Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Don’t bother. I have another two cases in the vault, and then five more from the next year. Besides, I got something far more valuable today.”
It may have been petty, but I loved rubbing salt in his wounds, especially if I was the one who had wounded him.
He rose again like he had too much anger running through his veins to sit still. He paced like a caged tiger in the circus, pretending he was still a predator and the ringmaster hadn’t had his teeth pulled and his claws clipped.
Once he’d placed his empty glass on the mantel, he turned to me as he cupped his right hand over his left fist. “This stunt of yours was childish and beneath you, Manwarring. As my rival, I’m going to crush you now.”
“Marksen, you have never been my rival,” I partially lied. “To be a rival, you’d have to be at my level. Had you married the Astrid girl, maybe her connections would have made you more of an annoyance, but…well, I guess we all know how that went for you today.” I grinned as I took another sip.
“You don’t mean to actually marry the girl?” He continued pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace with his jacket open and his hands on his hips.
I shrugged. “And why not? Now my family’s legacy is protected, and I have a beautiful new fiancée who will soon be my wife. Her brother will eat dinner at my table. Just think of all the influence that will give me. Influence that would have been yours. It really is great timing. We are looking at opening a few new warehouses and could use her brother the DA to help overlook a few details.”
He rubbed his hand over his jaw. “We used to be friends.”
“We did, so imagine my surprise when my friend openly went after my family’s legacy. If we were such good friends, you should have known better than to get in between me and what is mine.”
“It’s not like the fucking whisky business even nets a worthwhile profit,” he said, proving he knew nothing about anything.
This business was at the heart of everything my family had built.
“It’s just fucking business.”
I stood and met his aggression. He had forgotten who he was dealing with if he thought his insults would go unnoticed or unanswered.
“You’re right, it’s just business, my business. You thought you could take me out, you thought your balls were big enough to take me on, so you struck, and I struck back. Harder. I protect what is mine, and now that includes the pretty little girl your daddy bought and paid for.”
He scoffed and turned away from me.
I grabbed his arm and yanked him back. I wasn’t done.
“Now, because you weren’t man enough, that pretty little girl is going to spend the rest of her life bouncing on my cock, grateful she got to marry a real man who doesn’t need her family to make business deals on his behalf.”
He smirked. “I was man enough for her last night. Good luck enjoying my seconds.”
I bared my teeth at him, reminding him while I may be dressed as an aristocrat and educated as a gentleman, I could, and would, hold my own in a fight.
More importantly, he knew I didn’t fight fair.
Now he knew that went for business as well as my personal life.
We were squaring off in one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, let alone New York City, and while fights were not a normal occurrence, you couldn’t have so many world leaders, so many power-hungry men trying to screw each other over, and not have the occasional scuffle break out. After all, millions had been gained and lost in this room.
Fortunes rose as legacies died.
“Gentlemen, if your intent is violence, we ask that you please refrain from fighting in the lounge and instead move to take this outside.” Jonathan, one of the hosts, came over to defuse any tension.
“That won’t be necessary, Jonathan. We were just finishing up. Isn’t that right, Marksen?” I straightened my tie and tipped more whisky into my mouth, taking a moment to savor the smooth-aged liquor.
The complexity of the vanilla, tobacco, and hint of spice always hit just right.
Marksen crossed his arms, pulling tight at his suit jacket. “I’m just getting started with you.”
“There is just one insignificant problem with that, Marksen. Business 101, you have no leverage over me.”
I drained my glass, turned it upside down, and slammed it on the table as I turned to leave. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have a wedding to plan.”
As I crossed the threshold, he called out, “You’ve forgotten one thing in planning this revenge stunt of yours, Manwarring.”
I stopped and turned my head, barely glancing over my shoulder, keeping my back to him. “And what is that?”