Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
J ames
Tobias is sitting across from me, devouring a giant foot-long sandwich, and I watch with disgust at his lack of elegance in eating the damned thing.
“Just shove the thing in its entirety down your throat, why don’t you?” I mutter, making him chuckle with a mouth full.
For the last couple of years, he’s been eating lunch with me in my office, although eating isn’t what I’d call what he does. He slops and inhales his food like a beast.
I set my sandwich down, saving my appetite for when I could eat alone. I wasn’t much for lunch guests, but I didn’t mind that he wanted to stick around and eat his lunch in my presence. The incentive was nice, I guess.
I observed him as he ate, trying to find similarities between him and his sister, but I kept coming up short. She’d been on my mind since the club the other night and after everything Tobias had told me about their past. I was also on edge, wondering if or when she’d show up again.
The only thing they shared in common was their curlier hair and pale skin. Other than that, their features were completely different. His hair was a lighter shade of brown compared to her black hair. His eyes were dark where hers were light, and where her face was soft and angelic, his was rugged and chiseled. Where she was annoying, he wasn’t.
Tobias’s phone rings, and he answers it and then pulls it away, mouthing Andrei’s name. I just sighed, letting him leave to continue business with him since he wanted to return to us after pulling out of our deal. I trusted Tobias to handle it however he saw fit, so it didn’t matter much to me either way.
I opened my laptop and went to my emails, checking the damned never-ending things, but an email about ten down caught my eye. My security forwarded me an email from Labyrinth’s public one. I assumed it was a threat because I requested they forward me such ones to watch for any dangers that could be potentially larger than they’d think, considering the other half of my life.
It was from a mailing address called Bibliocilia. The subject reading Rich Dick .
What the fuck?
My eyes widen in surprise as I read the bloody thing. The girl had a set of balls on her; I’d give her that.
I slam my laptop shut, a wave of annoyance and competitiveness surging through me. I grab my phone from the desk and dial the number of the head of my security team, who has an impressive gift for hacking and obtaining private information.
“I want the address and workplace of Cecilia Bowen. Her brother is Tobias Bowen, who works for me, so there should be no issue.”
“Give me twenty,” he replies, and I hang up the phone and call my assistant now, having her cancel my schedule for the rest of the day. I didn’t do well with threats, and although she was Tobias’s sister, his strong suit was not keeping her in check. I was going to have to do it myself. I didn’t care who she was or that he wanted me to stay away from her. This was my empire she was trying to mess with, and a personal message felt like the only way I could ensure she actually received it. Although nothing I’ve said to her face-to-face so far has been enough to deter her, maybe a little visit to her neck of the woods would instill a little fear.
I had a pest to control.
An hour later, I stepped off my private jet in Boston. I breathe in the fresh air, having already decided to stay for a night or two. What most people who know me don’t know is that my home is actually in Boston. I kept it private because it is the only place I call home. I don’t get the privilege of being home much when my life and work are in the city. But I like it that way. I like the distance whenever I decide to come home for a while.
I ordered a car and gave them the library address where Cecilia was a librarian. It doesn’t take long before I’m outside, and I waste no time going in and looking for her. I instantly spot her behind the front desk, her lengthy hair in a high ponytail atop her head as she focuses on whatever is in front of her.
For a moment, I feel utterly ridiculous being here. I was one of the most powerful men in the city, and yet here I was, paying a visit to a small lion-haired girl because she sent me a foul-mouthed email. But I was curious. She claims to know who I am and apparently lacks fear of the fact. Despite this, she isn’t going to stop looking into her brother and my business, and that was the issue for me.
“Cecilia Bowen,” I say, smirking as she jumps behind her desk. Her gaze flits to mine, and her eyes widen. I finally see some fear in them, and I eat it up. “Age twenty-four. Graduated from Boston College with a bachelor’s in English Lit and is now a little librarian at Stone Corridor, the oldest library in the city. You’re the younger sibling of Tobias Bowen and daughter of David and Celena Bowen. My condolences, by the way. Your address is 284 Hedge Avenue, apartment 3B…”
“Stop it,” she snaps, standing from her seat.
I lean onto the desk, drilling her with my gaze. “Am I scaring you?”
She blinks rapidly before squaring her shoulders back, standing a little straighter. “No.”
I grin. “Lies.”
“What are you doing here?”
I lean off the desk, fiddling with trinkets of items on top of it. “I got your email. I found Rich Dick to be absolutely poetic. I’m thinking about naming my next venture after it.”
A blush stains her cheeks, and she fidgets with the necklace around her neck. I drop my gaze, inspecting it and the rest of her body. She was more modest than at my club the other night. She was dressed in a billowy white shirt and had on a cropped dark brown suede vest over it. Her jeans were tight, drawing my attention to her legs, all the way up to the chunky belt she had wrapped around the waistband that sat ridiculously high on her stomach. The necklace around her neck was gold and had one minuscule charm hanging from it. A teddy bear charm.
“I’m sorry about that. I sent that after having a little too much to drink.”
“So, the part where you said you were coming for me isn’t true? I must admit, I was scared for my life. Had to come all the way here to beg for mercy.”
Her gaze hardens on me, and I can’t help but enjoy how her demeanor changes. “So, it’s not true then?” she bites back. “I wouldn’t expect some mobster to come to waste his time on little old me.”
I chuckle darkly. “I’m not in the mafia, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fear me any less.” It wasn’t a lie, exactly. I wasn’t in the mafia…anymore. “I came to tell you my own message, little owl.” She stiffens slightly as I regard her. “Go back to your little storybooks and stay out of my way. The deeper you try to go, the harder you will fall.”
Her eyes darkened, and my gaze dropped to the way she white-knuckled the pen in her hand like she might stab me with it. Part of me wants her to try. It’s been a dull morning. “Tell me what my brother really does for you, and I’ll leave you alone,” she demands.
“What makes you think we do anything more than what you already know?”
“You evade me every time I ask about him. He was at the headquarters, I assume with you, awfully late at night. You’re hiding something.”
“Speaking of hiding things,” I say, doing exactly what she said. “I’m starting to wonder if your brother hid your identity from me because you’re some depraved lunatic. It would make a lot of sense.”
“You’re the lunatic here. What billionaire comes and wastes his time on a little librarian threatening his empire? Or are the skeletons in your closet bigger and scarier than I anticipated?” She taunts.
“You know,” I lean on the desk, letting my eyes penetrate her like knives. I liked watching her squirm under my unrelenting gaze. “If I didn’t find you one of the most irritating people I ever met, I think I’d enjoy your spite.”
She cocks a brow at that and lets her gaze roam over me. “If you find me so irritating, Mr. Kingston, why did you come all this way?”
“I told you. I don’t like people meddling in my affairs.”
“Then why not just have my brother tell me?”
“Because I don’t want you taking up more of his time than you already do.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your brother has important connections to make. He doesn’t need to deal with your little escapades. I want him focused on his tasks, not worrying about when you’ll show up to wreak havoc next.”
“Connections like what? To the so-called people that could hurt me?”
“That’s enough questions, little owl.”
“Why do you keep calling me little owl?” she snaps. “It’s incredibly random.”
“Do you know what an owl is?”
“Are you serious? Yes, I know what an owl is.”
“They’re small creatures, well smaller than most predatory animals, but they’re extremely determined and aggressive.” She gleams a little at that, and for some reason, I like that she’s impressed with the comparison.
“So, you’re saying I’m small but mighty?” She smiles, and I think it’s the first time I've seen her truly do that in front of me. It feels like my chest starts burning and opens up completely. The feeling of it makes me nauseous.
“No, I’m saying you’re like an annoying rodent that keeps returning despite my efforts to keep you away.”
“But owls aren’t rodents,” she remarks. “Actually, they eat them.”
“See, little owl, you know so much about your own kind.”
She rolls her eyes. “You know you say you want to keep me away, and yet you’re still here, in my place of work, I might add.”
“Annoying, isn’t it? I’m ensuring we’re on the same page before I leave.”
“And what page is that?” she asks, putting her hand on her hip, which pops out as she stares daggers into me.
I drag my gaze away from her curves and level her with my gaze as she challenges me back with hers. “If I catch you on any of my properties again, I’ll have you arrested. Do you understand me?”
“You’d really resort to incarceration so that I don’t interfere with your precious empire?”
“I’ll do whatever means necessary.”
She leans across her desk, looking up at me more as she shakes her head. “Then that only just tells me to keep coming back. You’re obviously hiding something from me. Something that my brother does that you know I won’t like. I’m going to find out what that is.”
I can’t help but grin because despite how utterly irritating it is that she’s so relentless, it’s that fact that I also admire because I like determination and strong-willed souls. I liked it when someone looked fear in the face and decided to keep going just like she is now.
I also lean on her desk, letting my elbows glide forward until I’m nearly nose-to-nose with her. I quickly catch the way she tenses at my nearness, and it’s like a balm over my chest wound that she’s carved open because I like it when she fears me. I like it when I see how much she doesn’t like me.
I didn’t understand why playing with her was suddenly so fun. Maybe it was because her brother had warned me away from her. Maybe it was because she also seemed to enjoy investigating me. Perhaps I was just bored with life these days. This was way more entertaining than my usual work, even if she was trying to undermine me.
I scan her face, taking my time and marking every inch, only to make her squirm more, but she doesn’t move away. She stays still, letting me roam her. I was a little surprised at her confidence, given her age. Twenty-four felt young compared to my thirty-six years. She seemed older. Perhaps wiser than most her age. I wondered if it was because of everything Tobias had told me she’d been through. Pain and betrayal can do that to a person.
I zero in on the flush beginning to rise in her cheeks, and I know she can feel it because she finally squirms in an attempt to hide it, so I finally smile and lock my eyes onto hers.
“I’ll see you soon then, little owl,” I murmur before slowly backing away and leaving the library. When I glance through the window, she’s still in the same position, staring as if I were still directly in front of her. It makes my stomach burn with satisfaction that I can shake her a little bit, no matter how much she tries to hide it.
Cecilia Bowen has slowly and disturbingly become more interesting to me.
When I return home, I change out of my suit and into something more comfortable and go straight to my home gym. The second I enter the room, though, my phone rings, and I pull it out of my pocket, finding a video call from Tobias.
I answered, grimacing when both of our faces came into view on the screen. I wasn’t a fan of video calls. They were weird and unnatural, but they seemed to be Tobias’s preferred calling method when we weren’t working.
“What’s up?”
“Where are you?” he asks. “I went to your apartment, and you didn’t answer.”
I sit down on my weight bench. “I’m in Boston for a couple of nights.”
“Boston? For what?”
Part of me thought his sister might have squealed on my little visit, but his curiosity shows he knows nothing. I’m not sure why that pleases me so much.
“Homesick,” I lie.
“You should have told me. I would have come down with you and made a trip out of it—maybe visited my sister.”
“You have work to do, and I recall you not wanting me in the same vicinity as your sister, so I wasn’t thinking about that.” I only thought about me, myself, and I seeing her, but he also didn’t need to know that.
“Speaking of work, I made a deal with Andrei. He overpaid in desperation, so I thought I'd give it a shot.”
“If you feel it’s right, then I trust you.” He smirked at that, and I noticed he sat at what looked like his apartment complex gym. I’ve worked out there a few times with him before, so I recognized it.
“You about to lift, too?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“You want to spot me?” he jokes, propping his phone up on the machine as he lays down on his back.
I chuckle, shaking my head as I set my phone on the floor beside me and begin my reps. I could have hung the phone up, but when Tobias doesn’t initiate it, especially at a time like both of us working out when one typically would end a phone call, I sense that it’s because he doesn’t want to be alone or inside his head which can get dark for him at times. He’s done this before, so I indulge him without question.
We continued our workouts, discussing work and his personal life things between reps of whatever we worked on. By the time we got off the phone, I felt slightly consumed with guilt for hiding my visit with his sister from him today.
Nights like tonight, when I’m aware of how close he and I have gotten, make me realize that he genuinely might be what one would consider a best friend, and I felt like I was betraying him.