Chapter 11

"Where are you, you bastard? Get your ass here immediately!" Lilith barked on the other end. I sighed and hung up. A beat later, I drove to the hotel to pick her up. When I arrived at her room, Lilith was wrapped in a bathrobe in Adam's arms. Adam's torso was bare, and he was openly feeling Lilith up. I nearly retched at the sight, so I turned away. Lilith stormed up to me and slapped me across the face. "Who do you think you are to threaten Adam, you piece of shit? Where did you get the nerve?" Adam grinned as he walked over to us, his eyes full of contempt as he surveyed his handiwork. Such pettiness was all he was capable of. How pathetic. "Pretty ballsy back in the car, weren't you, Leon? Go on, give us a bark," Adam taunted, snaking an arm around Lilith as he leveled a challenging stare at me. I did not rise to the bait. Instead, I explained curtly to Lilith, "I have no choice but to bring up the matter with Mr. Storm if you insist that I sign off on the contract." My career was on the line here. If I messed up and got into a lawsuit, I wouldn't be able to pay the damages. Even worse, I might end up in jail. I had to speak up for myself. "Don't you dare!" Lilith seethed. "I'm warning you, Leon, if you so much as breathe a word about this to my dad, I'll fire you! I'll send you packing and moving out of the family!" I maintained my stance. "I will not compromise on this. If you fire me, Ms. Storm, you'll have to answer to your father. He's the one I have an employment contract with, not you." I could overlook anything else, but I refused to risk my neck by signing off on a shady business deal. "You—" Lilith was beside herself with anger. I had always been obedient, and perhaps it shocked her that I had talked back to her not once but twice today. She glowered at me, seething even as she knew she could not do anything about my decision. After all, she knew that Yaeger would listen to me and not her. "How dare you speak to Lilith that way, Leon?" Adam snapped. He turned to the incensed Lilith and cajoled, "Don't pay him any mind, Lilith. There's no point arguing with a dog." Lilith fell for his coaxing words. She burrowed into his arms even as she glowered at me. But at that moment, he whispered something in her ear that made her laugh. "You devil," she crooned. "Mm, but you like it," he purred, sliding his hand down her waist and squeezing it. She beamed at him before casting an icy, mocking look in my direction. "Seems you've grown nerves of steel, Leon. You think I won't be able to put you in your place, huh? Trust me, I've got plenty of ways to teach you a lesson!" I couldn't care less. I had lost count of the times I was injured or mocked by Lilith in the last three years. After all the things she had done to humiliate me, her threat at this moment had no bite. Even so, I knew what awaited me was unhinged and sadistic torture. But I had survived her wrath for three years. Putting up with her for another few weeks was nothing. For all I cared, she could do whatever she liked to me. "I'll wait for you outside," I said, turning smoothly and leaving the room. I closed the door behind me. Within minutes, Lilith put on her clothes and came out. "Will we be returning to the company, Ms. Storm?" I asked. "No, we're going to the warehouse!" she sneered. She did not explain any further, but I had more or less guessed her wicked plans for me. Not long after, we arrived at the freight forwarding warehouse. Lilith said menacingly, "You refuse to sign off on the deal, right? In that case, you'll be working here from now on. And you'll be moving a full truckload of cargo a day. You can't leave work otherwise!" She raised her chin haughtily, looking down her nose at me. "Just sign the contract, Leon. Isn't that much easier than having to break your back moving cargo?" Adam snorted as he shot me a derisive look. I scoffed. Was this the best Lilith could do to punish me? "Very well, then. I'll be sure to pull my weight here."