Chapter 60

“You have a visitor, Miss Scott.”

Lila looked up from her plate where one half of a grapefruit—and nothing else—lay.

“Not now, Carlton,” Lila said irritably. “I’m still having breakfast.”

“He was rather insistent on seeing you,” Carlton said, not losing the even, placid tone of his voice. “I believe it’s the young man you entertained a while ago.”

Lila’s eyes widened, a dash of hope entering them. “Send him in.”

Carlton bowed and left the room. Lila sprung out of her chair and raked her fingers through her hair.

She was only wearing a silk robe—god, she wished she had changed before coming downstairs to breakfast. Imagine Raemon seeing her like that? In nothing but a bathrobe!

She paused. Actually, that might do the trick.

She heard the shuffle of feet entering the large breakfast room at her father’s mansion, and she whirled around to greet her visitor with the sexiest of her smiles.

It faded as soon as she saw who it was.

“You,” Lila said in a voice of disgust.

“Miss Scott,” Lucas said with a smirk, “lovely as ever.”

“What do you want?” Lila said in a bored voice as she fell back into her chair.

Lucas came to stand in front of her, sauntering up to the chair beside her own. He was wearing his customary oily grin.

“So coarse,” Lucas said. “That’s not how you spoke to me a few nights ago.”

“Get over yourself,” Lila said. “I only invited you to that party to make Raemon jealous.”

“That worked out well, didn’t it?”

Lila swore, a murderous look in her eyes. “Is there a reason you’re here?”

“Yes, actually,” Lucas said, taking a seat next to her. “Believe it or not, but I’ve come to save you.”

“Save me? From what?” Lila scoffed.

“Your own stupidity.”

Her delicate nostrils flared. “Why don’t I just call Carlton to get security up here?”

Now it was Lucas’s turn to look bored. “You could do that. But then you won’t hear what I have to say.”

“That’s the idea.”

Lucas shrugged. “Do it then. And you can go back to sitting around here moping. See if that brings Raemon to you.”

“Shut up! I never want to hear that man’s name ever again!”

“There’s something we have in common,” Lucas said. “How about Octavia’s?”

“Especially not hers,” Lila growled.

“Wouldn’t you like to make her pay, make him pay, for what they did to you?”

“I would,” Lila snapped. “I will. I don’t need your help for that.”

“But you do, Lila,” Lucas said, his lips curving farther upward. “I can make Raemon miserable. I can destroy him…and Octavia. All you have to do is what I tell you.”

Lila never lost the scowl on her face, but she was looking at Lucas with some interest.

“Yes,” Lucas said, leaning forward to look her in the eyes. “When I’m done, Octavia will be gone and Raemon will come crawling back to you. But not before being utterly ruined.”

“How?” Lila asked.

Lucas leaned back.

“It will take some time. And a little effort on your part. I have the plan in place. Very soon, the whole world is going to find out about Raemon Kentworth and his little assistant’s relationship.”

The color vanished from Lila’s face. “No!”

“Yes,” Lucas replied flatly. “It’s too late to stop it. I’ve already planted a tip for the press that the Raemon Kentworth is seeing someone. Someone very…unusual. For him, at least.”

“You can’t let people know! He’s supposed to be mine!”

“But he obviously isn’t.”

Lila slammed her manicured hand on the table.

“Every person on the planet saw us together at our party. I’ve NEVER been passed up for someone else by ANY man. What will they think if they find out he’s with…with…her?”

“That he got tired of long-legged supermodels?”

“You bastard!” Lila snarled. “You can’t let the press find out! I’d never live it down.”

“Yes, you will,” Lucas said. “In fact, you’ll do more than that. You’ll befriend Octavia.”

“What?! Over my dead body!”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Lucas said calmly. “You will befriend Octavia. Thanks to your little stunt at our last encounter, she’ll probably be suspicious.

“But with the press covering Raemon and her, she’ll be distracted. Or she’ll think it’s your move to ingratiate yourself with the billionaire’s girlfriend.”

“She’s NOT his girlfriend!”

Lucas ignored this. “Most everyone will probably be doing the same,” he continued, “so I doubt even Raemon will suspect you of anything sinister. When you’ve won her trust, you bring her to me.”

“You want Octavia too?” A flush of red sprung to Lila’s cheeks. “What the hell is happening?” she wailed.

“I do want her,” Lucas said. “Not romantically of course. But I must make her mine.”

“Why?”

Lucas sighed impatiently. “If you weren’t such an idiot, you’d know this without me having to spell it out for you.”

A vengeful glint lit up his eyes. “Don’t you see? Octavia is the one. She’s the key to everything.”

Lila could only respond with a look of confusion.

“Finally, I can destroy Raemon, once and for all,” Lucas said darkly. “I’ve found his Achilles heel.”