Chapter 58

Brielle trailed behind him quietly, a sense of surreal disbelief clinging to her. The auction was only a couple of hours away, and she was sure Max would be looking for her soon.

“Mr. Lynch, I came here with a colleague, and I should probably get back to him. If you’re short of a date, how about we touch base at the entrance of the auction?” she suggested, convinced Max wouldn’t need her as his so-called date.

Ever since Dustin hung up the phone, a frown had taken residence between his brows. “Call your colleague. Tonight you’re with me,” he commanded.

Swallowing nervously, Brielle realized she didn’t have Max’s number.

Dustin raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly. “Colleague? Are you really an employee of Dorsey International?”

“Yes,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Dustin nodded and, without hesitation, whipped out his phone, calling Andrew. “Tell Mr. Dorsey I’m borrowing one of his employees for the evening.”

After delivering the message, he turned to Brielle. “What’s your name?”

Caught off guard by his assertiveness, she struggled to maintain her composure. “Lucinda,” she lied without missing a beat.

Without any suspicion, Dustin relayed to Andrew, “Her name’s Lucinda. She’ll be my for tonight. Tell Mr.

Dorsey I’ll make it up to him with dinner when I visit Australia.”

date On the other end of the line, Andrew stared at his disconnected call, racking his brain for the name.

No recollection..

Dustin had a taste for striking beauty, so this ‘Lucinda’ must be exceptional. But did Dorsey International even employ such a woman?

Frowning, he glanced at Max, who sat with his eyes closed, “Dustin just called. He wants to borrow one of your employees for the night, someone named Lucinda.”

Max’s eyelashes fluttered as he slowly opened his eyes. “Who?”

“Lucinda,” Andrew repeated, scoffing. “Since when does Dorsey International harbor such a temptress that Dustin personally calls to request her company?”

Max’s jaw clenched, a mist of emotion swirling in his eyes before settling back into an inscrutable smile.

“Lucinda,” he echoed.

He looked up and instructed Patrick with a casual command. “We won’t be heading back to the manor,”

Patrick was surprised, as they were originally set to pick up Ms. Brielle. But without further questioning, he adjusted the steering wheel accordingly.

The car fell into a tense silence. Andrew sensed a shift in Max’s demeanor ever since that phone call –

a chilling coldness now laced with a hint of frost in his gaze. “Max, didn’t you bring Brielle along?

Where is she now?”

Max chuckled lightly, idly tapping his long fingers on his knee. “She’s at the venue.”

“You’re letting her wander around in the chaotic North American scene? If she flies into someone else’s cage, dazzled by the glitz, she might never find her way back.”

“Would she not be dazzled by the glitz at my side?”

Max closed his eyes again, his voice husky as he recalled the previous night. “She’s not that shallow.’

Andrew had his biases against Brielle. She had boldly schemed against Max at their first meeting and shamelessly admitted to being his mistress.

He knew she wasn’t, of course. Many in Beaconsfield longed to share Max’s bed but could only watch from afar – except Brielle, who actually took action.

He wondered if Max would have ended her if her seduction had succeeded.

Their second encounter at Tequila Sunset surprised him. Not only had she survived, but she thrived.

Max harbored a faint interest in Brielle, just a flicker, but enough to put Andrew on alert. So when Tiffanie took Brielle to meet a male star, he felt compelled to inform Max. At least until Max was bored of her, she should stay obediently.

“A woman who schemes to sleep with you isn’t shallow enough? In my opinion, she’s just got a pretty face. You haven’t tired of her yet, so you’re still looking through rose-colored glasses.”

“And you’re tired of Aubree?”

Max’s mention of Aubree caught Andrew off guard. Their relationship was meant to rot away in silence.

“She’s just a pastime. Easy to call, easy to dismiss, saves me a lot of trouble.”

After all, Tessa didn’t appreciate his dalliances, Sleeping with a hundred different people or a hundred times with one person made no difference to him.

“Brielle said Aubree loves you.

Max’s words were a reminder to Andrew not to do something he might regret, but the very mention of love contorted Andrew’s face in disgust. He knew Aubree fancied him, loved him, but men could be more cruel to women who loved them but whom they didn’t bother to love in return. Andrew wasn’t just indifferent; he went so far as to cruelly humiliate them.