CHAPTER 26 The Manipulator I *m seething, and my thighs are slick with my own arousal as I rush after Zade. He doesn’t bother turning the movie off. We just slip from the room and quickly make our way back into the ballroom. It’s like no one even noticed us gone. But I’m sure people have, right? Zade has worked this entire room by now, and as much as I loathe to admit it, the man is unforgettable. To say the fucking least. All of two minutes pass before a man approaches us, his black uniform and white vest signaling his position. “Mr. Forthright, Ms. Reilly, please follow me,” the butler, Marion, instructs. Just like that, I’m stone-cold sober and the lingering orgasm has been completely eradicated. Marion leads us through a series of hallways, pointing out certain pictures and historical artifacts Mark managed to get his hands on. I nod and hum my appraisal, but my mind ts drifting back towards Gigi and the potential information I could garner tonight. Mark might choose to give me breadcrumbs and keep me coming back for more, but it'll be futile. He’s not getting me back in this house again. I'm not entirely sure if coming here was even worth it yet or not. At least I got to watch an unreleased movie, even though I didn’t get to see how it ended. Whatever, I don’t remember much about it anyways. My gaze was sightless when all I could focus on was— Stop it, Addie. My stomach drops from the fresh memory, and it takes entering Mark’s study to pull my attention firmly back into the present. “My two favorite people,” Mark greets loudly, a lit cigar poised between his fingers and a glass of amber liquid in the crystal cup dangling in his other hand. He looks drunk. His ruddy face is flushed red, and his eyes have begun to glaze over a bit. “Please, sit,” he directs, pointing to the plush leather couch beside his desk.