Chapter 13
“What is he doing here?”
I rolled my eyes at Benito as I strolled down the hallway of our office building. Usually, home base was the club, but not today. It was time to work out of the stuffy professional block. Too bad, I preferred a place where I could get a stiff drink and flirt.
My eyes darted over my shoulder. Ash followed behind, looking at everything. He hurried to keep up. I groaned. Right, can’t go flirting with the little puppy around. He asked for it to be one on one.
That was still odd as hell to me. Why would he only want me to sleep with him? If anything, it was in his favor to want me to fuck someone else. At least it wouldn’t all rest on him. Although, based on his stamina, that wouldn’t be a problem.
Maybe it’s greed. If he keeps me all to himself, he can get away from me a lot faster.
As soon as I thought that, my stomach tightened, and a queasy feeling worked its way up my throat. I was instantly reminded of this morning, hugging the porcelain throne as I prayed to every saint from memory to deliver me from lobster evil.
“Gin,” Benito growled.
“He hates being alone,” I said, waving a hand. “All I have to do is boring clerical shit today.” I stopped. “Let me tell you something, though. If you ever come over to my house and try to poison me again—”
“What are you talking about?” He sighed in exasperation.
“What am I talking about? Um, I threw up so hard my throat hurts!” I snapped. “What the hell did you two do to that food? I feel like it was done on purpose. If you want to kill me, at least shoot me in the fucking face.”
Benito blinked. “We followed the recipe.”
I threw my hands up. “That’s what you both keep saying!”
“We did,” Ash added. “Every step.”
“Stop talking before I throw up on everyone,” I muttered, letting myself into my office. I moved behind the desk and plopped down. “Stay out of my goddamn house,” I told Benito.
“Take care of him, and I will,” he said, nodding to Ash.
“I’m doing that,” I retorted through gritted teeth. “But I also don’t want to die the next time I have to work.”
Benito glared at me. “You’re ungrateful.”
“I’m grateful to my toilet for always having my back!” I shouted after him as he slammed my door. Shaking my head, I booted up my computer. My eyes landed on Ash, who stood in front of me, bouncing from one foot to the other. “Will you sit down? You don’t have to wait to be told.”
Ash swallowed. “Yeah, usually I do,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, keep forgetting I’m not at home.”
I leaned forward, lacing my fingers together as I stared at him. “You know, every story I hear about your father makes me want to cut him up into tiny little pieces and stick him in a stew.”
Ash pulled a face. “A stew you’d eat?”
I shrugged. “I’d at least try it, but with your father in it, the damn thing would probably taste like shit.”
Ash burst out laughing before he slapped a hand over his mouth. “Shit. Shit.”
“Hey, he’s not here,” I pointed out. “That bastard can’t do shit to you, so you laugh all you want. Okay?”
Slowly, he pulled his hand away. “I can’t help it.”
“I know.” I shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to get you to make fun of that annoying bastard every chance I get.” A knock rang out on my door, and I groaned. “Fuck me. Already? Come in.”
The door opened, and I grinned. Able Hollister. He breezed through the door, looking relaxed, but I could already see the irritation on his face.
“Able,” I said. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you.” He stopped and turned to stare at Ash. “Who is this?”
“A friend of mine. Ash, come here.”
“Yes, sir.”
My heart throbbed, and my cock grew. Shit. Why was it that two little words from his lips turned me on so much? Part of Ash’s appeal was the fact that he could be so obedient and compliant in the real world while being so eager and demanding in bed. I enjoyed the way he hid behind me or called me sir.
Ash moved quickly, darting beside me before he took up a spot next to my chair. Lazily, I logged into my computer as Able took a seat. He glanced over at me, adjusting his circular glasses on his nose. When he cleared his throat, I continued to ignore him.
Fucking douchebag.
There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do. In fact, I prided myself on being able to have more fun, do more fucked up shit, and laugh about it while my brothers stared at me like I was nuts. This guy, however, was a level above and beyond. He was a slaver, a rapist, and he was annoying as all fuck. I hated him.
“What can I do for you, Able?” I finally asked when the tension I felt from Ash was too much. “It’s early.”
“It’s almost noon,” he pointed out. He leaned forward in his chair. “And I don’t think it’s too early to point out that you snatched the hospital contract from underneath me.”
I took on a look of feigned innocence. “What are you talking about? Mr. Weston awarded the contract to us. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
“Bullshit,” he snapped, leaning toward my desk like he wanted to vault over it. Instead, he sucked in a long, slow breath. “Weston and I were already talking about the plans, and then suddenly, he’s giving the contract to you. I find that suspicious.”
I tilted my head. “I find it suspicious that you two were talking about plans before he’d even decided on who would get the contract. That doesn’t seem strange to you?”
Able and I stared at each other. I watched his left eye twitch before he pressed a finger against the lid and tried to pretend it wasn’t doing that. A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. It seemed to piss him right off.
“I wanted that contract, Vitale.”
I shrugged. “People in hell want ice water. What do you want me to say?”
Able stood up abruptly. “You’re going to regret whatever you did to steal it from under me.”
“No,” I laughed, shaking my head. “I won’t. Can I help you with anything else orrrr?” I trailed off, looking at him as if he was an insignificant bug on the bottom of my shoe.
Able leaned forward, his palms resting against my desk as he moved toward me. “I know you fucked me over. I hope you’re ready for the consequences.”
I stared up at him. Men like Able didn’t fucking scare me. Deep down, they were nothing compared to my brothers and me. Teddy bears masquerading as hard men when they had no idea what it meant to be hard.
If he wants a demonstration, I will be happy to show him what a hard man does.
A hand laid on my shoulder and squeezed. I glanced at Ash. He had an uneasy smile on his face, but his grip was strong. What do you see that’s making you so uncomfortable? I wanted to ask, but Able cleared his throat.
“I’ll be going.”
“Have a good day, Mr. Hollister,” I called after him. Once my door was shut, I turned to glance at Ash. “What was that about?”
“I don’t know,” Ash muttered. He frowned, still staring at the door. I grabbed his hand and shook it. When he gazed down at me, worry was written on his face. “He reminded me of one of my dad’s friends. Those guys who look a little too long like they’re sizing up how much you’re worth. Or how much they can sell you for,” he muttered. Ash blinked, shaking his head. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what that was.”
I stood up, grabbed his shoulders, and gave them a squeeze. “You’re getting worked up. Calm down.”
Ash nodded. “I’m fine.” When I stared at him, he pasted on that fake smile I hated so much. “Really, I’m okay.”
“I hate that fucking lie,” I muttered. “Every time you pretend you’re okay with that oily smile put on, it makes me want to shake you.”
Ash blinked at me. “Sor—”
“Do not,” I warned him.
“Right,” he muttered, toying with a lock of his hair. “I won’t.”
I sighed as he stared at the ground. So perplexed and fragile. Even when I joked about hurting his father, there was an undercurrent of truth behind it. Whatever he had done to Ash, he’d seriously screwed him up. I reached out, pulling his fingers from his hair. I couldn’t even be mean to the little shit. How insane was that?
“Go get me some coffee,” I said. “There’s a kitchen down the hall and around the corner to the right. Why don’t you get both of us some? After last night, I’m exhausted. I know you are too.”
Ash fidgeted with his fingers. “I don’t want to go by myself.”
“I promise you’ll be okay. Down the hall, to the right. A kitchen,” I reiterated. “There are cameras all over this building. I’ll be able to see you the whole way.”
He calmed a bit. “Oh, okay. I’ll be right back then.”
When he tried to walk away, I grabbed his hand and dragged him back. “No one is going to hurt you when you’re with me,” I said. “You understand?”
Ash searched my face before he blew out a breath. “Yes, sir.”
“Keep saying yes, sir, and we’re going to make good use of this desk,” I laughed.
His face blossomed into redness. “Come on,” he groaned.
“Come on what? My face? Your face? Where do you want it?”
Ash wrenched out of my grasp. “Asshole.”
“What was that?”
He looked at me as if contemplating what he’d just said. To my surprise, his eyes took on a mischievous sparkle. “I said you’re an asshole.”
I scoffed. “Rude. Gonna have to take a rude fee out of the next fuck.”
“Come on!” he shouted.
My stomach tightened as I laughed so hard it hurt. Ash stormed out of the room, slamming the door after him. I snorted.
“Ah, fuck he’s so gullible. What the hell?”
I grabbed my phone and dialed Weston’s number. The laughter only died down when he answered. Just like that, I was slammed back into the professional persona I had created for myself.
“Giancarlo,” he grunted.
“Mr. Weston! How are you?”
Silence.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Are we pretending what went down didn’t go down?”
I feigned innocence. “No idea what you mean,” I said, dismissing the conversation. “Hollister just came by to see me.” I let my words hang in the air as silence rang between us. “Did you say anything about our agreement?”
“No!” he shouted before he cleared his throat and settled down. “I mean, of course not. Your family was awarded the contract fairly. If Mr. Hollister has an issue, he can come and speak to me personally.”
I stared straight ahead, analyzing every word he said. One thing I knew for sure was that Weston was full of shit. Every word that dripped from his goddamn lips was crap that shouldn’t be taken seriously.
“Good, good,” I said, leaning back in my chair, rocking in it as I laced my fingers on top of my stomach. “I would hate to think you’ve sent him here to attack me. That looks… questionable.” I sat up. “Why don’t we iron out the rest of the details about the hospital today? I have some free time after lunch. How does three sound?”
“Yes, that sounds fine,” he muttered. “When do you plan to begin construction?”
“I’ll come with a crew. My men are the best.”
“That sounds good, Mr. Vitale. Thank you.”
He hung up the phone much too quickly. Weston was a shifty little bastard. I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him, and the fucker would break both my arms if I tried. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I rocked back and forth in my chair.
More than likely, he was the one who had sent Able to my office to try to feel me out. Too bad for him; I never let anyone see me sweat. Especially not them.
“Here’s your coffee.”
I opened my eyes as Ash bounced back through the door with two mugs in hand. He sat one down on my desk before he settled into a seat and peered at me over the rim of his mug. I already knew what he was waiting for.
I picked up my coffee, drank some, and nodded in approval. “This is good.”
“You sure? You asked if I poached the lobster in sewage water.”
I choked on my drink before I grunted to clear my throat. “I was a little sick and cranky this morning, that’s all. Your coffee is great.”
“And my food?”
I quickly busied myself with drinking more caffeine while I clicked away on my computer. Honestly, I wasn’t even clicking on anything. I just needed the noise to cover the fact that I was avoiding the hell out of his question.
“Asshole,” Ash muttered.
I smothered the chuckle that threatened to tumble free. Just like that, all of my tension about the Weston/Hollister situation was pushed down as I stole glances at him. Ash’s eyes met mine, and he smiled so hard it made my heart skip a beat.
No, I have to focus! What the hell am I doing?
Benito was right; Ash was a distraction. One that I wasn’t ready to let go of yet.