Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
Blaine
When I returned to my office, I didn’t bother planning out my conversation. Just dialed the number and let it ring.
“Porter,” Calvin’s voice came over the line as a shiver of disgust rolled down my spine. Fuck, I absolutely hated him. “To what do I owe the disruption?”
“Wanted to run something by you. I was hoping you could clear it up for me,” I said, keeping my tone casual.
“Do I have to listen?” he asked, drawling it out like a spoiled brat.
“Vanguard Solutions. Your name’s floating awful close to theirs.”
He seemed to ponder his next words. “I advise. Occasionally,” he said, like he was discussing the weather. “But I don’t run it.”
“You advise a loan-sharking front? Branching out, I see.”
“I’m helping an associate. That’s all.”
I couldn’t help but scoff. “You don’t help anyone that isn’t yourself.”
“Taking that as a compliment…”
“You shouldn’t. Who’s calling the shots?”
“…You’ve met him. Briefly.” Calvin’s tone was almost playful now. “A wildcard, you might say?”
My eyebrows furrowed as my jaw went tight, my mind instantly recalling Killian’s words.
One of the men you’ll be meeting with… wildcard. Dirty money. Ties with Lockwood…
This fucker—
“You knew we were after Drummond.”
“Finally, using that head on your shoulders instead of relying on Killian’s.”
I rolled my eyes. “So you’re running your dirty money through Felix?”
“I’m simply… taking advantage of opportunities through a colleague,” Calvin corrected. “He has methods. I have resources. Simple math.”
“Simple math, my ass. You wouldn’t lie in the same bed with Drummond unless there’s something bigger in it for you.”
“Maybe I’d enjoy his company,” he said smoothly.
Rolling my eyes for the millionth time, I ended the call, tossing the phone onto my desk as I dragged both hands down my face.
It all started coming back to me. The night in London when she went numb, the sudden shift in her eyes once Felix had shown up, the way her shoulders had caved in like the fight had been ripped out of her.
And then—
"You don't have to say thank-you, Maia.”
"But I do. You have more important things to worry about. You're a billionaire, for Christ's sake. The fact that you went out of your way to keep me safe and to stick up for me to Mr. Vaughn… you’re unlike any man I've ever met," she said truthfully.
I pulled away as I shrugged. "Well, of course I am. It's not every day you meet a billionaire as charming and handsome as me."
She gave a small smile, and I could tell something had come to her mind.
She seemed to ignore it as she continued, "Believe it or not, Mr. Porter, there are other billionaires who are just as charming as you are.”
I must’ve been really using the fucking head on my shoulders, because dammit, it all made sense now.
The messages I found on her cell came to mind again.
Don’t forget what you are.
One word from me, and he won’t look at you the same again.
She was supposed to be at my penthouse tonight. Her idea, for once. Said she wanted to cook for me since it had been a while. That would give me a chance to have an actual conversation. Drag the truth out of her if I needed to.
My phone buzzed, snapping me out of my thoughts. It was a new text.
But it wasn’t for me. It was forwarded from her number.
Unknown
See me tonight.
Every muscle in my body went rigid. I dragged a hand over my jaw, forcing myself to breathe past the urge to start breaking things.
I could handle drunk investors, billion-dollar contracts from spoiled nepo babies hanging onto Daddy’s money, and men who’d sell their own wives for a fucking merger.
But this?
This was different.
This was her.
I couldn’t use jokes, boyish smiles, or my God-given charm to handle this…
This wasn’t a deal I could negotiate or a headline I could spin.
This was entirely fucked.
In other words… I was fucked.
Maia
I’d gotten the message from Felix only a few hours ago, and I was already panicking. This was supposed to be time for me and Blaine together.
For me to forget, live a little, feel better about the last few shitty weeks. It always worked when I was with him. He always made me feel better somehow.