Page 18 of Ruined By a Devil

“Business,” he says.

I narrow my eyes at his brief answer. “What kind of business requires a detour in the middle of the day?”

“The kind that requires my personal attention,” Malachi says, his voice entirely devoid of emotion. He doesn’t look at me but his grip on the steering wheel tightens just enough for his knuckles to turn pale.

“Someone’s being interrogated, aren’t they?” I ask, having been around enough men in this world to recognize when a soft word is hiding something bloody.

“You ask too many questions, Jade,” he replies calmly, bringing the car to a smooth stop outside the club’s private entrance.

The place is breathtaking and nothing like I imagined an elite gentleman’s club would look like.

I remember there was some talk going around, the police suspected the owners were selling girls, but that turned out to be a setup and they were cleared. Based on the number of staff already working in early morning, I would dare to say that their reputation has gotten better since the incident. It also seems like the place was recently renovated.

Malachi leads me down the dimly lit corridor, stopping in front of a door that has ‘bar manager’ written on it. He knocks twice and a female voice responds from inside. “Come in.”

When Malachi opens the door, I get to witness a modern-looking, mostly white office filled with plants. Even though it’s quite small, the place looks incredibly beautiful.

“Hey,” The woman smiles when she sees Malachi, but then her eyes land on me.

“Hi Riley,” Malachi greets her. “I need to take care of some things, would you mind keeping Jade company?”

“Sure,” Riley responds, her smile warm. “If you don’t mind hanging with me while I’m doing some paperwork for the bar,” she says looking at me.

“No problem,” I answer. I already like her.

“Great,” Malachi turns to face me. “I’ll finish as fast as possible.”

I nod, watching him leave and shut the door behind him. For a second, I stand still, not sure how to act and what to say to Riley.

“Have a seat,” She signals at the beige leather chairs at the desk across from her. “I’m Riley Kavanagh, it’s really nice to meet you.”

Kavanagh?

As far as I’m aware, the Kavanaghs don’t have any sisters, or female cousins, for that matter, so I think it’s safe to assume that Riley is married to one of Malachi’s brothers. Probably Ezekiel. He recently got married.

“Jade Moretti, nice to meet you.” I smile back at her as I make myself comfortable in the chair. “Damn!” The exclamation comes the moment the soft fabric hugs my body.

“I know!” Her smile widens. “They’re the most comfortable chairs I ever saw in my life.”

“You might have to tell me where you got them,” I imagine having a pair of chairs as comfortable as this in my future living room. It feels ridiculous to even think about it.

“Of course,” she nods. “You don’t mind if I keep working while we chat?”

“No, of course not.” I don’t say it at loud but I could spend the rest of the day perfectly silent in this chair. I didn’t realize how tired I actually was until after the meeting with Papà.

“Great!” Riley turns her attention to the screen. “If you want a drink or something, let me know and I’ll order it.”

“I’m good for now, but thank you.”

“So,” She continues. “You’re friends with Mal?”

That question is exactly why I wasn’t so happy when Malachi told me we’re stopping by Eden. I didn’t rehearse the speech I’m supposed to give people when they ask me about him. And we still have many details of our plan to cover. If we’re going to pretend to be a couple, we better do it right.

“We’re…” The words are right there, but can’t seem to get past my tongue.

Then the realization hits her and her eyes widen. “Wait! You’re the girl that was going to marry Nolan?”

“No, I was going to flee the country actually,” I laugh for the first time. “Marrying a piranha sounds more appealing than marrying Nolan.”