Chapter 14
Ethan: I need a massage therapist today. And get something from my doctor for muscle pain.
Rachel: Will do. Also, Petrov wants a meeting. He’s on his way to your office.
Ethan: Shit. It’s never good news.
Ethan
“That is absolutely the last time I kiss someone who has the power to torture me,” I say to the ceiling, leaning back in my office chair with a sigh.
Everything hurts. Calves, thighs, glutes, abs, lats, shoulders… every muscle I have, and a few I didn’t even know about.
Jamie punished me at boxing training this morning. She made me work so hard, I didn’t have any breath left to form words. And I’m sure that was intentional. She doesn’t want to talk about what happened between us. She doesn’t want to admit she feels something for me.
That’s okay. For now.
I can bide my time and wait until she’s processed it. Until she’s ready to do it again.
Rachel knocks on my door and puts her head in. “Petrov is here.”
“Send him in.”
A moment later, the head of my construction team strides into my office. He’s a burly man in his forties, his leathery skin tanned from years working on construction sites. As soon as I see his apologetic expression, I brace for bad news.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Kane,” Petrov says, leaning on the back of one of my visitor’s chairs instead of sitting in it. “We’ve been shut down again.”
I grit my teeth, shifting in my chair and wincing as my muscles protest. “Let me guess. Compliments of Miles Marzoni again?”
Petrov nods. “You know he’s got the OSHA inspector at our site, watching for every little infraction. This time, the inspector recorded a PPE violation.”
I frown, confused. “It’s not like you to let something slip. You usually follow every rule to the letter.”
“Yeah.” Petrov grips the chair back with both hands, shaking his head and scowling. “Damn inspector wrote us up because Barney wasn’t wearing a hard hat.”
I hiss out a breath. “Who’s Barney, and why wasn’t he wearing?—”
“Barney’s my dog.”
“What?”
Petrov lets go of the chair and throws his arms up. “My wife stopped by to drop off some lunch for me, and when she opened the car door, Barney jumped out. He was running around the site for all of twenty seconds, and the inspector slapped us with an infraction!”
“For a dog?”
“Can you believe it?” He puts both hands in his hair as though he’s going to start pulling out chunks of it.
“The inspector admitted quietly to me that he’s under orders to slow us down as much as he can.
This violation won’t stick any more than the others have, but you know the rules.
I’ve shut down the site while it gets reviewed. ”
“Shit.” I drag a hand over my eyes, silently doing the sums, figuring out how much this new delay is going to cost me. “How much longer can Marzoni keep this up?”
“I don’t know. But the inspector said his hands were tied. I’m sorry, Mr. Kane.”
“Not your fault, Petrov.” I sigh. “Talk to Harrison and see if he can use any of the team on our other sites. If not, may as well send them home. And check in with Rachel on your way out, let her know what’s going on.”
Petrov nods. “Okay, Mr. Kane.”
He heads out, and my office door snicks as it closes behind him.
“Fuck,” I say to the empty room. I worked out so hard this morning that it even hurts to clench my fists. But I clench them anyway, welcoming the pain.
It’s a measure of how much Miles hates me that he’s spending so much money to mess with me. The officials on his payroll look for every way possible to delay my projects. I can picture his satisfaction when he hears his guys shut my site down again, and the image makes bile rise.
I surge out of my chair, thighs screaming as I stand. I want to punch something. As sore as I am, I wish I had a second training session with Jamie.
The phone on my desk rings. It’s Rachel. She’s working from her office, which is next to mine, and she only rings when she has a phone call on the line for me. Otherwise, she’d buzz me on the intercom or come in to speak to me.
I pick up the phone. “Yes, Rachel?”
“Mr. Kane, Princess Ulrika is calling.”
Sinking back into my chair, I take a moment to calm myself, then say, “Put her through.”
There’s a click, then the Princess’s voice. “Hello, Ethan?”
“Princess,” I say evenly. “What can I do for you?”
“Like I said at the gala, I want to talk business. Are you free for lunch?”
I glance at my screen, looking at the day’s calendar. Rachel has just added the massage session between other meetings, so the day looks full.
“Not today,” I say.
“Oh.” She sounds disappointed. “But you’ll want to hear what I have to say, Ethan. I have some exciting opportunities on offer, and I’m looking for a partner.”
Though I want to hear her proposal, I already have several projects in the pipeline and no spare time to tackle anything new. “Thank you for considering me, but I’m afraid I have limited?—”
“Wait,” she interrupts. “Before you turn me down, you should know that I have connections in high places. I’ve fostered relationships that are…
beneficial. My friends smooth my path, helping me make a lot of money.
They could do the same for you. With your business acumen, and my inside knowledge, we’d make an unstoppable team. ”
I absorb this in silence.
I could be wrong, but what she’s talking about doesn’t exactly sound legal. I’m not comfortable with that.
On the other hand, Miles is also acting illegally, paying off officials to slow me down.
Being born rich means he knows all the right people, and I can’t do a damn thing about it.
Thanks to his daddy, he’s untouchable, and no matter how big my fortune, I’ll never have the old-money network that Miles inherited.
Only, now the princess seems to be offering me a network of my own.
“I’m curious,” I say slowly. “I’m not making any promises, but I want to hear more.”
“Good.” She sounds delighted. “I’m throwing a party on Friday night, and some of my influential friends will be there. You must come. I’ll introduce you, and we can talk more.”
“Okay. Send the details to Rachel.”
“I will. See you then, Ethan.”
Once I hang up, I buzz Rachel on the intercom. “Rachel, what do I have scheduled for Friday night?”
“A fundraiser,” she says. “It’s one of the functions that the PR firm arranged for you.”
“Cancel it. Princess Ulrika invited me to a party. She’ll send you the details.”
“What about Jamie?” Rachel asks. “She was supposed to go to the fundraiser with you.”
“I’m sure the princess won’t mind if I take her to the party.”
“Okay, Mr. Kane.”
I click the intercom off and sit back in my chair, thinking about why I’m so eager to take Jamie with me. She has strong opinions about what I do and has made her feelings clear. Including her when the princess is trying to involve me in some kind of sketchy business might not be a good idea.
But I still want her with me. I enjoy her company. I’ll have a better time if I’m at the party with her.
I’m still mulling it over when there’s a soft knock on my office door. I tell whoever it is to come in, and it turns out to be Steve. He’s carrying an envelope, his expression grim.
“This just arrived, boss,” he says. “It’s another threat against Jamie.”
I take the envelope and open it. Inside is another photo like the others I’ve received, but this one has something red splashed all over it.
My heart stutters as I stare at the red stain, the whole world going still. “Is that… blood?”