Personal Business
Vex
Waking up to an empty bed gets worse every morning. Dahlia in my arms felt right. I slide up into a sitting position and stare out at the city.
We aren’t even officially a couple, and I want her to spend every night here.
There’s something wrong with my head.
I should have called her yesterday, but I didn’t want even the thought of her tainted with the rage yesterday built in me. There’s no reason to wait even a moment longer. I message her.
Vex: Morning Dahl
She probably won’t respond right away because of work.
Dahlia: Morning
Dahlia: How are you?
A smile spreads across my face.
Vex: Better now that I’m talking to you.
But I’d be even better if you were beside me.
Vex: You at work?
The first thing I’m doing when she’s mine—not just in fact but also in her heart—is to get rid of that job.
Dahlia: Yeah. On break for a few minutes.
I want to hear her voice.
Vex: Are you alone?
Dahlia: Yes
Good. I dial her phone. “Morning.”
“Good morning. How are you?”
Waking up to that voice would have been better, but I settle back and picture her next to me. “Dahl, I should have called you yesterday, but something came up.”
“That’s okay. I had a long day at work and then my neighbor’s daughter showed up.”
Who wants to talk about other people’s children? “When can I see you?”
“I work all week.”
Grrr. That job needs to go. “Quit.”
“You work weekends and I work weekdays.”
Dahl doesn’t think I’m serious. She will soon. “But I’m the boss. I can take you to dinner Friday.”
“You shouldn’t miss work…”
Why is she coming up with excuses? I want to see her now, or tonight, but I wouldn’t want to let her go. And that would make work even harder on her. Hmmm. “Are you trying to let me down easy, Dahlia?”
“No. No. Nothing like that. I just…”
“Then what is it?”
Her long pause is disconcerting.
“Last weekend wasn’t real. And I’m afraid… I don’t know. I’ve never met a man like you. And what if Friday you’re different? Or I’m different? And you realize we can’t be friends.”
She’s worried about me not liking her? I don’t bring women back to my place. And I never spend a weekend simply holding a woman in my arms and watching the television. “Dahl, last weekend was very real.” Too real maybe. It should have made me never want to see her again.
There’s silence on the other end. I can’t let her pull away because of fear. “You don’t need to worry. It’s just a meal.” But it’s not just a meal. I don’t date. It’s a waste of time. Yet here I am trying to talk a woman into dating me.
“Just a meal?”
She’s not getting away from me that quickly. “And a movie afterwards.” Which is going to happen on my bed.
“Will you try not to be too perfect? It’s intimidating.”
Good to know I affect you as much as you affect me.
“Ignore that. I didn’t say that.”
Dahlia is cute, even on the phone.
One of my other phones rings. Who is calling me this early? It’s not Payne or anyone close to me or they’d be calling on the phone in my hand. But it’s not a work call either. That’s the other phone.
“Do you need to get that?”
“Probably.” But they can wait.
Her sweet little laugh hits me hard.
The phone keeps ringing. “Where do you want to go for dinner?” Why did I leave that one in the living room last night? I push up and out of the bed.
“I’m not picky.”
“Seafood, sushi, steaks…” Where she asks to go will tell me volumes about her. Is she a fancy girl on dates?
The phone rings again, and I want to throw it into the wall.
“You eat sushi?
“I will if you want to.” It would hardly be the worst thing I’ve ever eaten .
“You’re too sweet.”
Not even a little bit. “That’s not a term I hear often.”
“I’ve gotta go.” Her voice changes. Gone is the soft and sweet. A slight waver replaces it.
“Everything okay?” Is someone scaring her? I don’t like this job one little bit.
“Fine. I just need to get back to work.”
Dahlia is safe at work. “See you Friday.” Where I’m going to work on convincing you to quit and spend all your time with me.
I grab the other phone and answer without looking to see who it is. “WHAT?”
“Well, aren’t you cheerful today?”
What does The Vincenti Heir want this early in the morning? “What do you want Max?”
“A meet.”
“You called me early in the morning to arrange a meet.”
“If you checked your phone, I called at a reasonable hour yesterday, but you never answered.”
And I wish I didn’t this morning. Not that Vincenti is a bad guy. His do-gooder family just doesn’t jive with my life. “I was busy.”
“Do you have time this morning?”
Something about the urgency of his tone gives me pause. “This isn’t a friendly little visit.”
“I need a favor.”
That’s not good. “Can you just send me the name, and I’ll take care of it?”
“Not that kind of favor. Though thank you for the offer.”
Whatever he wants, it’s important. “Give me an hour. I’ll meet you at my office.”
“See you then.” Max hangs up.
** *
My club is completely different first thing in the morning. With the lights on, the facade of the nighttime show falls away. The allure loses its shine without the smoke, mirrors, music, and freely flowing booze.
Dahlia was assaulted here. She was threatened.
This place isn’t for an innocent soul like hers. The filth see her and want to tarnish that beauty.
But the fact that it happened in my club, in a place that is supposed to be safe, makes me want to burn it down. I won’t because too many people rely on it for work. We need to up the security though. What almost happened can’t ever happen again.
Dogs… Maybe we need some drug-sniffing dogs to walk the line.
Or a head on a pike outside the door as a warning.
It would be brutally effective.
A knock sounds at the door and Tac pokes his head in. “Vincenti is here to see you.”
“Send him up.” Hopefully, it’s something easy that the family wants handled. Max has until Friday morning. Then I’m unavailable.
“Max.” I walk over as he steps in.
“Vex.” He takes my hand and gives it a firm shake.
Of all the Vincentis, Max is the richest. Not that you can tell. He doesn’t flash his wealth much more than I do. And only two people know that I’m worth billions. “Have a seat.” I gesture to the couch by the wall. He takes the armchair across from me instead. “What do you need?” There’s no point in wasting time.
“A security video.”
That’s it. He called this meeting for one of my security videos. “Why?” Max owns the biggest cybersecurity firm in the world. He can hack my system any time he wants without so much as blinking.
“I respect your privacy.”
Why have a cyber security company if you respect others’ privacy? “What date do you need?” It’s not like anything nefarious happens here in my club. All questionable activities are taken care of offsite .
“Last Friday.”
Why does he want Friday’s video? “Not possible.”
“What? Why not?”
“We had a system issue that night and there’s no footage.”
Max gapes at me. “None? Not even on your backups?”
“Nothing.” And there never will be. I permanently erased all of it. When you terminate filth, you don’t want a record of ever meeting them. Nor did I want Dahlia to ever have to go through the trauma of a court case.
“Impossible.”
I shrug. “Yet it happened.”
“There wasn’t a power outage.”
That wouldn’t matter. My security system has backup power. If the power grid went down, there wouldn’t be even a flicker on the video or my club. We’ve tested it dozens of times to ensure everything runs smoothly. “No.”
“Were you hacked?”
“No.” Will he let this go?
“I can check for you. Stealth hackers barely leave a trace.”
But deleting it yourself does. “I don’t allow outsiders in my system.”
Max stands up. “You’re lying, and I don’t know why.”
I don’t react. His poker face is almost as good as mine.
“Fine. But if you find the footage, let me know. The family would appreciate it.”
Like I need The Vincenti Family’s appreciation. They come to me for help, not the other way around. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Max makes it to the door before I ask. “Why did you want the security tapes?”
“No reason.”
Fair enough. Keep your secrets and I’ll keep mine.