CHAPTER 54 - RED
CHAPTER
Red
F UCK ME, that was difficult! I stride towards my brothers’ office. I don’t need to go there for anything. I don’t need to go anywhere , but I can’t return to my own office until Arianna has gone.
I achieved my objective, but it was hard. I almost forgot - very nearly forgot - that I was making a point: Arianna will no longer control my lust for her. I’ll control her lust for me .
At least that’s what needs to happen.
Because her lust for me is there - strong and clear. She started this shit by kissing me the other day, and now I’ve turned the tables. I know now, without any shadow of a doubt, that she wants me as much as I want her. The difference is I won’t allow myself to have her. Even when she begs me.
Because eventually, she will beg me. I’ll make sure of it.
But, by Christ, it was difficult keeping a lid on myself just then.
Reaching Oscar and Liam’s shared office, I check that all obvious signs of my arousal have gone, then dig my fingernails into my palms. However much Arianna turns me on, the conniving Italian mare’s words about Lorna have rattled me. Rattled me badly.
If Arianna knew the truth, she’d hate me even more that she already does because she’d realize, regardless of my temporary “truce” between me and her bastard father, the man was always lined up to die by my hand.
That won’t change for her or anyone.
But, like I promised myself when I decided to marry Arianna, being stuck with someone I desperately want more than I’ve ever wanted anyone who’s walked this earth, but refusing to act on it, even when she begs, will be my purgatory.
In the interim, I’ll chip away at her conceited armor bit by bit, and when she’s fully ready to give herself willingly to me, begging for me to take her body, I’ll reject her. For what she’s brought down on me and my firm, she needs punishing as much as I do.
It will be the ultimate repentance for both of us.
Opening the office door, I stride in, ignoring Liam’s irritation. I don’t need to knock on doors to gain entry. ‘Any news about the hotel?’
“As it happens, they have a cancellation, but...”
“When for?” I cut in, pulling up a chair.
Oscar and Liam exchange glances. “Well, this Friday, but...”
“Brilliant! Confirm it with the hotel.” I flick through the desk diary. “It’s short notice, granted, but that’s fine. The sooner Slater’s dealt with, the better.” And it’s just the tonic I need to concentrate my frustration on.
As Oscar leaves the office to call the hotel, Liam eyes me suspiciously. “Where have you been? Del said ‘wifey’ was giving you grief, but you look like you just got up!”
I self-consciously smooth my hair. Shit .
I should invest in a mirror. Why did Del mention anything?
I know he has concerns about Arianna, but those concerns are irrelevant.
My head is straight on that front now, so Liam having digs won’t work.
“Arianna has a problem with how I dealt with her father, and she also doesn’t like that our ‘friend’, Harry Taylor, was dispatched.
However, I’ve put her straight on both those scores. ”
“You told her?” Liam frowns. “About Taylor?”
“Of course not!” I snap. “She read the newspaper and drew her own conclusions. I admitted nothing, and neither will I. Now, onto Friday’s event...”
Oscar returns to the office. “Hotel’s booked and confirmed. I’ve sent Del and Keith to inform the second-tier staff, but...” Sitting down, he pushes an envelope across the desk. “You need to see this. It was hand-delivered today.”
“What is it?” I take the envelope, seeing just one word on the front:
Bateman? Which one? If it was for me, that’s fairly irrelevant, being as my brothers have clearly already read it. With a crawling sensation creeping up my spine, I pull the notepaper from the envelope.
Anger spikes. I look at my brothers, my jaw clenching.
“No guesses who that’s from, eh?” Liam growls.
I turn back to the note and frown. “You said this was hand delivered? Who by? Edoardo Bristoni sent a ‘goon’ of his own before, being as the Muppet killed Steve instead of one of us, so further retaliation is expected, but this isn’t the way I thought he’d play it.”
“It was left at the casino reception,” Oscar shrugs.
“Surely Viv noticed who walked in and handed over a fucking letter?”
“She’d nipped to the bog,” Liam explains. “No one can expect the woman to sit there all day without taking a piss!”
“If there’s no one to cover, I do expect that!” I bark. “Has anyone had the foresight to check the CCTV? It’ll be simple to see exactly who delivered this bullshit.”
Oscar looks down guiltily. “The tape ran out. It didn’t record.”
My hands clench and unclench under the desk. “For fuck’s sake!”
“Are you saying you don’t think Bristoni’s behind this?” Liam raises an eyebrow. “Who else can it be?”
“It doesn’t fit with what I’d expect from him, but that doesn’t mean it’s not him.”
“I can’t see who else it could be.” Oscar frowns. “What happened to Steve isn’t public knowledge.”
“No, it’s not,” I agree, my mind ticking over. “The only people who know are within the firm or...”
“Steve’s fucking brothers!” Liam roars.
“It’s not them.” I know Joe Farrow is mightily pissed off with me and lays the blame for Steve’s death at my door, but I don’t believe he’s pulled something like this.
However, that’s preferable to the other embryonic theory growing inside me. And that’s one I need to immediately ignore. This shit is making me paranoid.