Page 20 of The Monster and the Masochist

“Ah, here he is now. Reverend Sterling! So glad you could make it. Come, I’d love to introduce you to our star attorneys, Cassandra Walker and Nolan Cross. If you choose to sign with Sinclair and Morrissy, these two will be representing you.”

I glanced up to see a tall, stern man with white hair and a deeply lined face approach.

His steely grey eyes slammed into mine, and there was a brief flicker in time.

Our introduction was akin to two predators crossing paths in the wild, and for one long, pregnant moment, we stared at each other.

Like recognized like.

And that was all it took for me to clock this man as a psychopath.

‘This one we should definitely kill,’ my monster hissed softly in my ear, and for the first time in a long time, I almost agreed with it.

Judging from the curl of the Reverend’s lip and the look of disdain he gave me, he thought himself the more dangerous of the two of us. That realization made my own lip tilt up in response.

The arrogance of men was often the instrument of their downfall.

I knew what he saw when he looked at me. It was exactly what I wanted the world to see.

This man probably thought I was some wealthy, high maintenance brand-whore with a trust fund.

He had no idea he was looking at a diagnosed psychopath who had slit her own mother’s throat at the tender age of thirteen.

I might not know this man’s story, but I was almost certain that out of the two of us, I was the more lethal.

Nolan blinked next to me, his eyes darting between us as he picked up on the tension. Clearing his throat, he broke the silence by reaching forward and extending a hand.

“Hello, Reverend. I’m Nolan. Nolan Cross, and this is the infamous Cassandra Walker. You probably recognize her from her work on the Steele case? She’s been all over the news these past few weeks.”

Without taking his eyes off me, Sterling shook Nolan’s hand.

I offered mine next, but the man didn’t take it.

Rage and indignation curled in my gut, and I glanced at Edmund and Vivian, raising an eyebrow in question.

Vivian’s expression was painted with her fake-ass client-facing mask, and she gave me a tight smile.

“Reverend Sterling doesn’t shake hands with women. It’s against his code of conduct.”

Jesus fucking Christ.

My teeth hurt from how hard I was grinding them.

“Yes,” the man drawled, his thin lips pursing into a firm line. “It’s one of the many reasons these allegations are absolutely ridiculous.”

“Of course,” Nolan said next to me, his own client-facing mask firmly in place. “And we’d be honored to be the team you count on to defend you.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything, despite the fact that Nolan left me space to do so. He looked at me expectantly, but I was worried that if I moved, I would snap this man’s neck in front of everyone.

Sensing that I wasn’t going to be able to add anything of value to this conversation, Nolan took over again, tilting his head to the bar.

“Care for a drink, Reverend? Come, whatever you want is on the firm tonight.”

The man nodded, shooting me one more contemptuous look before following Nolan to the bar.

Once they were gone, I whipped around, glaring daggers at Vivian and Edmund.

“Is this a fucking joke?” I hissed.