Chapter 26

Jonny had no clue about the surprise Eleanor was preparing for him.

He reached for the suit jacket draped neatly on the chair, then rose to his feet to leave.

Noticing his movements, Lainey quickly pushed herself up from the sofa. "Jonny, where are you off to?"

A slight pause followed before Jonny spoke with a perfectly straight face. "Something urgent came up at the office. I have to go back and deal with it. You shouldn't stay up for me tonight."

The idea of an emergency that required him to stay out all night didn't make sense.

Suspicion flickered in Lainey's eyes, and she was ready to confront him, but he slipped out the door before she could say anything.

Sinking down onto the sofa, she absentmindedly twisted the hem of her shirt between her fingers.A feeling of unease settled over her.

Jonny never behaved this way. Unless...

As soon as that possibility crept into her mind,Lainey's fingernails pressed hard into her palms.

She could not let that be true. If it was, she might just kill him herself. There was no way she was letting go of the Todd legacy.

Thirty minutes ticked by before Jonny arrived outside Room 888 at the Lumina Hotel.

A rush of excitement buzzed through him from head to toe.

That image of Eleanor from the club, lookingSO inviting, stayed vivid in his thoughts.

Three years had passed, and he had almost lost control more than once. Now, Jonny actually wished he hadn't held back all this time.

Tonight, nothing would stop him from finally having what he wanted with her.

Thinking about it, Jonny could hardly keep his cool while pushing open the hotel room door.

A faint shape could be seen on the bed. Curves and bare skin were outlined by the thin, suggestive fabric she wore.

Jonny couldn't help feeling amazed that someone he thought was so boring could turn out to be this bold.

Missing out for three years really stung now that he saw what she had to offer.

He moved closer, only for an unusual, thick perfume to catch him off guard.

It took less than a minute before his head started spinning and the world around him became a blur.

Sounds turned fuzzy, and he barely recognized a voice speaking nearby. Coherent thought quickly faded, leaving him overwhelmed by instinct and want.

Sunrise found Jonny waking with a sense of satisfaction.

The sheets next to him were cold, and Eleanor was nowhere to be found.

Puzzled, Jonny wondered what kind of stunt she was pulling now.

Flashes of last night flickered in his mind, and though everything felt cloudy, he remembered having a great time.

If this was her new tactic, he figured he might keep her around for a while, at least until he grew tired of her and could toss her aside without a second thought.

Right then, his phone buzzed unexpectedly with a new message.

As he tapped the screen, Jonny's hand shook so badly he almost dropped the phone. Confusion swept over him. Since when had he ended up in bed with a lifelike doll?

Still reeling, he stared at the screen as another message appeared. "How do you like my surprise,dear ex-husband?"

He froze in disbelief. Could it be that Eleanor had never been there last night, and he had actually spent the night with a realistic doll?

The truth hit Jonny, and panic scattered his thoughts.

He lurched out of bed, grabbed the phone, and called the front desk. "Show me last night's hallway footage from outside Room 888.Right away."

"Of course, Mr. Todd."

Authority had its perks. Jonny might not control the whole city, but as CEO, his requests always got top priority at the Lumina Hotel.

Only a few minutes passed before the footage arrived in his inbox. Jonny scrolled quickly, his nerves fraying as he scanned every second. There was no sign of Eleanor anywhere.

Instead, what he saw was a cleaner with a covered cart, entering before he ever showed up.

That had to be when the doll was delivered.

Embarrassment and fury boiled inside Jonny.

He cursed Eleanor for tricking him so easily, and the possibility of leaked photos made his skin crawl.

As the CEO of Todd Group, he could never live this down if the story got out.

Gripping his phone so tightly his knuckles turned white, Jonny could hardly contain his rage.

He hammered out a message. "Eleanor, erase every picture. Come here now, or you'll regret crossing me!"

He then sent it.

An angry red exclamation mark flashed on the screen a moment later.

Fury almost made him snap his phone in half.

Had she really blocked him?

For three years, that woman had chased after him,and now she shut him out completely?

Admitting the truth to himself, Jonny knew he felt rattled.

Yet what he did not realize was that things could,and would,get even worse.

Nothing he had experienced so far compared to the humiliation waiting for him next.