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“Oh that’s just Tinkerbell. Last tenant was an old lady with seven cats. All of ‘em named Tinkerbell. Strangest shit I ever seen, I’ll tell you what.”
“I see. Do you think the smell will go away eventually?”
“You’ll get used to it.”
I gave a tight smile. I wasn’t sure any living human could get used to a smell like that. I’d need to clean out a department store of air fresheners, keep my windows open, and wear a gas mask. But I’d also checked every other option in town and this was the last one.
“What’s the rent?”
“Three hundred.”
“A month?” I asked carefully.
“For this unit, yeah. Can’t get the smell out and nobody wants the place. You give me three hundred, it’s yours. Get it to stop smelling like shit and I’ll only charge you two-fifty.”
“Deal,” I said, shaking his hand.
He smiled, straw hanging from the corner of his mouth. “Pleasure doing business.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure, darlin’.”
“Do you work on a farm, too?”
“Hope to someday.”
I involuntarily snorted, then I put my hand to my nose, smiling. “So where do you get the straw from?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks turning a faint shade of red. “These are actually honey flavored. I order ‘em online.”
“I see,” I said, barely keeping a straight face. “Well, do I need to sign some papers or something?”
“Yep. Let’s go back to my office. You can even chew on one of my straws if you want.”
9
CHRISTIAN
I rubbed my eyes. They felt heavy as hell and my head was pounding. I was running on a few hours of sleep over the past three days, and it was taking its toll. But I stifled a yawn, poured myself a drink, and folded my hands.
I could see the little town of Fairhope Colorado sleepily following the river from my window. Most of the lights were out, but I found myself wondering which little spot of darkness represented the place Lola was sleeping. One of the other tutors I hired to work with Max and pose as my executive assistant had been attractive, too. But she hadn’t ever entered my thoughts when she wasn’t in the room–not like this. I’d barely batted an eye when she resigned.
So why was Lola haunting my thoughts? Why could I not stop picturing her smooth thighs and imagining what it would feel like to slide my palm up them–to feel the dampness of her panties against my fingertips?
My cock was pressing uncomfortably against my pants when the door to the conference room swung open. I shifted in my seat, glaring up at my guests.
They were the three top members of my board of directors, and they had the collective power to remove me from the company if they saw fit. I hated being at anyone’s mercy, but I knew the score. Thanks to my fucking brothers, I was on a short leash, and these three held it.
The first to enter was David Cullum. He was in his sixties with dangling jowls and bags under his eyes that made him look like an old, tired bulldog. David didn’t bother hiding the fact that he wanted me out after the failure of my brothers.
Adrian Bellamo was behind David. He was in his mid-thirties, dark haired, and when he wasn’t being a pain in my ass, he was dating supermodels and involving himself in the shadier side of the business world. His father was a well-known organized crime member, even though Adrian denied he had any involvement with the family business.
The last to enter was Trisha Frost. She was seventy but moved with the energy of a thirty-year-old. She had her silver hair chopped to just below her ears, always wore a no bullshit expression, and she was also the last thing standing between me and the rest of the board of directors. Trisha didn’t like me, but she wasn’t as impulsive as David or as cutthroat as Adrian. She still understood that I did a better job of running the company than anyone they could bring in to replace me.
The three of them walked to their chairs with hard faces and loud, purposeful steps. I knew I was supposed to be intimidated, but my patience was already running thin. I wanted to shout at them to fuck off and let me run my company. Instead, I knew I needed to grit my teeth and endure whatever they came here to tell me because like it or not, they had me by the balls.
The board of directors for Stone Financial Corporation was made up of ten people, but the three in front of me were the largest shareholders and also the ringleaders. If all three of them decided I was out, they’d be able to bring their allies along with them and make it reality.
Trisha was the first to speak, but only after templing her fingers and giving me a long, disapproving sigh. Her face creased with fine lines of disappointment. She had a slightly oversized and hooked nose that always gave me the impression of some carrion bird watching me from great heights–just waiting for the sign to swoop in and feast.
