AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was all ego, sweetheart.” I deflected a fair amount of bullshit with my award-winning smile, but deep down, I had a lot of pride. More pride than most men. That was probably why I’d alienated myself from everyone I’d ever cared about.
Her green eyes studied me, subtly shifting back and forth. “Something on your mind?”
“No.” I hardened my stare, forced the gates to close. “Why?”
“You just…look different. It’s your eyes.”
“I’m tired. Up late last night.”
“Doing what?” she asked, trying to catch me in a lie.
“Drinking.” I grinned. “My favorite pastime.”
She sat back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. The umbrella was positioned to put me in the shade, but she was in the full sun—and that seemed intentional. Anytime I saw her, she was always directly in the sun, like the heat didn’t bother her one bit.
I waited for her to leave, but she lingered.
I knew she hadn’t ratted me out to her father. She’d had the chance when we first met, but she kept it to herself. And the reason was obvious—because she liked my attention. The attraction I felt the moment I saw her…she felt it too.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Your father and I have business to discuss—as usual.”
“I feel like that’s all you ever do,” she said. “Discuss…”
“I do a lot of shit behind the scenes,” I said. “In the middle of the night when you’re dead asleep.”
“My father never partnered with anyone before, so I was surprised when he agreed to this.”
“If you want to stay in the game for the long haul, you’ve got to adapt. Your father knows this.”
“And how long have you been in the game?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, surprised by her question. She never asked me anything. Never struck up a conversation with me. I was the one who did all the talking most of the time. But now, the tables had seemed to turn. “About five years.”
“That’s not very long.”
“Feels like an eternity.”
“What other businesses do you have?”
“I have another client who’s an arms dealer. Getting his product through regulations is a lot harder than drugs, not as easy to hide. But I know all the right people to make that happen.” It pissed off my parents to no end, but there wasn’t a damn thing they could do about it. They could rat me out, but I already paid off the police. And if they incriminated me, they would publicly eviscerate their reputation…and their legacy.
“So, you’re more like…a concierge.”
“I prefer liaison,” I said. “I know all the big players and how to get shit done. And I know how to connect their partnerships—confidentially.”
“That sounds complicated.”
“I have the eloquence to maintain relationships with the elites, and I have the roughness to roll with the dogs.”
“Interesting.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?” she asked, her tanned skin glowing in the sunlight.
“What made you decide this is what you wanted?”
