Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
“Then don’t.” I respected Ariel’s opinion, but she needed to back off. This was my life—I was gonna fuck whomever I wanted.
Her eyes widened immediately. “We lost four men because of her.”
“She told Joseph not to come, but he did anyway.”
“And you believe her?” she asked incredulously. “The woman who staged a coup behind your back?”
“She didn’t stage a coup—”
“She fucked your brains out until you trusted her—”
“Don’t. Fucking. Interrupt. Me.” I rose to my full height, provoked and angry. There was nothing I hated more than disrespect. While Ariel was vital to my success, she worked for me—not the other way around. The scotch was mine. The royalty was mine. She was just a partner—an employee. “I’m aware of all the ramifications surrounding London. I’m aware she lied to me. I’m aware of everything she’s done.” I worked my jaw to control my anger, feeling the need to spit fire at her. “But I want to be with her. She loves me, and I love her. She has no other motive to be with me other than love, so I trust her. She won’t interfere with our business. And she would never be disloyal to me ever again.” I watched Ariel’s face darken in more anger as she held her tongue. “That’s how it’s going to be, Ariel. You may as well accept it.”
“I don’t accept it, Crewe. How can I do business with someone who thinks with their dick and not their brain?”
My hands gripped the edge of the desk. I was much gentler on her than I was on other employees because she was a woman, but if she wanted to play rough, we would play rough. “Then maybe you should leave.”
“I think I will.”
I continued to wear my poker face, but the statement was like a punch to the gut. She and I were a perfect team. She was just as ruthless, determined, and ambitious as I was. I’d never met a more intelligent businessperson in my life.
“I could’ve dealt with that little whore being your wife, even if she ruined my chances of capitalizing on our business. But after what she did, I can’t tolerate it. I can’t work in the garden every day when there’s a snake slithering around.”
“Don’t call her that again.”
Ariel held her ground, unflinching. “What’s it going to be, Crewe? Her or me.”
“There’s no choice. She’s my lover, and you’re my partner. I don’t have to choose.”
“Yes, you do. I can’t work under these conditions. I don’t trust you, Crewe Donoghue. I no longer trust your judgment. It’s completely impaired. The second a hot piece of ass walks by, you can’t think straight. I need a partner more focused than that.”
“I’m still not going to choose.” I kept my voice steady even though I wanted to scream at her. “If you want to leave, that’s your decision. I’ll pay back your investment in the company as well as a severance. What’s it going to be?” She believed in my scotch and in my intelligence organization. She knew I was an exemplary business partner, London excluded. She was walking away from both wealth and security.
“I’ll be back tomorrow with my lawyer.” She turned around and walked to the door, her hips swaying.
I called her bluff and realized it wasn’t a bluff at all. My eyes watched her walk away, but I kept a straight face. “London did nothing wrong.”
Ariel stopped at the door and turned around. “How can you say that?”
“She did what she had to do to survive. Neither one of us can judge her for that.”
“But I judge you for allowing her to survive. You should have sold her to Bones because she fucked with all of us.”
“If I remember correctly, you were in handcuffs and London freed you.” London didn’t owe Ariel anything, but she helped her when Ariel had been nothing but cold to her. That kind of compassion was nearly nonexistent.
“And if I remember correctly, she was the reason I was in handcuffs in the first place.”
“She took me to the hospital. She could have just left me to die, but she didn’t.”
“But she let you get shot in the first place.”
All of her responses were black and white. “She asked Joseph not to hurt me or any of my men. It’s not her fault he didn’t listen.”
She released a cold laugh. “No, Crewe. Everything is her fault.” She threw the door open and stormed out.
I slowly sank into my chair and stared at the open doorway. Her heels clicked against the tile of the grand entryway, and I listened to the sound until she walked out the front doors. When she was gone, I knew she wasn’t coming back.
My best employee just quit on me.
I’d been a businessman long before she came around, and I would still be a great one with her gone. But that didn’t erase the scar her departure left. Her words sank into me like bullets in the flesh. My life was uneventful before London got off that helicopter. But the second she was a part of me, everything began to change. I lost my judgment, and now I lost someone close to me.