The Rogue King's Surrogate novel Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“Is it done?” Samuel Dwight asked as he leaned against his office chair.

“Yes, sir. Miss Vaughn was already fired, as promised.”

о

Samuel smirked. “Loring is a coward. Obviously, he wouldn’t let her stay.” After his threats, he was confident that Mr. Loring would fire Emery on that very same day, and he was right.

He pushed away from the desk and stood, walking to the bar in the corner of his office. He poured a drink. The glass clicked softly as he set it on the counter.

This

“She thought she could embarrass me in public and walk away?” He shook his head and took a sip. “She’s not going to find work anywhere now. Not in this city. Not in this industry. No one will touch her.”

Without a job, he would like to see how Emery would survive out there without his help. Once she realizes that she can only rely on Samuel, then she will surely come back and apologize.

Roni nodded but stayed near the desk.

Cut off all her credit cards too,” Samuel added. “Pull the ones she doesn’t know I had access to. I don’t want her buying her way out of this.” This would prevent her from buying a plane ticket to leave this place. “And make an anonymous call to the developer of Nina’s condo. Have them kick her out for some violation.”

“That’s already done,” Roni replied. “I already made the reports as well.”

“Good.” Samuel set the glass down and picked up his phone. He scrolled through a contact list, eyes narrowing. “Call the rental agencies. All of them. Make sure they blacklist her name. If she tries to apply for a new lease, I want it denied. I want her backed into a corner. No place to live, no money, no job.”

He tapped his fingers against the phone, pausing. “If she wants shelter, she’ll come back. That’s how this ends.”

Roni opened his tablet and made a note. “She’s still acting hard to get,” he said. “Earlier this morning, she showed up at work like nothing happened. Told the front desk she was there for personal errands.’ She had another conversation with Loring, but our people don’t know what they talked about. The conversation lasted for about thirty minutes, then she left.”

Samuel snorted. “Of course she did.”

He walked back to the desk and sat down, stretching his neck from side to side.

“There was someone with her at the restaurant,” he said. “That guy. The one who kissed her. You find out who he was?”

“No,” Roni said. “The restaurant refused to give us any information about him or the CCTVs. I could only run facial recognition from a very pixelated image from a nearby parking lot’s CCTV, but I didn’t find anything, No name. No business records. No social tags. Nothing under any known aliases.”

Samuel looked at him. “Sp what, he’s a ghost?”

“No. Just irrelevant. If he mattered, I would’ve found something.”

Samuel leaned back in his chair. “She probably paid him. Wouldn’t be the first time she pulled some desperate move for attention.”

Roni didn’t say anything.

“Whatever. Let her play. She’ll get tired eventually,” Samuel said. “She’ll realize no one’s coming to save her. And when that happens, she’ll come crawling back.”

He stood again and adjusted his cufflinks.

“And when she does,” he added, “make sure she knows there’s a price.”

Roni stepped out of the office and closed the door behind him. He glanced down the hallway, checked that no one was around, and then walked toward the end of the floor where a quiet lounge area was tucked behind the elevators

He pulled out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and tapped one. He waited, eyes on the wall ahead

When the line connected, he spoke immediately. “It’s done. Mr. Dwight had Miss Vaughn fired this morning. Her credit cards were also

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12:35 AM P P •

“What do you want to do now?”

“Nothing. Not yet.” Emery looked out the glass panel beside their table. A couple walked by holding shopping bags. She tracked them with her eyes before turning back. “He won’t stop until I go back. That’s what this is. He thinks I’m acting out. Throwing a fit.”

Nina frowned. “He wants you cornered.”

“He wants me helpless.” Emery picked up her cup. “This is what he does. He acts like he’s fixing things, but it’s just another way to keep control.” This has been going on for the past five years. The man is a walking red flag! Yet she missed every sign, every damn time.

“Well, if he thought kicking me out would make you crawl back, he’s worse than I thought.”

Emery looked at her. “I’m such a fool.”

“Of course, you are!” Nina reached for the sugar packet. “How could you even think of making this deal with your father?” Nina rolled her eyes. “If you weren’t heartbroken, I would have slapped you for being this… stupid.”

That made Emery chuckle. Seeing her mood change, Nina immediately said, “They asked me if I wanted to file a complaint. I said not yet. But if he calls again, I will.”

Emery nodded. “He’ll call again. He wants to cut off everything around me. Friends, money, job, housing. He’s just trying to wear me down.”

Nina dropped the empty packet onto her tray. “Can you please explain how you find that man attractive? He’s toxic as hell. Girl, we’re in our late twenties–you should know how to spot someone like him by now! What would you even do if I wasn’t around?”

Emery shrugged. “Ldidn’t mean to-”

“If you are going to apologize for your ex’s craziness, don’t bother,” Nina said. “He can’t touch me.” Nina then reached out and held Einery’s hand. “But I am worried about you.”

However, before Emery could respond, a sharp voice cut through the air. “Wow. I didn’t realize this caté had started allowing strays.”

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12:35 AM P P •

Chapter 11

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