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“I told you I was a bad girl.”
“Jesus Christ. I can’t believe you’ve sunk this low.”
“What about you?” she threw out. “You’re fucking a rich guy who’s more powerful than Diego.”
Why I wasn’t shocked she’d thrown that in my face I wasn’t certain. I gave her a nastier look than maybe she deserved. “As long as you promise to get away from whatever situation you’re in then I won’t approach the asshole.”
“You can’t.”
“I will. You know it too.”
Charlotte looked forlorn, her bruised mouth twisting. Then she nodded. I gathered her into my arms, holding her tightly.
“It’s going to be alright.” Somehow, it had to be.
“Just promise me, cuz, that you’ll stay away from them,” she said. “Diego will kill you if you interfere. Then he’ll kill me.”
CHAPTER14
Jameson
“Motherfucker,” Grant hissed as he stared into the camera, the Zoom call lasting longer than I’d wanted. “I knew Dumas was hiding something.”
“Bullshit,” Lachlan piped in. “You were behind him one hundred percent. Don’t give me that crap.” The brusque Scot was more agitated than normal.
I’d spent time going through every document Dumas had signed as well as the background documentation we’d required. He hadn’t purposely hidden anything from us that I’d noted. “Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet. I need to have a conversation with him.”
“Once a liar, always a liar.” Grant’s attitude made me smirk. He’d used a few unscrupulous methods of skirting around a few county officials in LA. I doubted he wanted a reminder.
Whatever was going on, it was clear that Philip Dumas was a piece of work.
I was being kind.
He’d recently been arrested for possible extortion, including bribing several members of the government of the French Republic. From what Lachlan had sent via email, officials were doing everything in their power to shut down the project. Whether or not the accusations were true mattered only on the surface at this point. Carnal Sins had millions of dollars tied up in investments, loans to Dumas for construction. While his family had money, their wealth noted in the billions, he was considered the black sheep of the family.
That meant he’d obtained funds for the larger percentage of the project on his own. If I had to guess, I’d say using unscrupulous methods that he’d hidden well. Well enough neither Grant nor I had determined that it was in our best interest to refuse signing our names on the contract.
Lachlan had been more concerned but had deferred to the two of us and our judgments. I’d met with the Frenchman on several occasions, grilling him as I studied his financials. While I wasn’t stupid enough to believe they couldn’t have been doctored, my gut told me the guy was in the middle of a French war whose foes had used unfounded information to try to strong-arm him.
Something definitely smelled foul.
Not that I gave a shit about his well-being at this point, but I refused to lose the funds we’d provided. It looked like I would be heading to Paris for an undisclosed period of time.
I sat back in my seat behind my desk, closing my eyes and rubbing the scruff on my face. I’d ignored shaving, especially after Alexandra’s comment about how much she enjoyed being stimulated by my beard. That had come after I’d taken her a second time, that time in the shower with her wrists secured to the showerhead. The thought of water trickling down the length of her body was enough to shove me into full arousal.
“Are you with us, lover boy?” Lachlan threw in.
I lifted my middle finger without hesitation, both men laughing.
“Is there something I should know?” While Grant’s question was rhetorical, I wasn’t in the mood to compare dick size or anything else at this point.
“Not a fucking thing.” The statement was a bit terse, but the last thing I wanted to do was to leave Alexandra alone. Part of it was for selfish reasons, but I’d delved a little deeper into Santiago’s business tactics, including his foray into human trafficking. However, the man was extremely good at keeping his name out of the press as well as greasing the palms of a number of officials.
Including Judge Garber. I’d discovered by accident a glossy photo of the two men shaking hands at a fundraiser of all things.
“I’ll find out what’s going on,” I told them. “But as of now, the project is too far along to abandon. You both know it. Up until this incident, everything was on track to open in three months. We owe it to him to provide our assistance.” My dominating behavior was on full display this morning, likely given my determination to protect Alexandra.
Maybe I’d insist she come with me to Paris. Hmmm… The idea had merit.
