Chapter Two
WARREN
I spot the car keys on the table as I leave the office.
Leoni’s car keys. My jaw tightens. Surely, she wouldn’t be stupid enough to walk out after what I said.
Then again, this is Leoni we’re talking about.
I sigh, snatch the keys off the table, and shove them into my jacket pocket. I’ll deal with her tomorrow.
Tonight, I’ve got other matters to handle.
The boxing gym is heaving with young lads full of testosterone, grunting and flexing in front of the mirrors. The smell of sweat and cheap deodorant hangs thick in the air.
Alfie greets me with a firm handshake. “What brings you here, boss?”
I take my time answering, letting my gaze drift around the room before fixing him with a hard stare. “Your boys are getting lazy,” I say flatly. His face twitches. “I thought sending Anthony to check in would be enough, Alfred,” I add, my voice low, deliberate.
He swallows. “Shall we step into my office, Warren?”
I follow him inside. Calling it an office is generous; it’s more of a storage cupboard filled with old gloves, paperwork, and broken gear. The space feels smaller with me in it.
“I know they can get a little–” he starts.
“Greedy?” I cut in. He nods quickly.
“But I told him, I said Mr. Baxter wouldn’t be happy, and none of us want that. He’s just–”
“Stupid?” I finish for him. Another nod. “And we’re talking about Isaac, right?”
He hesitates, just long enough to confirm I’ve hit the mark.
Alfie’s been running the boxing gym since I was a kid. I used to come here after school with my mates and watch my father train. He was a brutal fighter, ruthless, efficient, and it made him enough money on the underground circuit to buy himself respect and a hell of a lot of power.
I followed in his footsteps for most of my youth, mainly because I didn’t know what else to do with all the aggression inside me. These days, I don’t fight competitively anymore, but it’s still there, coiled under my skin. I doubt it’ll ever go away.
Back then, I had no idea Alfie was dealing out of this place.
Whatever you wanted, he could get it. As I got older, I started to notice things, like how the kids who trained here never stuck around long, how they always seemed to have money, phones, and a new pair of trainers every few weeks.
Turned out, they were runners. Moving product for Alfie, who was moving it for my father.
I was eighteen when I found out the truth, my father was the mastermind behind the whole operation.
What I don’t get is why he keeps Alfie and this gym around now that we’ve made it big in the corporate world. It’s not like we need the pocket change the gym brings in. And lately, its cash flow has dropped.
If it were up to me, I’d shut the place down. The real money’s in clubs and bars, partygoers and businessmen desperate for the high we provide. It’s pure, it’s clean, and it’s delivered quietly. We’ve got systems now, proper channels, people who know what discretion means.
But Alfie? He still relies on the same hoodrats who’d sell their gran for a quick quid.
Alfie sighs heavily, suddenly looking much older than his sixty-three years. “He’s taking over, Warren and I’ll admit, I’ve lost control over him. He was too keen and wanted too much. Maybe he saw your father’s rise and realised what could be achieved?” says Alfie thoughtfully.
I roll my eyes. “His time is up, Alfie. I’m bored of his name cropping up.” I head for the door. Isaac needs to realise just who he’s messing with.
LEONI
The front door to my apartment opens and closes. My younger brother appears looking tired and stressed. “Lee, tell me you cooked something good for dinner?” he groans, making his way to the kitchen. I glare after him.
“You know, it wouldn’t hurt for you to take off your tatty trainers before walking on my fluffy cream carpet,” I say to his back.
I follow him and watch as he opens the fridge, groaning louder.
Honestly, he’s like a child. “I didn’t cook because I’m going out for drinks with Court and thought I’d eat out. ”
“Aww, man. I’m so hungry.”
“Go home and bug Mum. You don’t actually live here!” I remind him.
He settles for a bag of crisps. “Mum’s working late. She told me to get a takeout.”
“Yet you came here?”
“Isaac is back home. He’s pissing everyone off, including me and I can’t take it. I need to stay here for a few nights.”
I shake my head. “No way. I came here to get away from you guys. You’re not following me!” I say, my eyes wide. “Why’s Isaac home anyway?”
My big brother moved out of the family home six months ago. He got a new job and was soon flashing his cash around like he’d won the lotto.
“He’s looking for a new place.”
I wince. “Maybe I’ll be doing the same soon.”
Jordon looks at me for a second. “But you only just moved here.”
“I kind of walked out on my job today. My boss is a complete arse and I’ve had it.”
His eyes bug out of his head. “But you had a company car, and you could afford this place. Why would you leave? Mum’s gonna lose her shit. Both her older kids coming home. Christ, I can’t wait to tell her.”
“Please don’t tell her yet. At least let me see if I can find another job that pays just as good.
” Even as I say the words, I know it’ll never happen.
Men like Warren Baxter hire secretaries who know how to do the job.
I got the job by fluke. Mr. Baxter Senior walked in halfway through the interview I was royally fucking up, and told me I was hired.
The office manager looked just as surprised as me.
I didn’t hang around to find out why he’d chosen me.
I tip the red sticky shot down my throat and wince. Drinking on a work night is something I’ve never done, but now that I’ve quit, I’m making the most of it.
I bang my hand on the bar, counting to three, and cheer loudly as Courtney drinks hers. “My boss is looking for dancers,” she suggests.
I screw my face up. “You’ve seen how clumsy I am. No one will pay to see me make a tit of myself on stage.”
She giggles. “I would.”
“That job was so perfect for me,” I wail.
“That job was so out of your league, more like. Christ knows how you got it with no experience.”
“I have experience,” I protest, and she laughs harder.
“Filing your mum's bills is not experience.”
“My mum’s very particular about her filing system. She said I did a good job.”
“And she changed it all around after you left. Look, go back and tell the guy you’re sorry. You did spill coffee on his expensive carpet.”
“And his desk,” I add.
“Jesus, Lee, you’re so bloody clumsy it’s not even funny. Can’t you get lessons or something on how to behave normally?”
I scowl playfully. She’s known me for eleven years.
She joined the school I was at, when we were both sixteen.
We’ve been firm friends ever since I tripped over and fell into her, shoving her against one of the hottest boys in the school.
After that, he asked her out on a date, and he was her first kiss. All thanks to me!
WARREN
I watch with envy as Anthony smashes the rubber mallet against the lad's kneecap. He cries out in pain, sending a thrill right through me. I love inflicting pain. I always have. Mum once said it was a trait in killers. I took that as a compliment, although I don’t think she meant it that way.
These days, I have to take a back seat from the violence.
It dredges up feelings I can’t control, and I get an unhealthy thirst. So, I settle for watching.
“Now the other,” I say, and Isaac yells out a string of curses.
“How can I earn if I can’t use my fucking legs?” he yells.
“By crawling,” I hiss, and Anthony brings the mallet down on his other kneecap. “We’ll drop you off near home, so you don’t have to crawl too far,” I add, standing and straightening my jacket. “Don’t ever say I wasn’t generous.”
Anthony drives us to the rougher side of London. It doesn’t surprise me. Most of Alfred’s lads live here. It’s a bunch of high-rise flats we call The Jungle. I open the car door and kick Isaac onto the ground. “Next time I won’t be so forgiving,” I warn, slamming the door closed.
I find my brother in a bar. It’s where I always find him. A blonde female in a barely-there dress is sitting on his lap. I laugh as I take a seat at his VIP booth. “You think you’re Hugh Heffner,” I state, and he shrugs with a smirk on his face.
“Your point?”
I pour myself a glass of Champagne from the ice bucket in the centre of the table and look around the slim pickings of women dancing around the VIP area. It’s sad, really. All desperate to get picked up by a rich guy.
My eyes land on a brunette across the dance floor. I know that backside. The way she moves, hips swaying, shoulders loose, it hits me like déjà vu. When she turns, I inhale sharply.
Her hair’s down tonight, not pinned back like it usually is.
Loose curls tumble over her shoulders. Her face, usually bare, is flawless, makeup softening her edges and highlighting her eyes.
And that dress, it clings to her curves like a second skin, showing off legs I’ve definitely never noticed in the office.
What the fuck am I thinking?It’s my useless secretary.
Her friend catches my eye and flashes a flirty smile. I return it, a rare thing for me, and nod to Anthony. He unclips the red rope, letting them through.
“I’m Courtney, and this is Leoni,” the friend chirps as she drags her over.
Leoni’s too busy eyeing up Anthony to notice me, her frown deep like she’s trying to place him.
“I’m Warren,” I say smoothly.
Her head whips around. The second she sees me, her expression shifts from confusion to pure venom.
“Warren,” she hisses, spitting my name like a curse.
Courtney glances between us, wide-eyed. “The Warren?”
“The one and only,” I reply, offering a lazy smile. I shuffle along the booth to make space, and Courtney slides in beside me. Leoni remains standing, arms crossed tightly over her chest.