel less disturbed myself about this sudden impulse.
"What was that?" he said sharply.
"The answer to your question," I said, backing away.
This time, he didn’t stop me from running back to my suite and slamming the door shut.
——
Emmanuel POV
My lips tingled.
I leaned closer to the elevator mirror as it descended, rubbing my thumb over my bottom lip.
Hmmm.
That was an— unexpected response.
A kiss.
I had not had one of those before.
Didn’t see the point in it. It did not stimulate an erogenous zone.
But perhaps I had been missing out on a pleasurable experience, because kissing Lara felt like a conversation without words. And she was much more honest with her lips alone than when words were involved.
A smile surfaced on my lips.
"Evening, Boss," Shen Kai nodded as I entered the Tower’s control room. He checked his watch and yawned, taking a big gulp of coffee. "Or morning, rather."
"Morning," I replied. "All systems back online?"
"All back online," Shen Kai confirmed. "The electricity outage took out our security systems for about 5 minutes." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, pointing to the digital blueprint of the Tower on one of the screens. "Then the back up generator came on line, restarting priority systems first, before full operations were restored across the 89 floors. The main grid is operating as normal again now."
The digital rendering of the Tower first went black, then the basement levels lit up again, and then the rest of the Tower.
The basement layers were where my more controversial businesses were conducted, the heart of the Tower.
The middle layers were legitimate businesses that Sagres Enterprises invested into. Nothing shady but for the accounting. Lower risk.
"And what happened during those five minutes?" I asked.
"Nothing that I can see," Shen Kai said thoughtfully, flipping through screens rapidly. "The electricity grid on Central Island is old, so it’s not a huge surprise that a storm can take it out. Do you think it has something to do with the folks on the Hill?"
"I wouldn’t rule it out," I replied.
Even if it looked like just weather, the Altairs were due for a counterstrike, and information about the fallout of Herman Altair’s death had been deliberately suppressed.
"Check all our systems for bugs. I have a feeling they have used the storm as cover to return fire."
"Aye aye, Boss." Shen Kai took another great gulp of coffee. "The blackout wasn’t too much trouble in the penthouse, was it?"
I thought back to the moment that Lara had knocked into my arms in the darkness and suppressed a smile.
"Fine," I said.
Shen Kai blinked. "You sure you’re alright? You’re looking a bit red. Shall I call Dr Larinson?"
"I said I’m fine," I said curtly. "You focus on debugging our systems."
"O-kay..."
——
Lara POV
Several days passed while I hid in my suite.
The conversation that we had that night in the storm seemed like some kind of fever dream. I kept replaying it again and again.
How Emmanuel’s eyes looked glowing under candlelight.
How his lips felt against mine.
How strange it was to feel him frozen, all that power held at bay by something as chaste and simple as a kiss.
I had caught a glimpse of the man beneath the monster facade, and instead of running in the opposite direction, it had made me intrigued.
Here was something else I had learned about Emmanuel Sagres: he kept odd hours. The lights were on in his bedroom or his study or the library at all hours of the night.
I found this out because lately I also kept odd hours. Sometimes I was so tired I managed to sleep for 12 hours straight. Other times, my back hurt. No matter how I twisted and turned on the luxurious mattress beneath me, I couldn’t find a comfortable position.
Feeling restless, I decided to leave my suite and take a walk around the penthouse.
I wandered closer when I heard voices coming from Emmanuel’s study.
"—Brinson came to the poker den on Needle Street last Friday. We turned her away."
The sound of my own name caught my attention.
"Good. She is banned from gambling at any of our locations."
What was that? Were they talking about my mother? I scowled deeply, but was not surprised at the knowledge that she was gambling again.
Emmanuel had banned my Mom from gambling? After all his talk of how it was ’their choice’ when he tempted people into poor decisions?
I pressed my ear to the door, and he continued—
"—you are still keeping an eye on them?"
"Of course. Chloe gave me her number when I took her home." The other male voice replied with a hint of smugness.
My heart skipped a beat when I heard Chloe’s name.
I pushed open the door.
Emmanuel sat behind his desk. The man leaning against the wall beside him was Dover, the ex-military man with close-cropped blond hair.
"Lara."
"What’s going on?" I asked sharply, my hackles raised. "I heard my name. What have you done to my family?"
Dover made a quiet sound as though taken aback by my tone.
"What have I done to them?" Emmanuel’s voice had a bite to it. "Oh. Just breaking your mother of her gambling habit and making sure that your sister doesn’t die in any gun fights. A thankless task, clearly."
"What do you mean, gun fights?!" I gasped, feeling terror clench around my heart. "Where is Chloe? I need to see her!"
"You didn’t tell her?" Dover said in surprise.
Emmanuel looked at him blankly.