Chapter 14: Formerly Complimentary

The elevator doors opened.

The employees waiting outside took one look at Dominic Sebastian standing there with a cardboard box filled with his personal belongings and immediately stepped aside.

No one said anything.

Somehow, that made it worse.

Dominic walked past them with his jaw clenched, refusing to acknowledge the curious glances following him down the corridor.

He hadn’t even properly vacated the CEO’s office when maintenance personnel arrived with instructions to replace the name on the door.

ANDREI SEBASTIAN

INTERIM CEO

Dominic stopped.

"That was extremely rude. You could’ve at least waited for me to vacate the office."

The maintenance worker visibly stiffened before lowering his gaze.

"Sorry, sir. Just following orders."

Of course.

Everyone was suddenly just following orders.

Dominic stared at the freshly painted letters for another second before walking away.

The humiliation didn’t end there.

His executive assistant had already been reassigned, while his access to several restricted floors had been revoked. The corporate card he’d carried for years was suspended along with the secondary phone issued to the CEO’s office, and even his calendar had disappeared from the executive scheduling system before he’d finished packing.

Sebastian Group was remarkably efficient when it wanted someone gone.

By the time Dominic reached the lobby, Andrew was already waiting for him.

News traveled fast, apparently.

The blond immediately hurried forward and took the box from his hands.

"Dom."

"I’m fine."

"You don’t look fine."

Dominic gave him a look.

Andrew wisely decided not to elaborate.

He carried the box toward the parking area, walking right past Dominic’s reserved space.

Dominic frowned.

"Where are you going?"

"Wait here. I’ll get the car."

"What car?"

But Andrew was already hurrying away.

Dominic remained beside the empty parking space with his former title still printed neatly beneath his name on the wall.

DOMINIC SEBASTIAN

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Maintenance hadn’t gotten around to humiliating him down here yet.

He was still staring at it when the sound of a struggling engine caught his attention.

Dominic turned.

Surely not.

A faded gray sedan slowly rounded the corner.

Its original paint had apparently given up years ago, leaving patches on the hood and roof noticeably lighter than the rest. One hubcap was missing, and something near the front bumper rattled whenever the vehicle slowed down.

Andrew pulled up in front of him.

Dominic stared.

Andrew lowered the passenger-side window.

It stopped halfway.

He tried again, and the glass jerked down another few inches before apparently deciding that was enough effort for one day.

"Get in."

Dominic continued staring.

"Whose car is this?"

"My roommate’s."

"Where’s my car?"

Andrew’s expression changed.

"Oh. About that."

Dominic already disliked those three words.

"The lobby guards refused to give me the keys to the company car. They said Management revoked your vehicle privileges when you lost your CEO status."

Dominic looked back toward the building.

"Seriously?"

"Apparently."

Dominic opened the passenger door.

The smell hit him first.

He immediately recoiled.

"Good God. What died in here?"

"Nothing. Or nothing that I know of."

The interior wasn’t much better than the outside. Receipts had been stuffed into the cup holders, an old fast-food wrapper peeked out from beneath the passenger seat, and the upholstery bore stains Dominic had absolutely no intention of investigating.

"Cleanliness isn’t exactly second nature to the owner," Andrew admitted. "But he was kind enough to lend it to me."

Dominic carefully lowered himself onto the seat.

"For a handsome fee, of course."

Andrew smiled.

"Reimburse me later?"

"No."

"I was kidding."

"You’d better be. I’ve invested enough in you already with no visible return on my investment."

Andrew’s smile disappeared.

Dominic immediately regretted the remark, though not enough to apologize.

Maybe that was another unfortunate consequence of having a terrible day.

Andrew placed the box in the back and got behind the wheel.

Dominic reached for the seat belt.

It refused to click.

After another unsuccessful attempt, it finally locked into place.

Dominic stared at it suspiciously.

Andrew started the engine, and the entire dashboard vibrated.

Then came the air-conditioning.

Dominic waited.

Warm air blew directly into his face.

He turned the dial farther, only for the air to become marginally less warm.

"Is this broken?"

"No."

"This is barely cold."

"It gets colder once we start moving."

"How much colder?"

Andrew considered that.

"Enough that you’ll eventually stop sweating?"

Dominic slowly turned toward him.

Andrew immediately pulled out of the parking space.

"Where to?"

"Anywhere but here."

That, at least, Andrew could manage.

They made it onto the main road, and as Sebastian Group headquarters gradually disappeared behind them, Dominic thought that would finally put an end to the day’s humiliation.

He’d been overly optimistic.

Losing access to the CEO’s office was one thing. Realizing how much of his life had been attached to that position, or provided by the fiancé he’d just publicly humiliated, was turning out to be something else entirely.

The air-conditioning did, in fact, improve once the car was moving.

Unfortunately, improve turned out to be a very generous word.

Dominic loosened his collar.

Less than an hour ago, he’d been sitting inside an executive office where the temperature automatically adjusted according to his preferences.

Now he was sweating inside a borrowed sedan whose suspension seemed personally offended by every pothole.

His phone buzzed.

For one hopeful second, Dominic thought Alex had finally returned one of his calls.

Instead, it was an automated notification.

Your authorization under the Sebastian Group Executive Dining Program has been suspended.

Dominic stared at it.

Another notification informed him that his corporate concierge privileges had been deactivated.

Then came confirmation that the company credit card linked to his executive account had officially been frozen.

Dominic locked his phone.

Andrew glanced over.

"What?"

"Nothing."

There were some indignities a man didn’t need to announce.

A few minutes passed before Andrew asked, "Have you talked to Alex?"

"No. All my calls went to voicemail."

Dominic stared straight ahead.

"And he had the locks changed at the villa."

Andrew blinked.

"Already?"

"There were guards stationed outside."

"German Shepherds?"

Dominic slowly turned his head.

"No, you fool. Security guards. With tasers and licensed guns."

"Oh."

Andrew glanced at him.

"That bad?"

Dominic closed his eyes.

"Where did you sleep last night?"

"I went home to Victoria’s. Where else would I go?"

Andrew nodded before changing lanes.

"And you?"

"Back at the apartment I used to share with my old roommate."

That made Dominic glance at him.

Apparently, neither of them had expected to find themselves back at Victoria’s house and a rented apartment less than forty-eight hours after practically living together in a villa worth more than most people made in several lifetimes.

The contrast was almost absurd.

Since the renovation, Dominic had grown accustomed to waking up in a bedroom where the curtains opened automatically, and the temperature stayed exactly where he wanted it. The ensuite bathroom alone was larger than a typical apartment bedroom.

Whenever Andrew wasn’t around, Dominic allowed the household staff to report for duty at the villa. Other times, they were told to stay away but remained on Alex’s payroll under the excuse of ongoing repairs.

When the staff was there, Dominic barely had to think about the house at all.

Meals appeared when they were supposed to. His clothes were cleaned and pressed, while everything from maintenance to transportation was handled without him needing to arrange it himself.

Dominic had thought that was normal for someone in his position.

Only now was he beginning to realize just how much of that particular lifestyle hadn’t actually come from his position at all.

Andrew hesitated.

"Do you think I could still get my things from the villa?"

"What things? You hardly had anything of your own there."

Andrew fell silent.

Dominic rubbed his temple.

Most of what filled the villa belonged to Alex. He’d paid for the renovations and the staff because the place was supposed to become their home after the marriage.

Even the smaller comforts Dominic had stopped thinking about had usually appeared because Alex paid for them.

The wine Dominic liked was always stocked.

So was the imported coffee Andrew drank whenever he was around.

And that stupidly expensive mattress Andrew had once spent an entire morning praising?

Also Alex.

Apparently, both of them had become far too comfortable expecting the man they were deceiving to continue financing that comfort indefinitely.

"You even made things worse by wearing his customized cufflinks on our wedding day."

"Sorry. That wasn’t intentional. I forgot to change them."

"Of course you did."

Dominic sighed.

This guy was easy on the eyes, but whatever generosity nature had shown while designing his face had apparently come straight out of the foresight budget.

The more Dominic thought about everything they’d lost, the worse his mood became.

Which was probably why, when Andrew finally started asking about the rest, every question irritated him more than the last.

Mostly because Dominic already knew what the answer would be.

"So... what happens now?"

"With what?"

"The villa."

"We can’t set foot there without losing a limb."

"Oh."

Andrew drove quietly for a moment.

"What about the cars?"

"The company car is obviously gone, and the others were Alex’s."

"The club membership?"

"Alex arranged it."

Andrew’s fingers tightened slightly around the steering wheel.

"Oh."

Dominic finally glared at him.