I'd beenthisclose to cutting him off after our conversation that afternoon, promises and conditions be damned. It would serve him right, but I didn't have the energy to deal with his inevitable temper tantrum right now.
"Feel better?" Kai was already dressed when I entered.
Button-down shirt, blazer, thin black wire frames.
All traces of the lethal fighter from the ring had vanished, replaced with the epitome of scholarly sophistication.
"Marginally." I got dressed and rubbed a hand over my sore jaw. "You pack a mean punch."
"That's why you called. You'd hate it if I took it easy on you."
I snorted. "As much as you would hate losing."
We exited the gym and took the elevator up to the first floor. The Valhalla Club was an exclusive global society for those with a certain net worth, and it had chapters all over the world. However, its New York headquarters were the largest and most opulent, spanning four stories and an entire city block in upper Manhattan.
"I've met Vivian a few times," Kai said casually as the elevator doors dinged open. "She's beautiful, smart, charming. You could've done a lot worse."
Irritation flickered in my chest. "Perhaps you should marry her instead."
I didn't care if Vivian was a supermodel saint who saved puppies from burning buildings in her free time. She was simply someone I had to tolerate until I destroyed all the photos.
Unfortunately, Christian's latest update confirmed Francis had stored the photos both digitally and physically.
Christian could easily take care of the digital evidence, but destroying physical evidence was trickier when we didn't know how many backups Francis had. I couldn't risk making a move until we were one hundred percent certain we'd tracked down his entire stash.
"If I could, I would." The shadows in Kai's eyes disappeared as quickly as they'd surfaced.
As the heir to the Young fortune, his future was even more etched in stone than mine.
"All I'm saying is, don't be an asshole." Kai nodded in greeting at a passing club member and waited until they were out of earshot before adding, "It's not her fault she's stuck with a brute like you."
If he only knew.
"Worry less about my personal life and more about yours." I raised an eyebrow at his cufflinks. Gold lions with amethyst eyes—part of the Young family crest. "Leonora Young won't wait forever for a grandchild."
"Luckily for her, she already has two, courtesy of my sister. And don't try to deflect." We crossed the gleaming black marble entryway to the exit. "I meant what I said about Vivian. Be nice."
My back teeth clenched.
Whether I liked her or not, Vivian was my fiancée, and I was getting damn tired of hearing her name leave his mouth.
"Don't worry," I said. "I'll treat her exactly the way she deserves."
CHAPTER5
Vivian
"What do you mean, you haven't talked to your fiancé since your engagement?" Isabella crossed her arms and leveled me with a reproving stare. "What type of ridiculous relationship is that?"
"An arranged one." The bar tilted before righting itself. Perhaps I shouldn't have had two and a half mai tais in a row, but my weekly happy hour with Isabella and Sloane was the one time I could let loose.
No judging eyes, no need to be perfect and "proper."
So what if I was a little tipsy? The bar was called The Tipsy Goat. It was expected.
"It's better that we haven't spoken," I added. "He's not the most pleasant conversationalist."
Even now, the memory of my first and so far only meeting with Dante sent a rush of indignation down my spine.