He slowly shook his head. “I told you that you were a pawn in someone’s hand before you left.”

I stood there in shock. I let go of his arm and he walked away. I slowly turned to Simon as he took in a sharp breath.

“WELL?!” I yelled.

“Not here, Gabrielle. In my suite, now!” he commanded.

The man behind the desk looked at me with a sympathetic look. I was shaking and my mind was racing. Simon lightly took hold of my arm and I jerked away from him. The last thing I wanted was him touching me.

“Don’t you dare fucking touch me.”

We stepped inside the elevator and Simon inserted his key to take us up to the top floor. When the doors opened, he unlocked the door that was directly across. He held open the door and I walked in, still shaking uncontrollably. I flinched when I heard the door shut.

“First of all, you need to calm down,” he said.

“Calm down? You expect me to be calm when I just saw you with the person I hate the most on the face of the earth? You have seconds, and I mean seconds, to explain yourself.”

He walked over to the bar that sat in the corner of the suite and poured himself a drink.

“Do you want one?” he asked.

“No, I don’t want one!”

He threw back his scotch and took in a deep breath. “I was going to tell you. I swear I was. But it never seemed like the right time.”

Chapter 27

Simon

The way he talked to her was vile and it took everything I had not to get out of my seat and punch him in the face. The things he said. His refusal to help her. The sad look that was embedded in her beautiful brown eyes. Eyes that met mine and instantly captivated me. She was a beautiful woman and I wished she was alone. I couldn’t stop staring at her and stealing small glances as she sat in the aisle seat across from me. I scanned her finger and she wasn’t wearing a ring, so that asshole must have been her boyfriend.