Chapter 27 Kade
TWENTY-SEVEN
KADE
“I refuse to be part of the sex trade and you know this, Ricci,” I sneered.
It was now the late afternoon and getting very close to my dinner date with Evelyn.
Currently I was at one the warehouses that was a middle point for shipping and receiving and Ricci had just told me that he had a shipment of women coming into the port in the next week.
He laughed in my face. Machine growled behind me as a warning.
“Calm your dog, Ghost, or I will take matters into my own hands.”
I took a step forward, getting into Ricci’s face. “Threaten me or him again and you will find yourself six feet under concrete.”
Ricci sniffed loudly before speaking. “We are getting off track. Stefanos and I have come to a mutual agreement. He will help with transport of my shipments and in return I will give him a cut of the funds.”
I couldn't understand why he was giving me all of this information. “And how does this affect me?”
“Stefanos has agreed to continue his business with you, with the understanding that you will not interfere with our arrangement. He will pay you an extra markup for the peace as a sign of good faith.”
“And why isn’t he here to speak for himself?” I was seething at this point. Ricci truly expected me to allow this arrangement to occur after the stunt he pulled with my shipments.
“He had a matter he needed to take care of. Rest assured he will meet with you as well.”
“Are we just going to pretend that you didn’t almost jeopardize my business with Stefanos? I fail to see how this arrangement helps me.”
“Listen, that was an oversight on my part. I needed to make a statement to Stefanos to arrange a deal.”
I grabbed his collar. “An OVERSIGHT? You almost started a fucking war!” I roared.
Anthony patted my shoulder, “Oh, Kaden… no need for these theatrics.” He rang out a quick whistle, and in the shadows a tall broad man, named Brutus, walked over with a briefcase.
I let go of Ricci’s collar and shoved him away from me, clenching my teeth to try to tamper down the anger buzzing through me.
Ricci walked over to Brutus and rested the briefcase on the man’s forearms before opening it. Ricci pointed to the stacks of money that filled the bag. “This will cover all and then some for the trouble over the shipment. What do you say, Ghost? Do we have a deal?”
Scoffing, I rubbed a hand down my face and sniffed.
I gave him a brief nod and sent Machine the signal to take the briefcase.
I needed to get out of here. It was time for my date with Evelyn and now I had to figure out a plan to get me out of this mess with Ricci.
My mind was swimming with too many thoughts of my new obsession with Evelyn, Ricci and his games, and Stefanos gaining more power.
My skin crawled from agreeing to Ricci’s terms. However, I needed to think strategically if I wanted to take down the mother fucker for good.
Tonight at dinner I would let her know that I would be assigning her to Ricci’s account to monitor.
She was beyond good with her computer skills, there was no denying that.
The team had given her countless compliments and Lennie had reported to me on more than one occasion that Evelyn’s skill level was far beyond anyone on the team.
Her ability to help the others with their assignments had been an added bonus that none of us saw coming.
She was the only person I felt comfortable passing this account to.
The decision was not taken lightly. I didn’t even let the rest of the Hive team monitor the account.
It was always me. But this way I would have my strongest team member working on one of the most pivotal pieces to take Ricci down.
I waited in the lobby of RSS for the beautiful bombshell that was permanently ingrained to my brain.
Looking like she was straight off the runway, Evelyn stepped out of the elevator in her sexy black dress, red “fuck me” heels, and a black trench coat.
A warm smile spread across her face when she saw me.
I returned the smile and gave her a peck on the cheek when she was close enough.
Her cheeks reddened. I wasn’t huge on PDA, however with her, I couldn’t keep my hands off.
“Ready?” I asked, placing a hand on her lower back.
“Absolutely.”
Even with the New York traffic, we got to the restaurant in no time.
Tonight’s restaurant was one of my favorites and was one of the legal businesses I owned.
Indulgere’s menu was a collection of my favorite family recipes.
Gepetto, my chef, was like family and his creations mentally transported his customers to Italy through their tastebuds.
The host brought us over to my reserved table in the back of the restaurant and took our orders, Evelyn taking my personal recommendation for her meal.
Once we received our entrees, I figured it was as good a time as any to bring up the Ricci account.
Evelyn moaned and closed her eyes as she savored her first bite. The sound immediately went straight to my cock.
I leaned closer to her. “Princess, if you continue to make sounds like that, I will bend you over this table and fuck you with an audience.” The words came out huskier than I intended.
She opened her eyes wide and made the most adorable whoops face.
“My bad,” she whispered. “It’s just so good.”
I chuckled in response. “Gepetto, the chef, is the best in the business,” I confirmed.
“I would have to agree,” she replied, stuffing another forkful into her mouth.
“So, other than me wanting to see your beautiful face, there is a reason I wanted to have dinner,” I began.
She gave me a curious look.
“I would like to formally inform you that you will be receiving a promotion and will now be the account manager for the Ricci Enterprises Portfolio.”
Evelyn began to choke on her food, her face getting redder and redder.
Well shit, this wasn’t how I planned dinner to go.