Chapter 49
CHAPTER
FORTY-NINE
WRATH
Leaving Elodie in the bar, alone, is the last thing I want to do, but when your president wants to have a meeting and debrief, that’s exactly what you do. Even though Elodie has questions, valid ones, the club and my president come first.
I walk into the office and move to the middle of the room, then turn around and face Dare. I watch as he closes the door behind him, flips the lock into place, then turns to face me.
Obviously, he doesn’t want anyone interrupting us. He wants the full details. I’ve got prospects cleaning up the body in the outbuilding. At this point, his body is probably already submerged in the drum of hydrochloric acid.
Tomorrow, the drum will be buried.
Nobody will be any the wiser.
“What's the damage?” he asks.
I shrug a shoulder, run my fingers through my hair, and tug on the strands as I flick my gaze up to meet his. The fact that I have to explain to him about how I fucked up, how I got greedy, and I didn’t do my job isn’t appealing.
“The damage is that dispatch and the fire department did exactly what they were supposed to do. Nobody was hurt, and the building looked like it was a complete fucking loss. Except—the guy who hired us isn’t the owner.”
“What?” Dare hisses. “Not the owner?”
“Not the owner,” I confirm. “Apparently, this was a revenge hit. His wife left him, used their divorce money to invest in this event center with her new man. I didn’t look into the paperwork he showed me.
I was so fucking pumped about the cash payout that I didn’t even vet it properly. This shit is on me.”
“Fuck,” he grinds out. “Gotta say, though, those kinds of dollar signs, I don’t know that I would have done anything differently.”
“He’s taken care of,” I state.
Dare dips his chin in a nod. “What a fucking cluster,” he murmurs. “And the girl?”
I know he’s asking me about Elodie. I should tell him to fuck off completely. That’s my personal life and has nothing to do with him. But that would make me an asshole, and as much as I strive to be an asshole, I don’t want to be one to my president.
“The girl is not a loss at all. In fact, she’s going to be winning soon.”
It’s a good shift in the conversation, and I have to admit that I’m glad to get this bullshit of a night done and over with. I’m ready to talk about something other than my gigantic fuckup, something that I want to forget ever happened.
It was just a few hours wasted, and a building torched, but you know… no harm, no foul—except for a dead fuck in a drum that’ll be buried come tomorrow.
Dare snorts, and I decide since he’s fucking with me, I’ll start fucking with him. “How’s the princess?”
His brows snap together, and I realize that I might have said the wrong thing. Apparently, we can’t fuck around about Chassis. He tilts his head to the side. I watch as his arms cross over his chest, his chin dipping slightly as his gaze connects to mine.
“She’s difficult. I’m trying to figure her out.”
My brows lift immediately at his words. Obviously, things are not progressing the way he thought they should.
Or maybe they aren’t at all. As much as I want to grab Elodie and carry her off to bed, I need to make sure Dare is good before I do any of that.
Because, make no mistake, that will be happening—soon.
“You need to talk about it?”
His lips curve up into a grin before he continues. “Yeah, let’s sit down and discuss it over dessert. I have hours of conversation to get through.”
Taking a step backward, I flip him the bird. “Fuck off,” I grind out.
He opens his mouth and busts out laughing. “Go to your woman. We’ll talk about the contract tomorrow.”
“And the princess?” I ask.
He shrugs a shoulder. “Whatever happens with that is gonna happen. The last thing I want to do is make her miserable. Figure she’s been through enough. I’m here to protect her, however that looks.”
“You don’t need to be miserable either.”
Dare’s lips twitch into a smirk. “No worries on that. I got this.”
I don’t believe him, but I’m also not going to question him or his manhood. If he wants to tell everyone he’s got this, when I know he wants to be buried inside that woman, then I’m not going to say shit. At least not yet. Hopefully, they’ll work their shit out before I have to say something.
“Okay, church in the morning? I guess I gotta confess that I fucked up our big payday.”
Dare grunts, but thankfully doesn’t rub salt in the wound. I don’t know how to make this shit better. I fucked up, big time, and I let the whole club down. I’ve got to find enough jobs to make this up.
“Ten,” Dare confirms. “I’ll send a group text.”
I give him a wave and leave the office. As much as I want to stand around and shoot the shit, I’ve got more important shit to do… like Elodie.