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It took me time to process a response because her words caught me off guard. Like she threw a pitcher of cold water in my face, I was stunned. No woman had ever said anything like that to me. Even when I was just a man with a dream, women wanted me for more than the night. It made all the muscles in my torso tense in both offense and curiosity. This woman was completely unaffected by my charm, and it drove me crazy. “Then what’s your type?”
“Not a murderer, for one.”
“Then you’re going to end up with a pussy.”
She ignored the insult. “An average man with average means.”
All women wanted was a rich man who could buy them the world. They wanted nice cars, a beautiful mansion, and a necklace covered in a wealth of diamonds. They wanted to feel like a queen and be married to a king. “Bullshit.”
Her eyes moved to mine, full of hostility.
“All women want security. All women want a powerful man who can protect them.”
“Only women who can’t provide for and protect themselves.” Her fingers wrapped around the stem of her glass, and she fidgeted with it as she kept her eyes on me. “I’ve been doing it for a long time, and I’m pretty good at it. That’s not what I’m looking for in a man. And money is the root of all evil. When you have too much of it, everyone wants it. It’s impossible to tell who really likes you for you…and who wants to screw you over. People will do anything to get their hands on it…even murder innocent people.”
I had a few asshole comments in retaliation, but I didn’t say them because I understood the context of her words. Her mother had been murdered because of her father’s empire. Being associated with a life of crime had only ripped her family apart. Now she lived on her own and hadn’t spoken to her family in many years.
“So, you aren’t my type, Cato.”
I hadn’t touched my wine since I walked inside. I was far more interested in drinking her in than letting the alcohol touch my lips. Bates’s paranoia seemed like overkill now that I’d heard her confession. This woman didn’t have a trick up her sleeve at all. She really just wanted a job from me—and that was all. If anything, she was a lesser threat than anyone else I dealt with. “You aren’t wrong. But you aren’t right either.”
She placed her hand under her chin as she examined me. Her thick lashes made her eyes even more beautiful, hypnotic. They shone with ecstasy when I was deep inside her, and the effect was absolutely stunning.
“With great power comes great responsibility. If you’re a man worthy of that power, you will rule without consequence. I’m the biggest shark in the ocean, the top of the hierarchy. I control this world, down to every last detail. Men look over my shoulder for me, but my power is untouchable. I’m the most powerful man in this world—and no one can ever take that away from me. Perhaps my station makes me a target, but it also makes me untouchable. If a woman were ever by my side, she would never have to be afraid of anything—because the world serves me.” Her father had a respectable empire with plenty of men, but he was still no match for me. She thought she understood wealth and privilege, but the others were penniless compared to me. She had no idea what real luxury was like. “I can make all problems go away.”
She hung on every word without blinking, but she still didn’t seem impressed by what I said. “You can make problems go away, but I prefer not to have problems to begin with.” She grabbed the bottle and refilled her glass. “I inherited this house from my grandmother. It’s small and quaint, but it’s perfect for me. I don’t owe anything on it, and the money I make from the gallery is enough for a comfortable life. There’s nothing else I need or want.”
I wasn’t envious of her attitude, but I respected her for it. It gave her the ultimate level of power. If there was nothing else she needed, then she didn’t need to bend over backward for anything or anyone. She was in control of her life, and she wasn’t looking for a man to make her life easier. She didn’t need anyone for anything.
She drank her wine, licking her lips in between tastes.
It was the first time in my life when I’d wanted a woman who was borderline indifferent toward me. She wanted to sleep with me, but not enough to blow up my phone with texts or to show up at one of my favorite clubs. She didn’t have an ulterior motive, a fantasy that she could become the richest woman in this country. She didn’t need anything from me—so I meant nothing to her. It was pretty sexy.
