A Waltz With Wolves (Book II in The Harrison Inc. Series) | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Six: Royal Pains

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SEBASTIAN

There comes a point in every man's life where they begin to wonder if their acts of good are as noble as they believe they are.

Take me, for example. In an attempt to make sure that Leslie is safe while associating herself with Alejandro, I took it upon myself to install surveillance cameras in her office to watch Alejandro whenever he's over there. Somehow, that wasn't enough. So, I went as far as to jeopardize Julio's reputation and his goddamn life by employing him to put cameras around the Quintanilla villa in Spain. Again, I remind myself that this is for Leslie; that this is for her protection. My hands are tied tighter than she would ever believe. This is the only way I can possibly intervene in her and Alejandro's budding 'relationship.'

I sit in my office chair, finally having a moment to myself after a two-hour conference call. Claude said that he got something in from Spain that he wanted to show me. Half of me is apprehensive while the other half is guilty for indulging in this. Before, I didn't have a problem with this spying. But after Leslie chewed me the fuck out before she left for her trip, I've been wondering if any of what I'm doing is worth the effort; if invading her privacy in the name of safety is even worth it anymore? Jesus, the look on her face when she confronted me still lingers in my mind—her wide, brown eyes staring at me like I was a monster, her lip quivering out of anger and hurt. I know I can be an asshole, but that moment made me believe it more than I ever wanted to. I wish I could tell her everything. Maybe she wouldn't think of me as such a dick in the first place.

Ava comes into my office and tells me that Claude and Penny are here. I tell her to let them inside. Claude enters first, Penny right behind him. They both have these stoic facial expressions that scare the fuck out of me.

"What is it?" I ask them, getting out of my chair.

"Um," Claude scratches his beard, "the footage I told you about."

"What about it? Let me see."

"There's a lot of it," Claude insists, and his eagerness for me not to see it is making me want to watch it even more. Reluctantly, he hands me the iPad and doesn't say more. My finger hovers over the play button until I finally bring myself to press it.

"This was her second or third day there," Penny explains. "She's coming back from a date with Alejandro."

Great.

In the video, Leslie is walking down the hallway with Alejandro right behind her. They're talking and laughing about their night. When she's in front of her door, she talks about taking a long hot bath. And suddenly, they're both making out. Heavy. I'll be honest, this doesn't feel good. In fact, this feels like someone is dropping bricks on my chest and refusing to remove them. Her ass is pressed into him as he slips his hand underneath her dress; my eyes enlarge. Did they really fuck in this hallway?

Suddenly, they jolt away from each other when a few men walk down the hall. After they pass, Leslie decides to leave Alejandro high and dry with a goodnight and nothing else.

Well, not before he holds her panties up between them both. Cheeky.

"Is this what you wanted me to watch?" I ask Claude. He can tell I'm upset; I'm doing a horrible job hiding it. "Is this it?"

"There's more, Sebastian," he responds.

Penny sighs. I sense a little annoyance from her. "You said you wanted as much footage as we could get. This is it."

No one says anything. Claude and I look at Penny with expectant eyes until she apologizes. Claude insists that I watch the next piece of footage. Leslie is in the kitchen with Alejandro, clearly distraught about something. The video hasn't started yet, but I have a feeling of what's going to happen next.