7 Degrees of Alpha (a collection of seven new BWWM, Alpha Male Romances) (24 page)

“Are we really going to keep coming here?” Lori asked him, bringing him back to the present.

He was pretending to be engrossed in his newspaper, looking at stock numbers he had already reviewed on his iPad before he left his condo. It was rudimentary he knew, but he had to do something to take his mind off of Nyla.

Without looking up at Lori, he replied, “You didn’t have to come, Lori; I tell you this every morning, but still you make it a point to meet me here.”

“Well, unfortunately, this seems to be the only place I get to see you
and
talk to you outside of your office,” she retorted quickly. “Besides, I’m hoping that you’ll quickly satisfy your slumming
need
and stop coming here altogether.”

Finally, he moved his eyes from the tiny print and placed them on her.

“Lori, no one’s keeping you here. It’s obvious, you’ve satisfied your
own
need. I’ve been seen and we’ve talked. You can put yourself out of your own misery and leave knowing that you’ve accomplished what you set out to do.”

“Well, actually, I haven’t accomplished what I set out to do. I haven’t experienced the full force of your winning personality so I can get through my mundane existence. So, I think I’ll stick around and-”

Andrew’s focus habitually shifted from the ramblings of the blonde sitting across from him to the familiar impatience of waiting. He was just about to turn and look for
her
when suddenly, as if on cue, his heart rate started rapidly beating against its cage.

Oh, yes, there she is.

He closed his eyes and consumed her being as she stood watching him. He knew she was watching him. Not only did he feel it but he also sensed it; her craving for him, her longing.  Instead of reacting to her arrival, he brought his distorted focus back to his paper. 

Concentrate, damn it,
he told himself.

He felt her come closer to his table, keeping her heavenly honey eyes on him the whole way, he knew.  She placed a coffee cup in front of him and as she poured, she said smiling, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” he replied in his usual clipped tone.
Why are you such an asshole?
It wasn’t on purpose he knew, however he’d been this way for so long, he didn’t have a clue how to be different.

“Are you going to have your usual?” she asked him, ignoring his bluntness. Hell, she was too busying trying not to notice the moistness that he produced in her by just being close.

“Yes, and can you tell the cook to sauté the mushrooms a little longer this time?” Andrew turned the page of the paper as nonchalantly as he could, keeping his eyes on the small meaningless black and white print. 

“Yes, of course. Anything for you, miss?”

He glanced at Lori and groaned inwardly as she produced a placid smile that typically provided a false sense of pleasantness to anyone it was directed to. Unfortunately for Lori’s victims, they didn’t realize her true colors until it was too late.

“Yes,” Lori said as Nyla greeted Lori’s smile with one of her own. “Can you please bring me fuel and a match so I can light this hideous place on fire; putting everyone in here out of their misery?”

Andrew sighed and gave Lori a reproachful look. “Don’t be a bitch, Lori.”

He then shifted his eyes back to the useless paper and added absently, “Don’t worry about her, Nyla; she’s just here to be a reminder that birth control was a breakthrough in medical science and should be used all the time.”

He heard Lori suck her teeth; the likely response from her. Who remained quiet was Nyla. He didn’t hear a sound from her, nor did he see her move from his peripheral. Shit, he knew that sometimes his humor could be cruel and offensive. People that knew him expected some crass or harsh words from him, but Nyla didn’t know him. He’s behaved for weeks, not showing the bastard side of him too early and here he almost blew it.

What also bothered him was the length of the silence, so he risked looking at her and found her eyes were wide as saucers.  It was then that he realized what he had done. It wasn’t the sarcastic joke he told; it was the fact that he used her name.

Fuck.

They didn’t wear nametags in this place, so there was no way he could justify knowing her name. He had actually drilled one of the bus boys that he caught outside of the diner one day about her. He didn’t learn much about her but her name, which was enough for him.

Andrew shifted in his seat, thinking he would have a lot of explaining to do and was getting ready to change the subject when, in a blink of an eye, she changed. She started to shake slightly, which he caught instantly, and fear seeped through her pores like an alcoholic would reek of his favorite elixir. 

What the hell?
he wondered silently.

Andrew followed her eyes to two men that stood in the doorway of the diner, both he recognized and both were looking over at Nyla.

“Um, your order will be right up. If you will excuse me,” she said, not looking in his direction, and moved quickly to the kitchen. 

Andrew watched her disappear, then focused his eyes on the two men that had caused Nyla to scuttle away in fear—Robert Downs and John Michaels. Downs was a millionaire twice over, who was born and raised in the area. He and his family were very successful in the commercial property industry and owned quite a few business properties in the city. The Downs’ were the celebrities in the town, gaining respect and influence throughout the city. Andrew believed that Robert, however, gained his stardom by riding on his father’s coattail.

Robert didn’t do anything that would warrant his success or wealth. Robert’s power was only present because of his last name. He believed people cowered to him and gave him what he wanted because of who he was. Robert Downs felt everyone owed him everything, and he owed nothing.

Andrew hated the son of a bitch. He was well aware of what Downs was made up of and knew his reason for being here couldn’t be good for Nyla.

Nyla emerged from the back of the diner with her apron removed. She passed Andrew, chewing on her lower lip, twisting her trembling hands, seemingly concentrating on putting one foot in front of her. She met the two men at the door and led them to a booth on the other side of the diner. The trio sat down; Robert sitting on one side of the table, Nyla on the other, and Michaels sitting between them, bringing up a chair from another table.

Andrew tried not to stare, but he couldn’t help it. He wondered what the hell Michaels was up to.  John Michaels was the king of slime and evil.  He was a corporate attorney to all of the spawns of satan that lived in the city. He was known to have only the elite as his clientele.  Andrew knew that Michaels being there couldn’t be good either, and seeing the uneasiness in Nyla’s eyes told him that his suspicions were accurate. He also wondered what Robert had to do with Nyla. Downs would never bring himself to come on this side of town, much less in this diner to socialize.

He kept his eyes on the three, and even though they spoke in hush tones, he could see that Nyla was clearly affected by the presence of both of these men.

Another waitress came by his table and placed his omelet in front of him. He mumbled an incoherent, “Thank you,” and absently started eating, never moving his eyes from across the room.

“God, Andrew, can you please hurry up so we can get out of here,” Lori complained, but again Andrew ignored her.

As always, his focus was on one person, and, seeing the distress on her face and the sneaky slick way Michaels was leaning into her, he could tell something wasn’t right. He could sense it. A slow, uncontrollable rumble permeated deep within him. It grew in strength and volume in his throat, and he didn’t stop it, not when it grew deeper and not when it slowly escaped his mouth.

The sudden fear that arrested Lori’s body also didn’t stop Andrew from letting his true being take over. Nyla needed him. Everything in the diner fell away, leaving only Andrew, Nyla, Michaels and Downs. Andrew then noticed Nyla’s facial expression change from the simple look of nervousness and trepidation to total panic and fear. She shook her head back and forth fervently and buried her face in her hands. 

That’s when Andrew had enough and moved quickly in her direction.  When he got close, he saw Michaels push a document over and a pen.

“Trust me; this will be better for all parties,” Andrew heard him say, as he smiled, smooth as the snake he was. “It’s very simple and once you sign, this nightmare of a situation will go away. However, if you don’t, this deal will never come a- Hey, what the-”

Michaels’ eyes widened at the sight of Andrew as he snatched the paper from under Michaels’ grip and started reading.  Andrew said quickly, sliding next to Nyla, “I know you’re not speaking to my client without me being present, Michaels?”

He felt Nyla’s eyes on him, but he kept his eyes on the paper in his hand.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he heard Robert boom. “Nyla, you fucking stupid whore. Didn’t I tell you…?”

Andrew’s head shot up sharply, eyes narrowed, and anger drenched in them. “Call her a whore again and you’ll be eating my fist and this bullshit ass motion for breakfast.”

Robert frowned, but he didn’t say another word. Andrew then put the paper down, grabbed Nyla’s hand and stood.

“This meeting is over.”

“Wait. No, please,” Nyla said to him, trying to move her hand from his, but Andrew didn’t let go. 

Andrew directed his attention to Michaels. “I can’t believe you came here with this bullshit. You’re really asking my client to give up her rights to this self-righteous son of a bitch?  Get out of my sight with this now, before I rip this immoral and unlawful shit and shove it down both your throats.”

Michaels shook his head and stood, not quite meeting Andrew eye-to-eye. “Pierce, you always manage to stick your nose in matters that don’t concern you. I know for a fact she doesn’t have a lawyer.”

“Yes, she does. She retained me about an hour ago.  I was trying to enjoy my meal before I came over here, but, apparently, you either didn’t wait for my client to inform you that she had representation or you never asked, which I have to call into question any other paperwork you had her sign in the past.”

Michaels looked down at Nyla and smiled, void of all emotion. “Clearly, this is bullshit. And let me remind you what we discussed before.  You could lose big time if you-”

Andrew’s expression viciously darkened even more, causing Michaels’ words to fall away swiftly. Andrew moved closer to Michaels, pulled Nyla to her feet, and protectively shifted her behind him.  Andrew shifted his eyes to Robert, then back to Michaels, never easing the intensity and anger from them.

“Understand, gentlemen, that from this day forward, you will not speak to my client again, do you understand? Try and bully her, and it will not end well, I assure you.  I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt now, but this is my first and last warning.” He again moved his eyes between both men before saying, “You don’t want to test me.”

Robert, trying to salvage what little dignity he had left, retorted, “You’ll be sorry you ever stuck your nose in my business, Pierce. Do you have any idea who I am and who my father is? I’ll have your job, your license-”

Andrew laughed interrupting Robert’s rant. Andrew shook his head. 

“It’s apparent you don’t have a clue who you’re dealing with, so let me re-introduce myself.” He reached inside of his suit jacket and pulled out his card. He placed it on the table in front of Robert, but spoke to both men.

“My name is Andrew Pierce. I have no conscience, and I have no fucking problem burying you without a second thought. So if you think of coming after me, make sure you come for me with everything you have.  Because
I will
come after you with everything
I
have and more. I will embarrass you, take you for everything you have and leave you with nothing, not even the clothes on your fucking back. By the time I’m done with you, you won’t know what end is up. Come after Ms. Montgomery and her daughter, and my words will be the least of your problems.”

Michaels’ eyebrows furrowed as his eyes moved from Nyla back to Andrew. Andrew met his gaze unwavering. He knew he could be very intimidating with just his steely gaze, but on this occasion, he used his size, eyes and aggression to bring home the point that he was no one to fuck with.

Jaws clenched, eyes cold, hard and flinty, Andrew bit coolly, “I expect to hear from you soon.”

“You don’t know what you’re getting into, Pierce,” Michaels reiterated slowly.

Andrew chortled, humor nonexistent, “Oh, but I do. The question you should ask yourself is why I’m so confident, besides the fact that I’m arrogant and a certified son of a bitch.”

Michaels’ demeanor suddenly went on heightened alert. He was very familiar with Andrew Pierce’s reputation. Pierce was one of the best attorneys in the state. “The Hatchet” was what they called him and he lived up to that name ten times over. Pierce
was
an arrogant, son of a bitch that rarely played by the rules. He was as ruthless as they came. There were times Pierce made decisions to destroy companies in ways even he never thought of and Michaels knew he could be as cold and callous as Hitler himself. He had also seen Pierce show leniency in the past, something that Michaels, himself, didn't believe in. Michaels wasn’t a slouch himself; he was one of the best too. He was acquired by the filthy-rich and successful because they knew
he
was the best. Michaels protected them. It was his calling to do so. He had a certain set of skills, manipulation and backstabbing, and used anyone he could to get to the top and helped other people in his status to do the same.