Chapter 10
WYLDER
I’m sorting through The Firm requests a few days later. They’ve been coming in thick and fast recently, but that’s common for this time of year. The holidays are just around the corner, and there are many families living below the poverty line.
Too many.
I sift through the requests, calculating the amount needed to cover them. What we usually do is make rich fuckers pay off their debts to us with money. Then we use that to settle these smaller requests.
We’re like Robin Hood in a way…except we’re also disgustingly rich.
Which is why I’ll be paying a large portion of these out of my personal bank account.
They’ll also be added to my monitoring list. Families who make it onto this list are checked in on occasionally by people who work for me.
If the agents discover they’re struggling, then I anonymously arrange for whatever they need.
Groceries. Furniture. Bills settled. New clothes for their kids. Toys for Christmas presents.
Of course, it would be simpler to just deposit money, but that’s not always the best course of action.
I tried that years ago with Wyatt’s parents once I found out how my father had forced him and Matthias apart.
I didn’t know just how important Wyatt was to Matthias back then, but I knew my brother missed him.
It was enough to make me want to help. I tried to make Wyatt’s life better by depositing money into his mother’s account.
Only for her to blow it all on drugs. Wyatt never saw a cent of it. To this day, he has no idea what I did, how I tried to help and failed.
I learned from that. Cash is only granted directly if requested via The Firm. After that, I try to help in other ways.
No one knows I do this, and that’s the way it’s going to stay. My actions are against what The Firm stands for—the strict code my father insisted we abide by.
People make requests.
We fulfill them.
For a price.
There’s not meant to be an after. And we’re certainly not meant to help them following their request being granted.
But I can’t help myself. It’s my own silent rebellion against a life I never wanted. A life I’m not certain I even agree with.
I pick up the next one and freeze. The handwriting is messy, almost illegible.
The sight of my name is clear enough. I squint to make out the rest of the words.
I request that Wylder Buckingham take me on a date. It must be romantic and last at least two hours.
Neo Smith
I blink a few times before rereading it. Nope, I wasn’t wrong.
Neo wants me to take him on a date.
A romantic date.
“Neo,” I ask slowly, turning the page in his direction. “Care to explain this?”
“Oh, you finally got to it.” He beams at me from his chair. “I was waiting for you to find it. You know, you’d get through these a lot faster if you let me help you.”
“You’re not part of The Firm,” I say distractedly. “Speaking of, what is the meaning of this?”
His eyelashes flutter innocently. “Do you have reading comprehension issues?”
Brat. “No. But I am confused as to why you want us to go on a…date.”
He shrugs one shoulder. “It’s what I want. Isn’t part of the beauty of this system that I don’t need to justify why I want it?”
Technically, he’s right, but… “Why do you want to go on a date with me?”
“Because I think it’ll be fun.” He spins his chair slowly from side to side, his knee brushing along my thigh. “And you, Wylder Buckingham, need some fun.”
“Do not.”
“Dude, you literally go to bed at eight p.m. unless you have a social event you have to attend. And I’m pretty sure that blow job I gave you was the hottest thing you’ve done in a while. Maybe ever.”
I go to argue with him, but he’s right. Shifting gears, I choose a different route. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to go on a date. I’m your boss.”
Neo stares at me for several long seconds before he throws back his head and roars with laughter. He laughs and laughs until he’s clutching his stomach and wiping tears from his eyes. “Hilarious. Genuinely the funniest thing you’ve ever said.”
I frown, unable to work out what’s so amusing. “How so?”
He pastes on an expression of mock solemnity as he meets my gaze. “Well, I believe we first crossed the line of inappropriateness when you told me you had a dream about me gagged.”
“You made me tell you that.”
“True, but I didn’t make you watch me jack off. You made that decision all on your own.”
I shift in my seat.
Neo’s lips twitch. “And I believe it was also you who pushed me to my knees and shoved your cock down my throat.”
I tap my fingers on the desk. “You enjoyed it.”
“Yes, I did.” He’s deadly serious now as he clasps his hands in his lap. “I could’ve made a request for that instead, but I didn’t.”
I tilt my head curiously. “Why didn’t you?”
“Well, first of all, it felt kinda gross,” Neo says. “I want that to happen again because you want it, not because you feel obligated.”
That’s…oddly thoughtful.
“Besides,” he continues cheerfully, “I’d put good money on that happening again regardless. I still haven’t paid you back for the whole Candace thing. Your interest is racking up.”
“I told you, it’s fine and over with now. No more blow jobs are needed.”
“Aw, I love your optimism,” he says, squeezing my knee. I ignore the jolt of electricity it sends up my thigh. “It’s so cute.”
I grind my teeth together, torn between lust and irritation. It’s where I spend my time now, Neo always at my side. “Why the date?”
“Because I know I won’t get one otherwise. And I want one.”
I consider my response carefully. “You want a relationship?”
“Fuck no.” I’m not sure if his rapid response is comforting or insulting. “We wouldn’t work well together at all. But I think we can have fun, which, like I pointed out earlier, you sorely need.”
He’s really thought all of this through. I have a single card left to play. “Neo, you shouldn’t do this. Requests to The Firm should never be made lightly. We can ask anything of you. Anything.”
“That’s fine,” he says, turning back to his computer. “I don’t have anything of any worth.”
For some reason, I can hear my pulse in my ears. “What if we asked you to do something illegal? Something dangerous?”
He waggles his brows at me. “Like hacking the Umbra servers? Hate to break it to you, babe, but I’ve been working on that for weeks.”
I frown. “You have?”
“Duh.” He rolls his eyes. “It’s part of my job description, remember?”
“True, but I didn’t realize you’d already started.”
“Well, they’ve tightened their security after the damage Ansel did. I haven’t had anything to report, so there wasn’t any point in saying anything. I’m making good progress though. Hoping to have details on the head honcho soon. Fucker’s being elusive, but I’ll find him.”
“Good.” It is a good thing, so why do I suddenly feel tense? “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He pops his gum.
I touch the edge of his request lightly. “We could still ask something of you. A price you might not be willing to pay.”
“It’ll be worth it,” he says dismissively, fingers flying over the keyboard.
“You don’t mean that. A date with me isn’t worth everything.”
He sighs, swinging his chair around until it’s facing me. When his knees push against mine, some of the tension bleeds away. “Okay, Mr. Buckingham, who decides what the price is? Are you honestly going to demand that I do something that’ll endanger my life?”
My jaw twitches. The brat has me cornered, and he knows it. “Obviously not.”
“Well, we don’t have a problem, then.” Neo smirks and pats my knee. “Best get planning. I can’t wait to hear your ideas tonight, in bed.”
My shoulders tense as I force myself to say what I’ve been meaning to for the last few days. Meaning to, and somehow not getting around to. “You need to stop sneaking into my room at night.”
“No, thanks,” he says, and I feel myself biting back a smile. Ever since I broke things off with Candace, he’s been coming into my room and sliding between the covers. He tries to be quiet, but he’s as loud as an elephant.
I pretend not to notice him, but we both know that’s a farce.
How can I not know when he’s near me? My monster always knows.
My mind shifts back to the date he requested.
I set the paper down and run a hand over my eyes.
I have to plan a fucking date. I don’t even know where to start.
With Candace and my past girlfriends, I simply took them to the closest Michelin-starred restaurant or invited them to accompany me to a charity gala.
I suspect that Neo wouldn’t consider either of those options romantic.
“Oh, one more thing.” I glance up at Neo’s words to find him smirking again. “Wear your slutty little glasses on the date.”
My finger flicks across the touch pad on my laptop as I sit in bed that night, my glasses perched on my nose.
Not because Neo seems to find it cute. Because I’m tired. That’s why.
I’m not planning a date with him. It’s preposterous that he requested it the way he did. The more I think about it, the more my heart races.
And the audacity to say I need to wear my glasses.
No one tells the Buckinghams what to do.
But he does. Ours. Mine.
I reach beneath the frames of my glasses and pinch the bridge of my nose, a headache beginning right behind my eyes. Maybe because Neo was ushered away by Harley and didn’t return. I told myself I would get so much done.
I did fuck all and feel like shit for it.
I never fail, and yet, for some reason, I am. It feels like I’m letting everyone down, including Neo with this fucking date.
I don’t even know what the hell I’m doing entertaining it. Even so, I click on a link, trying to decide where to take him. Or not take him.
I’m not taking him anywhere.
Yes, you are.
I close my laptop and then open it back up again, scrolling through the search results. If I do this, I have to think outside the box—something Neo would like. He’s not Candace, who would be wooed by an expensive dinner and an invite-only cocktail bar.
Neo would scoff at both of those.