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As he starts reading, I see the penny drop and the bitterness grow in his eyes as he realizes I have so much heat on him, I’m surprised he’s not dust already and I wonder how he’ll play this. To his credit, he maintains his cool and pushes the papers back to me and snarls, “You’ve been busy. If I wasn’t so angry, I’d be impressed.”
I say nothing and as he leans back, he pointedly looks across at Ella and then back at me and I struggle to maintain my cool. He can’t see what she means to me, and I only hope he thinks she’s just another faceless assistant. He will be keeping his words guarded because he won’t want another witness to his failure, and yet I don’t miss the meaning in his eyes. I’m used to that. Many people threaten me; think they have an idea how to break me. Blackmail me, bring me down, manipulate me. It’s why I live like I do. They have shit on me and one sign of weakness, one hint there is something that could cause my empire to crash and burn they hunt for it like the desperate men they are.
Ella, to her credit, looks bored shitless and just maintains a façade of boredom and disinterest. She won’t even look at me and for the first time I am glad about that and as if testing the water, Damien addresses his next sentence to her.
“Honey, run and fetch me a coffee, be a good girl.”
I feel my anger brewing as he speaks to her like a slave and she nods. “Anyone else?”
She looks at everyone but me and totally disregards the tense atmosphere in the room.
As she jumps up, she has to pass him and the bastard leans back and slaps her ass as she passes and I swear time stands still as I feel a blaze of fury burn me up inside. I think Ella is lost for words as she turns and stares at him, and I can feel her anger from across the room. “Did you just really do that?”
Her voice is tightly controlled fury and Damien ignores her and watches me closely for my reaction. I lean back and smirk as if I couldn’t give a fuck and say evenly, “Miss. Quinn, you may get the coffee and you have my full permission to drown him in it. Make sure it’s hot, it will make him squeal louder.”
His eyes narrow as I make him look an idiot and Ella hisses, “Asshole.”
I’m not sure if she’s talking about him, or me as she storms from the room and Damien smirks. “I love a wild one. You’re a lucky man.”
I shrug, “Tell that to her boyfriend.”
I point to Charlie, who doesn’t even blink as he fixes Damien with a thunderous look and makes to stand.
“Show Damien and his group out please, Charlie, our business is concluded.”
Damien looks at me angrily, “I haven’t finished.”
“Yes, you have, request denied, good day.”
Charlie and Eddie stand, and Damien looks at his own guard angrily. Obviously, he knows better than his boss and shakes his head slightly. I can feel Damien’s frustration as he scrapes back his chair and leans across the table making for the file and I say darkly, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, just leave, we’re done.”
I almost think he’s going to pull his gun on me as his hand twitches and moves to his jacket but a soft click in the corner of the room tells us both my guards have him covered and he shouts, “Fine, I’ll go but this isn’t over, I’ll…”
I snarl, “You’ll do nothing. You’ll crawl back under your rock and carry on as you were, and you’re just lucky I don’t turn this file over to the authorities. If I hear your name, or see your face near any of my organizations in the future, then this file drops into the lap of the biggest bastard out there. So, fuck off Damien, request denied and don’t make me regret not turning you in today.”
We both know I’ve won; I always do, and as he storms from the room, I breathe a sigh of relief. Another unsatisfied customer to add to the pile of people with a vendetta against me. Life sucks being me, which is why Ella needs to be sent home as a matter of priority.
