LUCIEN'S POV
I gently swirled the wine in my glass.
Important people from different companies surrounded me, happily chatting.
This event was like any other corporate event we'd had before.
People introduced themselves with practiced smiles, exchanged business cards, made small talk and casually dropped names of projects they were working on.
It was all boring and unflattering. Multiple women had tried to get to me using business as an excuse to speak to me.
"Mr Hale." A sultry voice called from behind me.
All the people around me looked behind me in awe.
I furrowed my brows and turned to take a look.
A woman stood there, a smile on her red painted lips.
I had seen her somewhere before, but I couldn't remember where.
She wore a flawless silky, sleeveless, red dress with a slit on the front that reached her upper thigh. Her black hair sat atop her head in a messy bun as her brown eyes stared at me.
"And who might you be?" I questioned slightly tilting my head.
She extended her hand. "Emily Davis."
I lightly shook her hand, her perfume clouded the place. I didn't like that.
Loud perfumes tend to give me headaches.
"I am a huge fan of yours, Mr Hale." She purred, her voice dripping with seduction.
I internally groaned, another one.
"Thank you, Ms Davis."
She chuckled lightly, her long manicured fingers covering her mouth. "No, no, just call me Emily."
"Wow Ms Davis, I haven't seen you in a long time." One of the guys I was standing with exclaimed.
Her eyes moved towards him, her smile faltered a little bit.
"Mr Owen, long time no see. I just got back from Como."
He moved closer.
I checked my wristwatch and it was already past 10pm.
She must be sleeping by now.
Why the fuck was this going on for so long?
Just a few more minutes and it will be over, be patient Lucien.
If it wasn't my company that was hosting this event I would have left already.
I skillfully moved away from the group of people. I nodded, smiled, and lifted my glass to acknowledge people as I swiftly made my way out of the hall.
Before leaving I placed my glass on one of the servers' trays.
My feet carried me to the nearby restroom.
It was nice and quiet, no perfumes, no noise, no people just me.
I looked at myself in the mirror, a sigh escaping my parted lips.
My hair was perfectly slicked back.
I quickly pulled out my phone.
She had sent me texts, so I opened them.
The first one was sent around 8pm.
hello mr Hale, I hope you're enjoying yourself.
i already ate dinner, i hope you ate too.
sorry for the endless messages, goodnight.
My lips twitched into a small smile.
I placed my phone back into my pocket, fixed my suit and walked back to the hall.
I needed to give the closing speech, so everyone could go their own way.
"Great things happen when the right people come together. And tonight proved that." My eyes subtly scanned the room.
"Let us carry this momentum beyond these walls and turn inspiration into impact. Thank you and good evening."
Claps erupted filling the hall.
"Mr Hale." The same perfume hit my nostrils.
I turned around.
"That was a great speech you gave." She said, her hand going into her purse.
"Thank you and if you'll excuse me I….."
"Here is my card," she bit her lip, "a-and may I please have yours."
I handed her my card and took hers, a smile spread across her face.
She thanked me and left.
Before leaving I addressed my workers and thanked them for their hard work.
***************************
I stepped into the quiet house.
Exhaustion gnawing at my bones.
I climbed up the stairs and headed to my bedroom.
I took off my clothes before heading into the bathroom.
After taking a long shower I put on my pajamas and headed to Olivia's room.
I wanted to make sure she was there before I went to bed.
I slowly opened her door, I flipped the light switch and walked towards her bed.
She was curled up into a fetal position, her chest gently rose and fell.
I caressed her face.
She looked just like her mother, beautiful.
Relief flooded through my body.
I hadn't even realized that I was tense until I saw her face.
I placed a light kiss on her forehead and walked out of her bedroom.
What exactly was I doing with her?
I wasn't supposed to touch her, my mother had entrusted her to me.
But, how could I stop now?
I couldn't.
I wouldn't.
I wanted to teach her how wrong it was to sleep with a man while in love with another.
If I didn't teach her, nobody else would.
I was doing the right thing.
I picked up my suit jacket and a card fell out.
I bent down to pick it up.
It belonged to the woman I'd met earlier.
I groaned, crumbled it up and tossed it into the small bin.
She looked like the clingy type and I didn't want to deal with her and her terrible perfume.
My feet carried me to my bed and I collapsed on it.
My eyes fluttered as my mind drifted to the girl sleeping a few doors away from mine.
I really wanted to destroy her innocence.
I wanted to break her.
But only for her own good.