Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 454(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Romero’s eyes dart around the room before he comes to a stop in front of me. “Everything okay?”
“What’s with the concern? I needed a little privacy. Privacy that you invaded, by the way.”
“Understood.” Though he looks unconvinced. “I’ve been going through the accounts like you asked.”
My molars grind together at the touch of small hands on my thighs. She can read my mind, after all. “And?” I grit out as her hands creep higher. There I was, thinking she was a good girl. My little bird likes to play dirty.
“And you were right. There are more than a few that need settling.” He passes me the file. “Printed are the names and balances.”
“Overdue?” I can’t concentrate on numbers when soft hands are stroking my inner thighs, teasing my growing bulge. This little minx.
“These are the guys we gave a warning to last month. I think we should pay them another visit and collect what we can.”
I glance up from the names and addresses. Romero’s stone-faced, the way he should be. This isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation. But it is the first time we’ve had it with Bianca hiding under my desk, playing with my cock. She rubs her palm over my dick, and blinding pleasure zings through me. I can hardly breathe for wanting her mouth on me.
“Possibly,” I grunt. “We can decide on that later.”
“Later?” His brows furrow. “We’re talking about a lot of money. Two of them, we already gave extensions. They knew what they were doing when they borrowed—”
“Enough!” I growl, my voice booming. Bianca’s touch freezes while Romero’s head snaps back. “Since when do you tell me how to manage my business? Thank you for bringing me the info I requested. That is your job. It is not your job to tell me how to handle things after that point.”
“Pardon me if I’m overstepping, but any other day you would usually be halfway to the car, ready to blow some brains out if they didn’t pay up.”
Bianca’s hands settle like lead on my legs. She hasn’t moved. Motherfucker. I’ve spent years doing everything in my power to keep Tatum out of this. She’s not a stupid girl—far from it—but I believe she’s in the dark on the finer points of what I do. That’s blown to shit now that Bianca has heard what Romero said. My chest tightens, and my vision goes hazy. I’m going to lose my shit if this conversation continues.
“We’ll need to talk about this later,” I mutter, glaring at him. I’ve always been able to rely on him to know when it’s the best time and place to discuss these things and to pick up on when I’m not in the fucking mood to talk. I’m surprised he would choose this very moment to let me down.
As if intuition has finally hit him, he mumbles, “Fair enough. Let me know what you decide, and I’ll be ready.”
I give him a tight nod and watch as he walks out of the room.
I back the chair away from the desk, staring at the wall across from me. “You can come out now,” I mutter, careful to keep my voice low. She wouldn’t flip her shit over this. I need to believe she’s got too much sense.
She’s in no hurry to crawl out. I bet she’s afraid of me. Who could blame her? There are lesser men that I’ve made piss their pants. And after what she just heard, I’m positive her view of me has changed.
My gut goes tight once understanding settles in my bones. She keeps her gaze on the floor, leaving her hair hanging in front of her face like a curtain. By the time she gets to her feet, she’s trembling.
“I…”
When she doesn’t continue, my resolve hardens. This, whatever we’re doing, is a mistake. Not only for myself, but for her as well. I can’t drag her into my darkness. I can’t taint her. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to her because of me. Protecting Tatum is hard enough.
“Well, now you know.” I lean back in the chair, folding my arms across my chest. “You know the monster staring at you, the one who just had his fingers deep inside your pussy.”
She winces and folds her arms across her stomach. “But you don’t actually do stuff like that, right? You just get mad and threaten people until they give you what you want?”
I almost laugh but bite it back. So fucking naive. I can’t believe she thinks all I do is threaten people. “Who do you think I am?”
For the first time, she glances at me through the curtain of hair hanging alongside her face. “What?”
Sometimes you have to rip the Band-Aid off. It’s time she faces the facts and sees me as the man everyone else sees me as. The man I am. Maybe then she’ll run far enough away that I can’t touch her.