Confessions in the dark

Chapter 15- The informant

Ashley

Sebastian’s driver dropped me back at Velvet Noir so I could get my car.

The moment the black SUV disappeared from sight, I stood in the parking lot and let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

I was overwhelmed.

Everything had happened so quickly.

Four days ago, Sebastian Voss had been nothing more than a stranger I’d noticed across a nightclub.

Now I’d signed a contract to become his personal assistant, he had paid my tuition, he’d arranged an entire room for me in his penthouse, and somehow, I was becoming more attracted to him by the hour.

But there was something else.

Could I really mislead this man?

I was going to work for him while secretly investigating him.

Did he have ulterior motives just as I did?

I couldn’t shake the feeling that Sebastian knew more than he let on.

Maybe he was playing me too.

I climbed into Theresa and started the engine.

She coughed, sputtered, and finally came to life.

“Come on, girl. We have somewhere to be.”

Professor McCullough had asked to see me.

I had no idea why.

I pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward campus.

In the space of four days, my entire life had changed.

I had no idea whether it was for better or worse.

When I reached campus, Theresa sounded like she was personally offended by the journey.

I parked and headed straight toward Professor McCullough’s office.

I knocked once.

“Come in.”

I opened the door.

“You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Oh, yes, Miss Simmons. Take a seat.”

I sat across from his desk.

He studied me for a moment, and somehow that made me even more nervous.

“I know you might be wondering why I called you here.”

I nodded.

“As you know, your case study is to investigate the business dealings and personal history of Sebastian Voss.”

I nodded again.

“But there’s something you don’t know.”

My stomach tightened.

“I chose you for this assignment because the information you uncover could assist with an actual pending investigation.”

I stared at him.

“An investigation?”

“Yes.”

He folded his hands on his desk.

“The FBI and LAPD have been looking into Sebastian Voss for some time.”

I swallowed.

“Why me?”

“Because I think you have the potential for greatness, Miss Simmons.”

He leaned back.

“And I believe this case could fast-track your career after graduation.”

My mind raced.

“This isn’t simply a school assignment?”

“It is.”

He paused.

“But it can also become something much bigger.”

I stared at him.

“I’m doing this as a favor to a friend in the force.”

That was when I remembered.

Professor McCullough hadn’t always been a professor.

He had been a detective.

He’d been forced into retirement after suffering a serious injury.

He rarely spoke about it.

I’d heard rumors, but he’d never gone into detail.

I suddenly understood why this case had been assigned to me.

I wasn’t just a student anymore.

I was becoming an informant.

An informant to a man who was simultaneously changing my life.

The irony was almost laughable.

“You’re sure you’re comfortable with this?” Professor McCullough asked.

I forced myself to nod.

“I can do it.”

Even as the words left my mouth, I didn’t believe them.

“You’ll have my support,” he said. “And when you need a recommendation, you’ll have one.”

I smiled weakly.

“Thank you, sir.”

Final exams were approaching.

The semester was almost over.

And if everything went according to plan, I’d be spending more and more time around Sebastian.

That meant more conversations.

More access.

More opportunities to investigate him.

And more opportunities for him to figure me out.

I had never felt so divided in my life.

But I needed this.

This was my one big break.

Maybe the opportunity that could change everything.

And besides, it wasn’t like Sebastian was going to fall for me.

He wasn’t that type of man.

At least, that’s what I told myself.

I was simply a means to an end.

Just as he was to me.

I left Professor McCullough’s office and headed back to the dorm.

Maya was out.

Thank God.

I needed to think.

I dropped my bag beside my bed and collapsed onto the mattress.

My phone was still in my hand.

I stared at Sebastian’s number.

Then typed.

Thank you for today. But the tuition… you didn’t have to do that.

His response came quickly.

You’re welcome. And trust me, there’s more to come. See you soon, Miss Simmons.

I stared at the message.

This man was impossible.

I had corrected him so many times.

Ashley.

Not Miss Simmons.

Yet he refused to call me anything but my last name.

I rolled onto my back.

“Stubborn.”

I couldn’t stop thinking about earlier.

The way he’d taken off my glasses.

The way he’d leaned close enough that I could feel his lips against mine without actually kissing me.

I had wanted him to.

God, I had wanted him to.

But he hadn’t.

He’d teased me instead.

Taunted me.

Left me wanting more.

And now I was lying alone in my dorm wondering what would happen if he ever found out the truth about me.

Would he believe me?

Would he laugh?

Would Sebastian Voss actually believe that the woman he’d hired from a gentleman’s club had never been with a man?

That I was a virgin?

I didn’t know why the thought bothered me so much.

Maybe because I could already imagine the look on his face.

Would he be surprised?

Would he think I was lying?

Would it even become a topic of conversation between us?

I covered my face with my hands.

“God, Ashley.”

I was going to work for this man.

Mixing business with pleasure was a terrible idea.

And I already knew I wanted him.

That was the problem.

Wanting Sebastian would complicate everything.

If I let myself get distracted, I could lose the case.

Lose the internship.

Lose my future.

And worse, I could lose my ability to see him clearly.

I sat up.

No.

I couldn’t do that.

Whatever attraction I felt had to stay exactly where it was.

Buried.

Controlled.

I opened my laptop and pulled up my notes.

Sebastian Voss.

I typed his name at the top of the page.

Then underneath it, I wrote:

Find out who he really is.

I stared at the words.

Then whispered to myself,

“Eyes on the prize, Ash.”

I forced Sebastian out of my head.

Or at least, I tried.

Because somehow, I already knew that was going to be much harder than I thought.