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And speaking of Duncan, I couldn't wait to give him a piece of my mind about abandoning me when I explicitly asked him not to.
Chapter 22
Duncan
We were being driven home in the same sleek black Mercedes that had brought us to the reception, the car a quiet bubble of tension as the city lights flickered by outside.
Thankfully, Thierry and Angelique had decided to continue to party so I was alone with my wife.
I sat next to Elsa, feeling the anger radiating off her. I couldn’t shake the jealousy that hit me when I saw her talking to Vincent. It caught me off guard—raw and unfamiliar. And then he kissed her on the forehead.Fucking asshole!
"How the fuck do you even know, Arsenault?" I bit out.
"I've known Vincent for years," she replied unhelpfully.
"Elsa," I warned.
"What?" she asked, her eyes flashing something I'd never seen before: anger. Real, honest-to-God, bones-deep rage. It surprised me to see it. This was the sweetest woman I knew, but something had set her off.
"Explain how you know that fucker."
She chuckled. "I'm not one of your minions, Duncan. I don't dance when you say when."
She didn't even bother to look at me. Her focus was outside the window. A part of me wanted to shake her; another wanted to hold her. She was upset. I wanted to know why so I could make it better. I also wanted to drown her in my jealous rage.
"Vincent Arsenault is a bad man, Els."
"I'm surrounded by bad men. My father. Apparently, you," she mocked. She turned suddenly and looked me in the eye, "Did you know your friend Jett Percival is an American spy?"
All color drained out of me. How the fuck did Elsa know this?
"Who told you that?" Because that person needed to be taken care of,immediately.
"Vincent," she smiled without humor. "And according to him,youcan take care of yourself. So, you're probably one of those bad men you just warned me about."
"I don't understand why you're so upset," I said, trying to keep my voice even.
Elsa turned to me, her eyes flashing with fury. "You don't understand? Really? While you were busy hobnobbing, Vincent had to step in to get rid of Pascal, who threatened meandyou. And where were you? Networking withGiselle?"
Giselle?
"What the fuck are you talking about?" I demanded.
"The woman, the model, the escort…whatever." She looked away again.
I felt the band around my chest loosen. She was jealous. Just as I was. We made one hell of a pair.
I caught her arm and gently coaxed her to look at me. "I'm sorry, I left you to deal with Fournier. It won't happen again."
She swallowed.
"I thought Dean would be with you," I continued softly, "I never meant for you to be on your own."
"Dean wasalsonetworking," she threw back at me.
I nodded. "The Archer family business is vast, Elsa. We know everyone, and we have to maintain the societal niceties with the people who—"
"Why couldn't I be with you when you were makingnicewith society?" She cut in with such force that I was shocked. I hadn't seen this version of Elsa. It should have annoyed me, but instead, it aroused me. She wasn't backing down. She was standing up to me, and that was erotic as hell.
