Chapter 5 #2
I settled into the back seat, unbuttoned my jacket, trying to get comfortable.
It was difficult with a hard dick. I adjusted myself and rested my head against the leather headrest as I tried to gather my thoughts as I headed back to my office.
I’d met many women over the years—celebrities, models, athletes.
But none ever set me on fire like this woman.
What did it mean?
I didn’t have the luxury of contemplating it as we pulled back into the parking garage of my building. I was out of the car in no time, heading to the elevator and straight to my office to meet Donavon. This meeting would be crucial to Transient. I needed to have a clear head…both heads.
“You ready for this?” Donavon asked as we headed down the hall to the conference room.
“Of course, I am. They need something only I can give them. I have the upper hand.”
Even though he didn’t agree with my business motives, a glimmer of admiration glinted in Donavon’s eyes. I got shit done, and I made a lot of money doing it.
“Remember, Collins is just as wily as you are,” he said. “He’s going to try something. I can feel it.”
Just as I got shit done on my end, Donavon was the same way.
He was excellent at what he did. I had not one complaint.
He minded his business, didn’t ask questions, and did his fucking job.
Donavon was exactly what I needed in a personal assistant.
When he got a gut feeling, I listened. And I was suspicious of everything and everyone but never picked up those kinds of vibes from him.
Donavon pushed the door open and held it so I could enter and strolled to the head of my conference table.
“Call Chatman and get my new head of security’s full name. And I want her military record, if she has one.”
Donavon nodded, his eyebrows rising when I mentioned my new hire was a woman, then settled in the chair to my right.
There was coffee in the back with untouched assorted pastries and fruit.
Pitchers of water were placed in the middle along with glasses.
Collins poured himself a glass of water and the woman sitting next to him.
“Collins,” I greeted, opening up the folder Donavon handed me, then he passed a similar folder to Collins.
“Smith.”
The disdain in his voice as he said my name almost made me chortle. He really hated my guts. But the feeling was mutual. If I didn’t want his money, he would never set foot in my office building. But I was about making millions, so I would sacrifice my time for it.
“Let’s get down to it, shall we? What are you proposing?
” I flipped through the documents in the folder.
I read these all week long and knew every facet of his proposal.
But sometimes it was better to hear it from the horse’s mouth, gauging the truthfulness in his tone when he spoke.
One thing my grandparents taught me and Josh was when you speak to someone, you look them in the eye.
If they couldn’t meet your gaze, then they didn’t mean anything they said to you and couldn’t be trusted.
I never strayed from those teachings and used them to align myself with certain people.
“Smith.” My name dripped like a sticky ooze from his lips. “Did you not read the report?”
I closed the folder and leaned back in my seat. This motherfucker thought he would come in here and play with me. I pasted a smirk on my face.
“Of course, I did, Collins. But I want to hear it from you. There is something about hearing it firsthand.”
His shoulders stiffened. The condescending smile gracing his lips was now a thin line.
His eyes were full of hate and his face a deep shade of red.
But Collins thought better when he saw he’d get no reaction from me except for my ever-present smirk.
He took a deep breath, then gave me a thirty-minute breakdown of what he was asking for.
I held my hand out to Donavon, and he placed a piece of paper in it. I slid it over to Collins’s assistant.
“Sir,” she whispered, handing the paper over to him.
While Collins looked over my price and my demands, I had the opportunity to peruse his assistant.
She was a mousy woman, a brunette with brown eyes.
Not as curvy as I liked and definitely not like the beauty I saw earlier today.
Her clothes were baggy, and I couldn’t help but wonder what hid underneath.
My curiosity and insatiable appetite wouldn’t allow me to let it go.
Our eyes locked. Mine didn’t waver, but hers cast downward.
I enjoyed watching them squirm.
“Let me get with my lawyer, these terms are preposterous.” Collins slammed his hand on the table, interrupting what was the beginning of a full-blown fantasy.
“Fine,” I stated, standing. I wasn’t budging on what I wanted, but he could try to find a loophole if he wanted. “You have three days, or the offer is retracted.”
I walked out of the room, not giving Collins a chance to debate. I’d be contacting his assistant a little later to join me for the evening. But right now, I had other things to take care of.
I pulled out my phone as soon as I closed the door, and Joshua pulled out of the parking deck.
“Where’s my shipment?” I asked my supplier.
I listened intently. My property was three days late, and I had a feeling someone was trying to play my ass.
I controlled the liquor flow on the Magnificent Mile.
No corner store, convenience store, restaurant, hotel, or bar received alcohol to sell without my say-so.
Every few days, I checked on each of them.
I’d go in person or send Josh. I never visited the same facility on the same day week in and week out.
Not since the attempts on my life. Thankfully, the media hadn’t gotten wind of any of it.
Media frenzies made you an easier target. And an easy target I was not.
“Meet me at the little bar, midway on the Magnificent Mile, in fifteen minutes,” I growled into the phone, then hung up. I was going to find out who was yanking my chain.
Before I got out of the car, Joshua was already inside clearing the place. I sat and waited until the last person inside rushed out the front door. Some were angry and others were scared shitless.
He strolled out of Ron C’s Bar to my car, opening the door. I stepped out, grinning. He was just as ruthless as I was. I straightened my suit jacket while Joshua scanned the area. I stepped in; the owner and the bartender were the only people left.
“Let me get a whiskey,” I called out, heading to the back of the bar.
I settled at a table while Joshua sat at the bar. The door swung open and closed quickly.
“Mr. Smith.” Zack Burns approached with his hands outstretched, his shoulders sagging. “I don’t know what happened.”
“Zack, sit down.”
The bartender cautiously approached the table with my drink, setting it down. I gave him a reassuring nod, and he left, leaving the three of us alone. No one spoke again until the back door to the bar slammed. I took a sip of my whiskey while Joshua locked the front door.
“Now, where is my shipment?”
I folded my arms and waited for my answer. Zack’s eyes widened, the familiar look of fear and indecision across his face. I got this look a lot when people knew their lives were about to end. But I’d be lenient on Zack because I needed information.
“I…I don’t know,” he stuttered.
I unfolded my arms and leaned forward, my elbows resting on the table. I knew what I looked like. I was already an intimidating figure. My disposition, along with my reputation, would have Zack pissing in his jeans soon.
“I went to San Francisco to the distributor to make sure everything was on the up and up like you told me, and they said they didn’t have enough.”
“They?” I asked. “Who are they?”
He shrugged. If he did that one more time…
“I gue…guess the manager. Owner, maybe. I don’t know who it was. He was in a suit and seemed like he was in charge.”
I glanced in Joshua’s direction. He nodded and moved behind the bar, taking down the same whiskey the bartender poured me and a clean glass from the dish rack.
“Describe him. Older? Younger?” I prompted. “Gray hair? Bald?”
“He looked like he was in his fifties. He didn’t have any hair. Salt-and-pepper beard and mustache. His suit looked really expensive.”
Joshua sat the glass of whiskey on the table in front of Zack, then pulled his cell from his back pocket. I waited for him to take a sip.
“You’ve been a real help, Zack. I’ll take it from here.”
I knew exactly who was fucking me over. When I was finished, it would be the last thing he ever did. I rose from the table, smoothing down my suit jacket as Zack’s head crashed onto the table, then proceeded toward the door.
“Cleanup is two minutes out. You want me to stay here?” Josh asked as he followed me.
My hand paused on the door. Roy C’s was a nice place to sit and chat or watch a game with friends.
The whole place was dedicated to the Chicago Bulls.
Michael Jordan memorabilia was everywhere.
Televisions lined the wall across the back of the bar, each switched to a different station but muted so the owner could conduct his business.
I turned to Joshua. “Nah, I need to unwind. Take me home, then go pick up Collins’s personal assistant for me.”
I dug inside my jacket pocket with Collins’s card. His personal assistant’s number was on it. I handed it to Joshua.
“Call her and tell her you’re coming and to dress nice.” I smirked. We exited the building and into my waiting car just as my crew was getting there.