Falling from Grace: A Billionaire Romantic Suspense series (The Filth Monger Series Book 1) Read Free Page A

standing up, I swear she’d have taken a step backwards. As it was, she merely jolted a little, and stared at me as if I were crazy. ‘What’s Max done?’
    ‘Sent me home,’ I said, the frustration spilling over into my voice, and tingeing it with sarcasm. ‘I thought you knew.’
    ‘Aw.’ Liv looked over towards Max’s office. ‘Just when I thought I knew the ruthless bastard, he pulls the rug out on me. What a sweetie.’
    ‘You’re joking.’ I stared at her. ‘Right?’
    ‘No, I…’ She paused and her expression softened. She looked troubled again. ‘You don’t know, do you?’
    ‘Know?’ This morning wasn’t getting any better. Every time I thought I was getting a handle on it, I was blindsided again. ‘No, I don’t. What the hell’ve I done?’
    Liv bent down and pulled her bag from under her desk. It was enormous, more like a rucksack, and contained the most improbable things. Everyone called it her Mary Poppins bag. She stood up. ‘Let’s go up to the restaurant, if you can face it. Get a bottle of wine. You’re gonna need it.’
     
    The staff restaurant was up on the fourteenth floor. Liv had hold of my hand, and steered me towards the bar, past the handful of employees still gulping down a quick breakfast before the work of the day began.
    ‘A bottle of white, please, Anton,’ she said, leaning on the counter. I hovered behind her. She was still holding my hand, and she squeezed it then, brief but firm. Reassuring.
    ‘Wine?’ Anton looked doubtfully at his watch. ‘It’s barely nine in the morning. I really don’t think…’
    ‘Wine, Anton,’ repeated Liv. She nodded behind her, to where I was standing. Anton followed her gesture with his eyes. When they hit me, they widened considerably. God, it was getting ridiculous.
    He still looked doubtful. There were probably laws against selling alcohol before a particular time. I didn’t have a clue. I rarely drank.
    Finally, he nodded. ‘Just this once.’
    Liv steered me over to a table by the window. It could’ve been a great view, if it weren’t for all the blank, staring windows of the flat, modern buildings opposite. It felt like everyone and everything were staring at me that morning. It was almost surreal.
    Anton brought the wine over to our table, where he placed it gently, almost reverently, before shuffling away backwards to the bar. I watched him go, perplexed. I turned back to Liv, who was already sloshing wine into my glass. When it was full to nearly overflowing, she poured a meagre half glass for herself. Well, she was expected back in the office at some point. I wasn’t.
    ‘Tell me, Liv.’ I ran my finger around the top of my glass, catching the splash marks with my fingertip. Even as I said it, I half didn’t want to know. Whatever it was that’d happened, it was clearly god-awful. I felt almost sick with nerves. Better to get it over with.
    ‘Drink first.’
    I took a sip of wine. It was harsh and sharp on my tongue, and I suddenly realised I hadn’t had as much as a glass of water yet, that morning. I didn’t think I could face wine, and went to put it down.
    ‘ Drink. ’ Liv was fumbling in her Mary Poppins bag, and didn’t even look up.
    I took another sip.
    ‘All of it.’
    ‘Really?’ I looked up at her. ‘The whole glass?’
    ‘The whole glass.’
    Her tone brooked no argument. I lifted it reluctantly to my lips, tipped my head back slightly, and gulped down half its contents, droplets spilling down my chin in my desperation to end the tart, overpowering assault on my mouth. By the time I’d managed to finish it, Liv had put her handbag down, and was clutching a newspaper.
    She passed it across the table to me.
    ‘Page two,’ she said.
    Her face betrayed no emotion, and I took the paper from her without a word. I opened it at the second page, feeling slightly sick from the wine, and immediately felt sicker than I’d ever felt in my life.
     
    Footballers in sleazy sex romp
     
    I recoiled