Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 105813 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105813 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
When Trent led me to the lobby, I gave him the last of my folders. Documents that held all the unsavory evidence against his wife, Nicola, as well as Dalton and Kathleen Baskel. When he’d snatched them away, he ordered me to stay like a damned dog and strode off toward the boardroom.
Adding to my annoyance was the babysitter who arrived seconds later. A burly guy with a piece holstered at his hip, big arms crossed over a barrel chest, his suit-clad back holding up the wall beside the elevator. For twenty minutes, his tough-guy stance and watchful eyes broadcasted, Just try to get past me.
Fuckever. I said I wouldn’t leave without the CEO position, and if the board wanted to pow-wow behind closed doors, so be it. In the end, they’d offer me the job.
Right about now, each of them was likely paging through his or her own personalized folder, scouring the brief but detailed accounts of their criminal histories. Arbitrage, laundering, insider trading, commercial bribery, embezzlement, harassment…murder.
Which brought my thoughts back to Kaci Baskel and Collin Anderson. How far did the apples fall? Their criminal involvement was purely speculative on my part, their activities hidden behind Trenchant’s firewalls. I didn’t have portfolios built against them because I hadn’t been able to mine anything beyond a few suspicious transactions. Were they merely pawns? The next generation of Trenchant corruption? Or were they kept in the dark?
I wanted to assume they were innocent based on the non-evidence, but I didn’t trust my investigative skills. Most of the shit I had on their parents came from my mother, and I knew it was only a small fraction of their crimes. How much more was I missing?
The contract is void if she cheats on my son.
Memory flooded my body, her lips on my cock, her cunt clenching around my fingers, her sassy comebacks, the way she defiantly demanded I hand over the RFID reader. I couldn’t decide which was hotter, when she melted in my hands or when she chased after me with an iron backbone.
My pulse elevated, and pressure swelled in my groin. Nine months of build-up, watching Miss Ducati from afar, had led to a landslide of desire and abandon. Hot, reckless temptation tainted with regret.
Regret of not finishing what we’d started. Regret of deceiving her the way she’d deceived me. Regret that she was married.
The surge of hunger evaporated, and instant anger took its place. Was her pussy so loose her family had to tie her legs closed with a contract? Why? What made her cheat? Was it a genetics thing? Like mother like daughter?
Nausea curled my stomach, and a sour taste filled my mouth. The damned contract was already void. Kaci had fucking cheated with me.
Scratch that. She’d cheated with Evader. She hadn’t met me yet.
I glared at Alicia until she jerked her attention from my mouth to my eyes. “Where’s Kaci Baskel today?”
Her curious gaze bounced over my face, down my chest then skipped away. A little too curious for my taste. No doubt she was wondering what was going on. She’d find out soon enough.
She tapped on the keyboard. “Off-site meeting until this afternoon. Would you like to leave her a message?”
Oh, I had a message for her. You were right. I lied. You suck cock like a pro. Too bad you’re an unfaithful slut. By the way, you won’t be getting that promotion. As your boss, I’m amending your job description. Every task is now prefaced with “On your knees…”
My stomach coiled with acid and excitement. I shook my head. “No message.”
Fuck, maybe I wasn’t being fair. Adultery was one thing, but this bitterness wasn’t new. I’d judged Kaci Baskel long ago for the crimes of her parents.
The existence of the contract nagged at me. Why would she have to negotiate anything? Was it her idea, a way to secure her promotion? Or the board’s requirement to ensure she remained faithful? Why did they care? Hell, infidelity was a minor infraction compared to her family’s crimes. If she were a member of their dirty club, the CEO position would’ve been hers without stipulation.
No, that wasn’t true. She could be a willing disciple, and they could be using contracts as a means to control her under the guise of testing her loyalty.
Alicia stood, figure-eight swishing her hips around the desk. “They’re ready for you.”
In short order, I had my empty messenger bag in hand, walking in step with her through a maze of halls and into a vast meeting room. There, I set my bag on a side table and stood before the Trenchant Board for the first time.
The door shut behind me, locking me in with the four pairs of flinty eyes. Shoulder to shoulder, they sat in their chairs, facing me with the table between us. Pinched lips, spineless backs at rigid attention, all in a fancy row of designer suits. Designed to make me feel like a man before a firing squad.