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“Mr. Carveli,” Taylor says gently. “And with all due respect, Mrs. Carveli?—”
“It’s Ms. LeBlanc.”
Jesus. It’s the first time I’ve heard her voice in a decade. And I am not prepared for the snarling rage it sparks inside of me.
Eloise’s face tinges pink. “I…I never officially changed my name?—”
Her mouth snaps shut when Massimo whirls on her, his lips curled. Taylor clears her throat.
“Well, Ms. LeBlanc, our associate positions at Crown and Black are extremely coveted, and we only promote from within the existing junior associate pool?—”
“If my legal representatives don’t grasp what ‘non-negotiable’ means,” Massimo snarls quietly, “maybe I should be taking my business elsewhere.”
The conference room goes quiet.
“I believe we understand each other, Mr. Carveli,” Taylor murmurs.
Massimo grins widely. “Excellent. She starts tomorrow, along with our annual contract.”
Fuck no. FUCK no. I want to scream. I want to reach across the table and throttle him, or if nothing else, grab Eloise, drag her from the fucking building, and hurl her into the gutter where she belongs.
I can’t have her here. I won’t, even if she’s hidden away with the rest of the associates on their floor.
“Oh, and one more thing.” Massimo stands and buttons his suit jacket, signaling that the meeting is over. His eyes drag from Taylor to Gabriel and finally settle on me. He grins evilly and wags a finger at me. “Since I like this one so much, and since I think we probably have much in common…” His smile curls dangerously. “She works under you. Exclusively. Consider her your personal associate.”
What. The. FUCK.
“That’s not?—”
Gabriel grabs my bicep just above the elbow and squeezes, hard.
“We look forward to working wi—” He stops himself. “For you, Mr. Carveli. And we’ll see you tomorrow, Eloise.”
Massimo smiles a triumphant, shit-eating grin as he picks up his glass and drains the last of his Dalmore 62.
“I’m glad we’re all on the same page. Have the contracts ready by one this afternoon, and my people will come collect them. Ms. Crown?”
He eyes Taylor’s tits again before shaking her hand firmly.
Gabriel is next. “Mr. Black.”
“And Alistair.” He smiles broadly as he reaches across the table. I hesitate, and there’s no stopping my eyes from swiveling to lock with Eloise’s. I extend my hand and shake Massimo’s outstretched one, gritting my teeth.
The fucker turns and heads out, followed closely by his goon. Eloise stays where she is for a second, our eyes still locked, my sadistic side relishing the look of horror on her face.
Ten years ago, she fucked me up. She weaseled her way into a place no one gets into, and set the whole thing on fire.
She scorched me. Charred me. Cauterized any remaining weakness in me.
And now—now—here we are again, and this time, the power is all in my hands.
And she will rue the day she stepped back into my world.
6
ELOISE
My stomach churns as the elevator rises to the offices of Crown and Black, occupying the top three floors of the stately Madison Avenue building.
