A Man of Prestige

  A MAN OF WEALTH

  The Kingmakers of Kensington Book Two

  S.E. ROSE

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Acknowledgments

  Stay Connected

  About the Author

  Also by S.E. Rose

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2022 S. E. Rose

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  www.seroseauthor.com

  * * *

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This story contains descriptions of adult relationships and derogatory language. If such things offend you, this book is not for you. The book is intended for mature readers. For more information on this book’s content, you can visit www.seroseauthor.com.

  Dedication

  To those who work to make the world a better place.

  Chapter 1

  Conner

  * * *

  My father is a kidnapper? Her words echo in my head. My father. The more I consider it, the more it becomes a very tangible truth.

  “Are you sure?” Sebastian asks. “You didn’t say anything about an accent when you told me.”

  Alexis looks from me to Sebastian and back again. “You’re British?” she asks, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

  I shake my head. “My father is.”

  She turns her attention to Sebastian. “I don’t know why I didn’t think about the man having an accent. I’m still a little foggy about the memory, but that voice…I’ll never forget that voice.”

  She has a valid point. My father’s voice is quite distinctive. With his slightly faded British accent and his deep baritone sound, it’s hard to forget it.

  I look to Sebastian for guidance. I have no idea what he’s told her.

  Sebastian takes Alexis by the hand and leads her to a seat at the kitchen island. She slowly sits and stares up at him.

  “There are a lot of things that you don’t know, Alexis.” He looks at me and I give him a subtle shake of the head. He can’t tell her.

  “Such as?” she asks, her words slow and confused.

  “Confervo may be worse than we thought. There are some very powerful people in this city, who do some very shady things. We may have stirred the pot with our research.” Sebastian sighs and I can tell he doesn’t want to have this conversation with me present, but it’s better I’m here to know what he says. “That’s why I tried to break things off between us. I didn’t want you involved in something that could potentially be dangerous, but now…it seems I’ve just put you right in the middle of it.”

  Alexis frowns and looks over at me. “But…why would Conner’s dad be involved?”

  I know why, but I’m letting Sebastian tell her. If he wants this woman, then he needs to be the one to speak the truth, or at least as much as we can divulge.

  “Think this through. What does Conner do?” he prompts.

  She gives him a pointed look, and I press my lips together to keep from laughing. I like this woman. “He runs a lobbying firm for the shipping industry.”

  “And how did he come to do that?” Sebastian asks.

  Her mouth opens and then closes and then opens again as she looks over at me. “Your father owns a shipping company,” she says. Her eyes widen as the puzzle pieces come together for her.

  Sebastian glances at me. We will most definitely need to discuss this later.

  “Seriously? I was drugged and hit over the head; I’m not stupid. What the hell is going on? Is your father shipping these drugs into the country?” Alexis says as she pushes back her seat and stands abruptly. She sways a little and Sebastian lunges forward to catch her.

  “Whoa, little dove. You need to rest.”

  She presses a hand to his chest as she steadies herself. “I’m fine. I’m just a little woozy from the concussion.”

  I watch Sebastian as he keeps his hands firmly planted on her hips. Damn, Mr. Perfect has it bad for his little lady. There’s something serious between them. I can’t understand that part of it. I will never have that with a woman, never. I don’t do serious relationships. In my world, serious relationships equal collateral damage.

  “He may be. Alexis, are you absolutely sure?” I say, drawing her attention away from Sebastian. She looks over her shoulder at me.

  I play the voice message again and she closes her eyes as she listens. When it ends, she nods slowly. Her large eyes open, and she stares at me. “Yes. The way he said…fucking. He says it strangely like he has an accent, but not really. It’s…unique.”

  She’s not wrong. It is unique. There are a handful of words that are like this when he speaks. I look at Sebastian again.

  “I need to go. Get her to bed. I’ll be in touch,” I state as I stand and walk toward his front door. I turn before I open the door. “By the way, Bryce Gallagher called me today. All our security systems have been hacked. He thinks that whoever hacked them is probably the same person who broke into your office. His team will be out tomorrow to fix it permanently, but they…overrode the hack for the time being.”

  “Jesus, maybe you could have mentioned that at the beginning of our conversation,” Sebastian growls.

  I open the door and head back to my house. I don’t mention that Bryce thinks we’ve all been being watched for some time now. Because we both know that we’ve been watched. We’ve been watched since the day we took the vow.

  I make it inside my door when my phone pings. I look down. Aiden has texted me a news article by none other than the lovely Vivienne Westerly.

  I glance at it as I walk over to my bar. Her photo pops up alongside it. Why does she have to be so fucking beautiful? This calls for my best bourbon. Pouring myself two fingers, I take a sip and sit down on my sectional, letting my long legs stretch across the leather. I skim through the latest article as I let the amber liquid burn with each swallow.

  Vivienne is on the hunt, as usual. I don’t exactly know why she’s chosen the brotherhood as her target. She clearly has no idea we even exist, but it’s only a matter of time before she puts two and two together. I just hope it’ll give us enough time to implode this house of cards from the inside. She’s a nosy bitch who needs to stay the fuck out of things she knows nothing about.

  I hate the media. I’ve hated the media ever since my mother’s death. They painted her as a whore and a gold digger. She wasn’t any of those things.

  I toss my phone on the coffee table and lean back as I take another sip. My mother. I can still remember the smell of her perfume. The feel of her smooth lips against my forehead as she kissed me goodnight for the very last time.

  I can still hear the explosion, see the fire. Hear the screams.

  I down the rest of my drink, trying to wash away the horrid memories. I open my eyes and look around the
room. The cathedral ceiling has a dozen skylights, allowing me to view the stars overhead. I’ve purposefully left the lights off. Only the dim under-cabinet lights in the kitchen illuminate the house. I like it dark in here.

  My granny was blind by the time I was born. A product of another accident. She never used her lights, and after spending several summers with her, against my father’s wishes, I became accustomed to the dark. She taught me how to use my hearing to compensate for my sight. She taught me many things, but that lesson has stuck with me, even now.

  My mind wanders back to Alexis. Her words were shocking, yet not. Sebastian once alluded to the fact that he all but knew his father was part of the elite. I’ve long suspected the same thing about my own father. They run in very different circles, yet their business relationships seem anything but mutually exclusive. Sebastian’s father is two years older than mine, but they were at school together and they were brothers in the fraternity. We didn’t know this until we pledged and took the vow. The vow that changed everything.

  It was during pledging that Sebastian and I met. We quickly learned, along with Aiden, that all three of us were legacies. In fact, our pledge class had a few other legacies, and all of us became part of the brotherhood. It wasn’t until the secret ceremony that we learned why. The brotherhood always has reasons for who becomes a member.

  I set my glass in the sink, knowing that Felicia will take care of it tomorrow. She’s been with me since I bought this place. She comes in daily and takes care of my home and personal life. She’s like a big sister to me, which is maybe something I needed. Aiden and Sebastian have siblings, or Sebastian did. I’m the lone wolf of our trifecta. I prefer it that way. If you keep to yourself, people can’t hurt you.

  I look down at my phone. I need to call my father. I need to find out his involvement, but he can’t know what I’ve found out. I play out different scenarios in my head before finally settling on the one that I’ll use.

  Pressing the call button, I put it on speaker. It rings four times.

  “Hello, Conner,” Lena’s voice answers. Fucking Lena. Lena Harkins is my father’s assistant, if that’s what you want to call it. They are one hundred percent fucking. Lena is in it for the lifestyle and money. So, she doesn’t give a shit that Theodore can’t seem to keep it in his pants as long as he brings her diamond tennis bracelets every time she finds out about his indiscretions. It’s fucked up in only a way that my father could fuck it up.

  “Hello, Lena. Is my father there?”

  “He’s indisposed at the moment. Can I take a message?” Indisposed. That’s rich. Indisposed means he’s either getting a blowjob, which is unlikely since she answered his phone, or he’s busy entertaining clients, more likely since I can hear voices in the background.

  “I have some business matters to discuss with him when he has a moment.”

  “Of course. I’ll have him call you when he can.”

  When he can? This entire conversation should make me want to stab people, yet it’s par for the course. This is how we operate in my so-called family.

  “Thank you,” I reply through gritted teeth as I hang up and stare out at the backyard which is dark except for the lights in the pool.

  When Sebastian started down this whole “research a pharmaceutical company” thing, I in no way thought it would lead down this rabbit hole. I fear the Pandora’s box he’s opened is way bigger than he ever imagined. We’re going to have to figure out how this drug is getting into the U.S. so we can stop its use; and if we are going to take down the brotherhood or even part of it, then we’ll need to identify every member of the elite. It’s going to be a near-impossible task since the elite members aren’t known, but the one thing I know about Sebastian North is that man will stop at nothing once he’s made up his mind. He and Aiden are the closest thing I have to a real family, so if he’s going down trying to fix this mess, then I guess I’m the co-captain of his doomed ship.

  I turn and head to my bedroom as I begin to lay out my plan. The first person going down…will be my father.

  Chapter 2

  Vivienne

  * * *

  I need two things, more wine and to get laid. Glancing at my laptop, I reach for the glass of chardonnay that I know is sitting to my right because Marvin, the bartender, put it there. I find it and bring it to my lips, letting the cool liquid fill my mouth. He gave me the good stuff. Fucking Marvin, he wants a good tip tonight. I look up, expecting to find him watching me and waiting for some smartass comment, but I’m wrong, very wrong.

  Marvin is in fact down at the other end of the bar serving, I squint to see better, Senator Cumberland. It takes a great deal of fortitude to not roll my eyes because next to him is his staffer, Clarice, who he is fucking. Everyone knows this. Even his pearl-clutching, could-freeze-fire-with-a-look wife knows it. Marvin is getting me intel. A small smirk forms on my face. That bastard will be getting a good tip after all.

  My stare travels from the far end of the bar to a movement on my right. Bingo!

  Conner Sterling has arrived. I had heard a little while ago that he might stop in here. He was spotted in the city this evening and this bar is one of his favorite spots. He looks to be in a mood. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him up close yet. One thing is for sure, those photographs that I’ve seen do not do this man justice.

  Everything about him is large. He looks foreboding as his giant frame approaches the bar. The only seat available is the one next to me. I’ve arranged it this way, hoping that he’d be here tonight. Lady luck is clearly on my side this evening.

  As though Marvin senses the power and wealth radiating off the man next to me, he immediately excuses himself and in five long strides is in front of us.

  “Mr. Sterling, how are you this evening? The usual?” he asks as he reaches for a tumbler from the shelf of glasses next to him.

  Conner eyes the top-shelf alcohol and nods. “Yes, Marvin. Three fingers tonight.”

  “Coming right up, sir.” Marvin goes to work, pulling down the most expensive bottle of whiskey on the shelf. I watch him pour it and place it in front of Conner. “Anything else that I can get you?”

  Conner shakes his head, and as though sensing his mood, Marvin quickly moves away. He does cast me a quick glance out of the corner of his eyes. I nod to him, letting him know that I will chat with him later. He returns my acknowledgment with a nod of his own before going to wait on a few staffers from Senator Herringbone’s office.

  I weigh my next move. Do I let him drink first? Should I speak now? I’ve been observing him for weeks, but suddenly I’m nervous, and I’m never nervous. I watch as he brings the tumbler up to his lips and takes a long sip. A tattoo peeks out from under his cuff. In this city, it speaks volumes. He’s no pretty boy. No polished leader of the flock. No, not Conner Sterling.

  “You going to stare at me all night, or will you be grilling me while I try to unwind?” he mutters as he sets the glass back on the bar.

  I attempt to remain unaffected by this abrupt change of my plans. “Rough day?” I retort.

  His head slowly turns, and those dark blue eyes pierce me. He looks as dangerous as his father, but with a charm the older man never had. I see one of his suits behind us. He’s trying to blend in at a bar high-top table, only the man is even larger than Conner and couldn’t blend into a room of giants either. I’ve noticed that sometimes Conner has security and sometimes he doesn’t, but as of late, I see someone with him more and more. It has my curiosity piqued and I want to know why. What is going on with Conner? There’s something brewing in the nation’s capital, and I feel like Conner Sterling is most definitely involved.

  My attention focuses back on Conner who is studying me coolly.

  His eyes move from my face to my cream off-the-shoulder sweater, to the expensive trousers that hug my hips, and finally, my Louis Vuittons that grace my feet, which are currently propped on the brass footrest along the bottom of the bar. When his gaze meets mine again, I le
t out a breath. I should not be turned on by him. The smell of his woodsy cologne should not affect me. The way the fabric pulls around his bicep should not have me swallowing with desire. Fuck. Am I in over my head?

  His eyes focus on mine for the longest moment as a frown threatens to form on his lips. Then, he looks past me at my laptop screen, and his lips thin into a line.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he grumbles as he turns back away from me and downs his drink in one large gulp. I find myself watching his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows the amber liquid.

  And then he stands and nods at Marvin while throwing down a hundred-dollar bill and walks out of the bar, leaving me sitting there, watching his fine ass as it exits through the door in which it just came from a few minutes earlier. The giant of a man I had clocked as his security follows him.

  “Damn it,” I mutter under my breath.

  Marvin comes up to me and gives me a long hard stare. “Viv, you ought to be more careful. That man was not in a mood to talk to anyone, especially you. Bud can only handle so much,” he states, as he motions to his security man sitting by the door.

  I roll my eyes. “Whatever. I’m out of here. I need to come up with a new plan.”

  I’ve made friends with several staff members at prominent bars and restaurants and even hotels in the city. Marvin is my favorite. He works at this bar at night and also picks up a few day shifts waiting at the only hotel that doesn’t need a name associated with it in this city. Whenever I need to know something about someone in what some view as the most powerful city in the world, Marvin is one of the first sources I go to.