Chapter 36
Dominic
Mila has a spectacular ass.
I’d rather every glassy-eyed man in the Cockpit didn’t get to see it in all its glory.
But the way she lights up when she’s on that stage dancing is something I could never take from her.
Even if it means I have to share that bombshell body while she’s up there.
Which is why I gave her free rein to set up the dance studio below Bad Wolfe.
That’s another thing that added light to her already sparkling eyes.
I can’t say that I hate any of it. But watching the way men around the room start catcalling and whooping when she hits the stage, pulling wads of ones from their slack pockets, coaxes me toward the bar.
“She’s really something,” Aiden, one of the bartenders at the Ring Room says. He nods over at the stage as he throws a bar towel over his shoulder.
“Two fingers of the best,” I tell him. “And eyes off my girl.”
Aiden grins and grabs the whiskey bottle, pouring a hefty dose into the glass and sliding it over to me.
I suck down half of it and pass it back to him for a top-off before turning around to watch the show.
I’m not fighting tonight, so I decide to just take a seat at the bar.
For one, I don’t feel like sitting in the swamp of men where I can hear them talking about her.
The whole room would turn into a boxing ring if I did that, and I’d be the only one left standing.
The routines have changed since they put Mila in the center. It’s not just twerking and strip dancing without the pole. It’s an actual dance, and she is by far the best dancer up there.
Halfway through the routine, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out to find a text from my dad.
Sigh.
Dad: CALL ME NOW.
Dominic: I’m busy right now. What’s up?
I wait as the ellipsis pops up. Meanwhile, I go back to watching Mila on the stage, taking a sip of whiskey. But then I nearly spit it out.
Dad: It’s about your inheritance.
Jesus Christ.
I know the tone of the text. Something is wrong.
He’s pissed off, or changed his mind, or there’s some kind of snag or something.
Whatever it is, it’s a signature Enzo Wolfe move that means it can’t wait.
Considering what’s at stake here, well, how much is at stake here, I’d like to know what the hell is going on ASAP.
I make my way outside to where it’s quiet and dial his number. He answers on the first ring.
“What’s up, Dad?” I ask before he can say anything.
“The gig is up, that’s what,” he says, and I am lost.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I ask.
“Did you really think you could pull one over on me?” he demanded. While I don’t think there is any way he could have figured anything out, he’s not a stupid man. Stubborn maybe. Narcissistic for sure. But not stupid. For that reason, I know I have to tread carefully at this point.
“I’m still not sure what you are referring to,” I tell him with no waver in my voice.
“Where do you want me to start?” he asks in the tone that I am most familiar with. I’ve been hearing it my entire life.
“At the beginning. So I don’t miss any of the details of whatever it is you think I did wrong,” I say.
“Alright. Lie to me. It wouldn’t be the first time. Let’s start with how your relationship is a sham.”
“A what?” I ask incredulously. Am I lying to him? Not anymore. Yes, it started out as a ruse, but it’s not anymore.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Dominic! Your little friends at the fight ring told me everything!” he thunders, and for the first time, my pulse wavers a little.
“What friends?” I ask.
“The cute blonde who works the bar,” he says.
“Brynn?” I ask.
“Sure. And Shaeffer.”
Brynn and Shaeffer. I should have known whatever was going on had Rafe’s fingerprints all over it. Goddamnit.
“According to them, this whole thing was planned. You and Mila have a paid agreement to go through with marriage so that she has the money she needs and you get your inheritance from me. Well, I’ll have you know that a marriage you plan to turn around an annul once I add a handful of zeros to your bank account balance isn’t what WE agreed on, that therefore is NOT going to happen. ”
“Listen, you don’t know anything about Mila and me,” I bite back.
“I know that she used to be a waitress who came from nothing. Not only that, but she was your maid,” he says.
“And?”
“And?! A waitress, Dominic?! You could have any woman on the goddamn planet and you pick the maid?” he shouts. I nearly punch the brick wall, but think better of it at the last second.
“She’s more than that!” I growl back.
“Oh, I’m sure she is. You’ve gotten yourself into quite a predicament. Sneaking around, sleeping with the maid. Putting a ring on her finger. That was your mother’s ring,” he snaps.
“I know it was her ring,” I snap.
“You know, I never would have given it to you if I’d known what was really going on. You are going to get that ring back,” he demands.
“No. I’m not,” I tell him.
“The fuck you mean no you’re not?”
“I mean, I still intend to marry her, and that ring is exactly where it belongs. And when I do say my vows, my lawyer is going to get my inheritance from you even if he has to pry it from your hands,” I say through my teeth.
“Alright. Play the hard way,” he sniffs. “But when that baby is born, I’d rather it kept its mother’s name and didn’t put a blemish on the Wolfe legacy.”
I stop, my jaw going slack.
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“I’m talking about the child you two are having out of wedlock because you couldn’t control yourself around the woman mopping your floors.
A girl with her background, pregnant with your child and soon to be your wife, is certain to mop the floors with you.
She’s going to take you for everything you've got, Dom. That’s another reason I’d be a damn fool to hand you that money now.
So go ahead, son. Lawyer up, and good luck. ”
The phone beeps and goes dead. I am left standing outside in the dark, literally and figuratively. My mind is doing acrobatics in an attempt to wrap around the elephant in the conversation. Or the baby, should I say.
Mila is pregnant?