Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 37

"Put your tip into the restaurant's public accounts. I'll double your salary this month."

Carter hung up the phone, a lingering unease clawing at his chest.

Was Emma deliberately threatening Logan?

Unable to shake his thoughts, he dialed the driver he had assigned to Emma again.

"Ms. Lockwood has only been heading to the construction site lately. She spends the entire day there and goes back quite late."

Hearing that, Carter's anxiety only worsened.

He fired off several calls in quick succession, entirely distracted from his work. His executive assistant couldn't stand by and watch anymore.

"Boss, the bodyguards we arranged haven't been pulled, and we have our own security personnel at the site. You have nothing to worry about."

The way the assistant saw it, Emma was no damsel in distress; there was zero chance she'd actually end up in danger.

"Plus, I dug into her background and assets abroad. Care to guess what I found?" the assistant asked with a secretive edge.

Carter waved his hand, cutting him off immediately. "Never investigate her behind my back again without my permission. And keep whatever you found this time to yourself."

His relationship with Emma was, at best, a business partnership. Even back when she was poised to join the Harrington family, he hadn't investigated her. Now that she wasn't closely tied to them anymore, digging into her was completely unwarranted.

The assistant pouted slightly. The truth was, he had found absolutely nothing—which only underscored the gravity of the situation.

Just what kind of empire did Emma command overseas to be capable of scrubbing all her personal and financial records off the grid?

But since the boss forbade it, he naturally kept his mouth shut.

At the construction site, Emma stretched luxuriously. After catching someone sneakily glancing her way for the third time, she decisively stood up.

"I'm heading to the restroom."

The site only had one temporary restroom, and it was located in a fairly secluded spot.

Emma weaved through layers of metal fencing, purposefully slowing her pace to wait near the entrance.

"You're Emma?"

Footsteps echoed from a group approaching from behind. Emma raised a brow—right on cue.

She turned around, only to have a wooden bat swing straight at her face.

Emma just gave a noncommittal shrug. One of the men carrying ropes urged hastily, "Grab her and let's get out of here. If we drag this out, someone's gonna spot us."

"Too late for that."

Dozens of men clad in security uniforms swarmed up behind the group. Carter looked as though he had sprinted the whole way; his normally immaculate hair was utterly disheveled.

Radiating a suffocating, predatory dominance, he tore through the crowd and marched straight up to Emma.

"Thank God you're okay."

Without a second thought, Carter dragged her into a crushing embrace, his arms wrapping around her like a vice.

Emma froze slightly, discreetly waving a hand at the figures concealed in the shadows.

With her ear pressed tight against his shoulder, all she could hear was the thunderous, desperate pounding of his heart.

Emma slowly looked up. "Carter, you—"

"As long as I'm here, no one will ever lay a finger on you."