Chapter 14
Tatum
My mind is still a jumbled fucking mess. After I kicked Vivian out, I had planned to get rid of Alex and be done with him and his bullshit, but then he had to go and kiss me and confuse the hell out of me. The bastard knew what he was doing. I’m now wound up with no relief because he fucking left! When he broke the kiss and peeled his shirt off me, I expected him to fuck me or at the very least finger my pussy so I would be able to concentrate on something other than his filthy promise.
Stay wet for me all day and I’ll come back and destroy that perfect little cunt, Bambi.
The bastard pulled his shirt on, then waltzed out of my room, while I stood there gaping at the closed door for so long my eyes started to water. To say I am on fucking edge is an understatement. My nipples are sensitive and my pussy won’t stop fluttering and clamping down on fucking air. By the time I reach the lobby to meet Vivian and the guys I’m a fucking hot mess. The four of them take one look at me and fight back smirks. Bosses or not, I glare each of them down until any hint of a smile vanishes from their faces.
“I thought we wouldn’t be seeing Alex.” Vivian’s tone is filled with mirth and I have to bite my tongue to keep from snapping at her.
“Yeah well, same, but the bastard seems to like breaking into hotel rooms and watching me sleep.” Her brows raise in surprise. Before she can comment further I push on. “We have a meeting at ten with the inspector at the site. If we leave now we can grab coffee on the way.” I don’t wait for a response from them as I make my way toward the exit.
“Am I that bad when you three don’t give me what I want?” I hear Vivian say. I grind my teeth and quicken my pace so I don’t have to hear their reply. It’s bad enough they all know I spent the night with the infamous Butcher but I have to admit, seeing Vivian touching Alex had me wanting to claw her fucking eyes out and rip her hands off him. The possessiveness I feel over him is wrong. We may be fucking, but that doesn’t mean I have to complicate things and bring feelings into this because at the end of the day, he is still the guy who wants to take away the only family I have.
After grabbing coffee we made our way to the hotel. Vivian and Archer are the first to voice their upset over the sight of the place.
“Nothing has been done!” Archer bites out.
“Why the hell are they holding it up? We have everything in order and none of the other locations are this far behind.” I can hear the disappointment in Vivian’s voice. I don’t blame them for being pissed, they are losing money by the day with how long this one project is taking. “New York and Miami are set to open in a couple of months, Texas is mere weeks from opening.”
“We’ll get to the end of this before we fly home, baby, I promise,” Hayze says as he wraps an arm around her and places a kiss on the top of her head. Ezekiel flicks his head, motioning for me to follow him. I leave the three of them to talk while I follow Ez far enough away that they won’t be able to overhear. When we come to a stop, his gaze bores into mine and I fight the urge not to fidget.
“What the fuck is really going on?” His tone is firm and unyielding.
I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “Honestly, I don’t know. Everything has been done by the book, we have followed all regulations and standards to a T, but we keep getting setbacks for bullshit reasons.”
“Like?”
“The plumbing isn’t up to state regulations, the windows are safety glass. The wiring in the building needs to be redone, the fire sprinklers need to be spaced out further. It’s all bullshit. I have read up on everything and this inspector is just picking on us and I am so fucking close to breaking his nose?—”
Ezekiel smiles and places a hand on my shoulder, silencing me. “That would just make shit worse but I won’t lie, I’m starting to think someone doesn’t want us opening Lividica.” I frown and cock my head to the side.
“What makes you say that?” I push. He grips my shoulders and turns me so I’m facing the opposite direction where three blacked out Lincolns are parked.
“Something tells me our inspector is being paid and whoever the fuck is here in those cars are his benefactors.” My jaw unhinges and my left eye begins to twitch as anger courses through me.
“Give me five minutes before we go in. I need to make a call.” I don’t wait for his reply as I move away and pull my phone out and dial a number I never thought I would have to use. It rings five times before his deep baritone voice flows through the line.
“Since I never give my number out and all my contacts are saved, I’m gonna take a wild guess and say what do you want, Tatum?”
I bite the corner of my lip feeling suddenly nervous. “Omen, I need help.”
“Where are you?” His tone instantly changes from annoyed to worried.
“No, it's not that kind of trouble,” I reassure him.
“Then why the fuck are you calling me?” he snaps.
“I know Halo can hack the cameras around the city and before you lie and say you guys aren’t even here, don’t.” He snickers but remains silent. “I think someone is stonewalling my build for the next hotel and I need to know who it is… please.”
“Halo, bring up the feed around Lividica in the city.” I roll my eyes, my point has been proven, these men have no fucking boundaries. “What am I looking for?” Omen asks.
“There are three blacked out Lincoln's parked in the alley next to the hotel. Ez thinks they are the ones paying off our inspector.”
“Give me twenty minutes,” he says, then ends the call. Vivian motions for me to follow them inside. I sigh and do as she asks, but just before we enter the building she comes to a stop and faces me. Her eyes hold a hard edge and I start to worry she may fire me.
“This is your show. We may own the hotels but you are the one who knows everything about them. When we get in there, we’ll follow your lead. This is your show, Tate.” My jaw drops, I’m at a loss for words.
“Vox and Nova just arrived,” Archer says as I turn away from Vi and sure enough, Nova and Vox are making their way toward us. Vox is wearing his usual scowl while Nova is beaming at me. When she is within reach, she wraps her arms around me and holds me tight.
“I freaking missed you, Tate!” I melt into her embrace and can’t help but smile.
“Yeah, I kind of missed you too,” I mutter as she pulls back and shoots me a wink.
“So, what’s the plan?” Nova asks. Vivian tells her what she just told me and to my surprise both her and Vox agree without complaint. I’m so used to rich people always thinking they know everything and taking control but not this lot. They are leaving me to handle everything and I fucking respect that shit so damn much. I never thought I would ever be in the position that I am. I’m just some kid from the system who was never wanted and yet… I have people that actually care about me and come when I call, that’s something that will take a long time to get used to.
“Let’s do this,” I say as I lead the way inside the lobby that is still under construction. My jaw locks when I see the builders we have employed sitting around doing fucking nothing while they get paid for it. I pause in the center and look around and not once do any of these greased up pigs try to act like they are actually working. They just continue on with their conversations and scrolling on their damn phones. “If you sons of bitches want your paycheck at the end of the fucking week, I suggest you do some damn work!” I shout garnering the attention of everyone.
“Who the hell is she?” one of the guys asks.
“Your boss,” Vox snarls as he steps forward to stand at my side. A silent gasp escapes me. “I suggest you listen to her or you're all fired.” His threat seems to do the trick, all of them scramble to get off their lazy asses and return to work. The sound of clapping draws my attention to the other side of the room where a woman stands. She wears a white suit with no shirt beneath her jacket to show off the swell of her tits. Her black hair is tied in a high ponytail with no loose strands but it’s her eyes, the blue, it stands out against her tanned skin. I look at the three guys flanking her. I cock my head to the side and frown. The one covered in tattoos reminds me of Halo for some reason. The other two are twins, both of them look vicious. Their brown eyes are filled with mischief, both of them have their blond hair spiked and cut short on the sides.
“Tatum Lawson, I presume?” the woman says in a stuck up tone. I hate the way she stands there looking down her nose at me. I can tell she is wealthy just from the way she holds herself and from what she’s wearing. The three guys are dressed similar to us, casual. Well, I’m wearing a loose tee that is knotted in the front and a pair of jeans I’ve had for years that didn’t start out with rips in the knees but after years of use they now have them.
“Should I know who you are?” I ask. Her upper lip twitches in distaste, good. I have no interest in kissing this bitches ass. I know for a fact now they are the ones stonewalling us. I can smell it on them, she’s here to intimidate me and push me out of town. She can try as much as she likes but I never fucking run from a fight. The woman takes a step forward but the Halo clone darts his arm out and stops her. She scowls at him but he doesn’t budge, just shakes his head in warning.
“The meeting is about to begin,” Halo 2 says, then turns and heads back through the doors. The bitch shoots me one last glare before following the guy with the other two. I crack my neck side to side and follow after them.
“Let the fucking fun begin,” I growl. As we enter the room, I snort at the sight of a large oval table and chairs that weren't here yesterday. “Made yourself at home I see?” I snark. The four of them sit at one end of the table with the bitch at the head, so I make a power move of my own. I claim the seat at the other end, sitting across from her. Nova and Vivian are both grinning as they sit on either side of me with the guys claiming the seats by them. Just to piss the bitch off further I slouch back in my seat while maintaining eye contact and nod my head for her to begin. Halo 2 has a ghost of a smirk on his face but it isn’t him I’m worried about, it's the twins. I can tell they are unhinged and I would hate to face those fuckers in a dark alley alone.
“It’s my city. I’ll make a home where I want,” the cunt grits out. The red lipstick she wears just adds to her cunt vibe and has me rolling my eyes.
“Is that so…” I let my sentence trail off. Vox and the other three guys recline in their seats, happy to leave this meeting to me which means a lot, they could undermine me at any time but won’t. Nova and Vivian sit there with blank looks on their faces, ready to intervene if I need them—I won’t, I got this.
She sits forward and steeples her hands on the table and stares at me with hatred. I keep my own face free of emotion, knowing it will drive someone like her insane not being able to get a read on me.
“You think you can come into my city and try to open an establishment without my blessing?” I don’t bother answering, knowing she isn’t done and clearly loves the sound of her own voice. “I own Chicago. Everyone in this city knows all new businesses must pay a tax to my family.”
Laughter bubbles out of me which just has her nostrils flaring and her eyes burning with hatred. “Let’s get something straight here. I won’t and never fucking will pay a tax to you and your family. You keep stonewalling me and hindering the opening of my hotel and you will learn really fast how resourceful I am.”
“Do you have any idea who the fuck I am?” she grinds out.
I purse my lips and pretend to think for a second before shaking my head. “No idea and honestly, I don’t give a shit.”
She pushes back and stands, laying her palms flat on top of the table as she glares across at me. I don’t move or even react. “You little?—”
“Sit the fuck down, Desire.” My breath hitches at the sound of Alex’s booming voice but I don’t react. I remain composed with my gaze on the bitch before me. Her eyes twitch, she wants to look at Alex but doesn’t want to lose the glaring match. The man himself makes it easy for her when he comes to stand behind me. I see out of the corner of my eyes he isn’t alone. I don’t need to see their faces to know it’s Omen and the others. “Sit the fuck down,” Alex grits out. She reluctantly obeys him, me on the other hand I feel like stirring the pot so I purse my lips and blow her a kiss.
She doesn’t like that. She catapults out of her seat and tries to round the table, but Halo 2 grabs her wrist and pulls her back as he stands. “I’m gonna snap her fucking neck,” she seethes.
“Touch her and our deal is off,” Alex snaps, drawing her attention to him. My brow furrows when I see recognition in her eyes. I reign in my jealousy and keep my composure, not wanting to show her that she is getting to me.
“You know the rules. She came into my city and everyone knows there is a fee to be paid.” Desire sounds unhinged and it makes me smile, knowing I’m getting to her.
“Why the sudden interest in her and the hotel now?” Vatican volleys back.
Desire’s face blanks and I know without a shadow of a doubt she is about to spin some bullshit. “I’ve been busy, it's a lot of work running a city. Someone had to fill our father’s shoes when the four of you ran away like little pussies.” This time my jaw pops open in shock, the cunt swings her gaze to me and winks. “Oh, you didn’t know?” she says in a sickly sweet tone.
“You don’t speak to her. You want to play your fucking games, then you play them with me,” Alex roars. The anger in his tone has me sitting up straight. Desire cuts a glance between me and Alexander, it takes her two seconds to figure it out then her features darken.
“No, the game has only begun and I plan to fucking ruin her and destroy her like the trash she is. The De Santis family bows to no one,” she bites back. I push to my feet and feign disinterest. When I see Alex look at Omen, I use that moment of distraction to my advantage and leap onto the table, ready to rush the cunt and smash her face in. Alex the motherfucker grabs my waist and yanks me back like I weigh nothing, and uses his arms as a vice to keep me plastered to him.
“I’ll beat the shit out of her!” I scream.
“Bambi, you need to calm the fuck down,” he snarls.
“Control your bitch, Lex, or I’ll do it for you,” Desire snarks.
I meet the bitches scowl with one of my own but it vanishes when I see the green eyed monster lurking just beneath the surface. That brings a megawatt smile to my face.
“Oh, darling, he controls me just fine, don't you worry about that,” I purr in a suggestive tone that has Halo 2 growling and holding her back when she tries to come at me. The twins stand and help him restrain her while I stand here wrapped up in Alex’s arms, which she hates.
“I think this meeting is over,” Nova says as she stands. Vivian and the guys follow her lead.
“You want your hotel to go ahead, get rid of the bitch and you won’t have any issues,” Desire suggests in a tone filled with venom.
Vivian scoffs. “No thanks. Tate isn’t going anywhere and by the looks of things, you poked the wrong bear so I’ll stick with my girl and Alex.” I shoot Vivian a grateful look before looking back at the cunt across the room.
“Keep blocking the build, it won’t stop me from fucking him every… single… night.” Her face turns a bright shade of red at my admission.
I expect her to fire back. The bitch just goes lax and pulls free of the guys hold, straightens her jacket then smiles at me. The look is filled with promise. “Did you like the taste of my pussy on his cock?” I feel Alex stiffen behind me. Her answer is like a sledgehammer to my chest but I refuse to allow her to win. I lock down the hurt her words caused and force a sinister smirk to my own face.
“I prefer the taste of my own pussy on his tongue.” Her jaw locks and I know I’ve won. “See you around, Desire. Next time how about you leave your guards behind and we settle this for real because I don’t surrender, bitch. I’ll never go down without a fight, just ask Alex the next time you try slamming that retched cunt on him.” I tear out of The Butcher’s hold and storm out of there with my friends hot on my heels. I don’t look back. I’m so angry at myself for letting my jealousy overcloud my rational thought. I’m better than that.
“We’re getting drunk,” Vivian calls out as we hit the street. I grunt my agreement. I need something to take the edge off and help me calm down before I claw that bitches face off and punch Alex in the dick for letting me get blindsided by his ex.