Loving a Bad Boy (11 page)

Tex looked at one of the print-outs and slid
it to him.

His brows shot up. “Twenty-one thousand
dollars! How long this been going on?”

“
Five years. At least
that’s how long Simmons has been with the company,” Tex said,
looking at the files.

Julio looked at the square displaying the
total reimbursements. “This had to be more than office
supplies.”

“
Yeah. There are trips,
airfares, hotels, car rentals, that kind of thing. He, I mean she,
probably met Carlos at some of the company events when he had no
real business there.”

“
Stayed at an alternate
hotel.”

“
Yeah, flew in
commercially instead of company jets.”

“
Why did he need a damn
car?” Julio asked, still not able to call the man a
woman.

Tex stared at him and burst out laughing.
“Uh, maybe to get around town while he waited for Carlos to find a
free hour or so. Just because he’s a man, doesn’t mean they cheat
differently than with a woman.”

Julio huffed. “Still this is just a burp in
the big picture. It explains why Carlos is acting like a douche,
but I’m not sure this is what’s got Roberto worried. Gotta be
something bigger.”

“
Agreed. Twenty-one thou
over five years shouldn’t be a red flag, but who knows. Maybe Pops
wants to put pressure on Junior to stop before he gets killed by a
crazy father-in-law.”

Julio cursed, knowing that was a valid
point. “And he wants me to be the one to rein the little punk in.”
He shook his head. “I hope you're wrong. Cause that’s gonna piss me
off big time. If we spent hours going through this shit just to
bust his boy, cause he’s too scared to do it himself, I'ma put my
foot up his ass.”

Tex laughed.

“
I’m serious. Waste of
resources, straight up. All he had to do was pull me to the side
and tell me what the deal was, you feel me?” He asked as Tex
sobered. “Tell you what, I'ma put a stop to some of this shit
tomorrow. Cut back on their access to money. Teach them to play
with me like this.”

“
They’re going to fight
you on this.” Tex nodded at the paperwork as he gathered the files
together.

“
I love a good fight.”
Glad to have something concrete to sink his teeth into, Julio
picked up his phone and left the room. In the privacy of his
bedroom, he placed a call. Thirty minutes later things were set in
motion; hopefully he could prevent a blood-bath. It was still up in
the air, Francisco refused to agree to everything he'd requested,
and that was not a good thing at all.

Chapter 6

“
When have you been home
last?” Tara, Pam’s niece, asked as they walked through the lobby to
catch the elevator. It had been a long week. Her brother had sent
her a text informing her his oldest was stateside and would be
paying her a visit. He hadn’t said much about the girl, only that
she was a little headstrong and attending a Historically Black
University (HBCU) in Daytona Beach.

Uncertain how much assistance she could
offer long-distance to someone only a few years her junior, she'd
agreed to meet Tara earlier today to go shopping and hang out. Tara
had been a delightful surprise. Stylishly dressed in a designer
sundress and fashionable heels, she looked as though she had just
stepped out of a fashion boutique. Plus, she had a warm smile and
pleasant personality. They had gotten along so well, that Pam had
invited the younger girl back to her place for a home cooked
meal.

“
It’s been a few years,”
Pam said. It had been sixteen years exactly since she had been to
Cat Island, but for some unfathomable reason she didn’t want her
niece to know that.

“
You talk to Pops a
lot?”

Startled to hear her daddy referred to as
pops, Pam chuckled thinking the name suited him. “Nah, not really.
We don’t agree on a lot of things, it’s best we keep conversation
to a minimum.” She made a locking key motion in front of her
mouth.

“
He’s an
asshole.”

“
What?” Pam laughed liking
her niece more each minute.

“
That’s what mama told
daddy. They got into a big argument over it. He has this big house
right on the water but won’t let anybody come over. I met a lady
who worked for him once,” she snapped her finger and closed her
eyes in concentration, “Can’t remember her name, now. She was nice,
but once he found out she had lunch with me he put a stop to it. I
thought she was going to quit, she was that mad.” Tilting her head
to the side, she squinted as though she could see through the
closed elevator door. “Wonder what happened to her?”

“
She his girlfriend?” Pam
asked not bothering to hide her curiosity. If the old geezer had
moved on, he might be willing to give her some answers. Not that
she’d hold her breath waiting for them. He’d refused to speak to
every investigator who went to the island.

Tara laughed. The high pitched, giggly sound
surprised Pam. She stared at the younger woman with a raised
brow.

A look of horror crossed Tara’s face. “Hell
no! She was a little older than you. She worked there doing…” She
frowned a few moments before shaking her head. “I can’t remember
what she did, but she spoke real good. Probably went to college or
something. Maybe she was his assistant.”

Pam spun toward her. “Assistant? What would
he need an assistant for? He doesn’t work.” She asked curious.

Tara laughed. “He works. I don’t think he
has too though. Daddy works for him, makes good money too. He not
the only one either.” Tara eyed her. “You really don’t know much
about him, do you?”

Pam shook her head, wishing the elevator
would hurry and arrive. “Nope. However, I have survived so far,”
she quipped.

“
For real, your daddy’s
loaded.”

“
Money?”

Tara nodded. “Yeah, he’s got it going on
over there. They treat him like a king.”

“
Really?” Well that
explained why none of the investigators ever gleaned any
information when they visited the island. Hell, she wished she’d
known this a couple of years ago when she began her
search.

Tara nodded. They’d treat you the same,
you’re the only girl he has. And you’re short and cute too, hell
you’d be a hit with the guys. You should go over, chill out on the
beach, revisit your birthplace, reconnect to your roots.

Pam stared at her niece a few minutes. The
idea to pay the island a visit raced around her mind. She could
take Mike, they could ferret out information together. And if Tara
was right, people would talk to her.

“
Everybody’s short
compared to you, Amazon queen.” Tara laughed as she looked in the
mirrored elevator door. Tara’s flawless dark brown complexion
glowed with health and vitality. The short pixie haircut fit her
heart-shaped face. Pam pointed at her. You, tall, dark, and
stacked. Me, shorter, dark and stacked. We’re both
queens.”

Tara turned sideways. Pam copied her
movement; they stood back to back looking at themselves, and burst
out laughing. Pam struck a gunslinger pose. Tara copied her
movements just as the elevator door opened.

Tara opened her mouth, but she didn’t speak.
Straightening Pam followed her stunned gaze.

Standing, legs braced, hands behind his back
resting on the rails, stood Tex. He looked just as good now as he
had then. She smiled and walked inside, Tara trailing.

“
Hey.”

“
Hello Ms. Pam.” Although
he spoke to her, his eyes were on Tara.

“
Well, hello,” Tara said
in a husky tone as she moved forward into the elevator. “I had no
idea anyone under the age of forty lived in this
building.”

The man chuckled, displaying even white
teeth.

“
Hey,” Pam protested,
grinning.

“
I meant other than you.”
Tara corrected without so much a glance in her direction. She and
the guy blatantly checked each other out.

“
Hey,” the guy finally
said.

Pam pushed Tara out of the way so she could
tap the button to their floor.

“
What’s your name?” Tara
asked, her eyes glued to his muscular chest.

“
Tex. What’s
yours?”

“
I planned to introduce
you guys, but…” Pam shrugged. It was obvious an introduction was
superfluous.

“
Tara, you know my Aunt
Pam?” Her eyes slid to Pam’s before turning back to Tex. “You never
said there were hot guys living in the building,” Tara said, and
then stepped closer to Tex and fired off another question. “How
long have you been here?”

The elevator stopped at the next floor. Pam
and Tara moved further back to make room for the couple entering
the car.

Pam listened closely, wondering if he knew
the Latin hunk she’d been thinking about since that day in the
elevator. She found herself comparing the two men. Both were tall,
dressed well, smelled good, and had an elusive air of bad-boy about
them. This one didn’t seem as cruel as the Latino. Not that she
thought this one was a saint, his kick-ass persona dared anyone to
take him lightly. But that primitive take-charge energy that she
was drawn to, was missing from their elevator mate. There was an
aura around the Latino, like he was a throwback to another era
where men settled disputes in a less civilized way that snagged her
attention.

Now, that’d be an interesting
coincidence.

“
A l’il over a week.” He
glanced at Pam when the couple got off at the next floor. “She’s
your aunt?” There was definitely a question in his voice, with a
hint of disbelief.

Pam chuckled, but continued to stay out of
their conversation. At the mall, Tara had shown her that she had a
mind of her own, and when she wanted something, she’d go after it.
She glanced at Tex. He looked like he could handle her niece and
then some.

Tara smiled. “Yeah. My Pops is old, but he
still throws down. Soooo… I’m new to Miami, is there anything you
recommend I see or get into while I’m here?”

It wasn’t what Tara said
as much as how she said it that had Pam biting her lower lip and
looking at the floor. The girl was all but offering herself on a
platter to a stranger.
How much longer to
their floor
?

Tex chuckled. “I’m sure there are a few
places I’d be happy to show you. How long you gonna be here?” The
elevator door opened. Pam hesitated. What was she supposed to do
now? Her brother had asked her to look out for his kid, but Tara
was very knowledgeable when it came to men. Probably more than her.
Still undecided, she stuck out her hand to reopen the doors as they
closed.

“
I’m in college in
Daytona, but I come to visit on the weekends. My aunt is a great
cook.” She paused. “Hey, come have dinner with us. I bet you
haven’t had a home cooked meal in a long time.”

Pam tensed. Tara had never eaten her
cooking, and while she was a pretty decent cook, it would’ve been
polite for her niece to gain her permission before inviting a
stranger into her home. They would definitely talk about this.
Tight-lipped, she stepped out the elevator, followed by Tex and
Tara.

“
A home cooked meal?” His
disbelieving tone caused Pam to stiffen further.

Privacy be damned, cooking and feeding
family and friends was part of her culture. She turned and looked
up at him. “Yes. I enjoy cooking and it would be nice if you’d join
us. I’m going to put these heavy bags down and finish supper.” She
walked a couple of steps, stopped and turned. “Come on in, it’ll be
fun.” At least she hoped so.

He tore his gaze from Tara and nodded at
her. “Okay, and thanks.”

The moment Pam opened her door, the smell of
pot roast assaulted her senses. Diamonds had their place, but crock
pots were a working girl’s best friend. After depositing her
shopping bags onto her bed, she headed for the kitchen to wash her
hands. As she entered the living area, Tara and Tex walked in,
talking in hushed tones.

“
Dinner will be ready in
about twenty minutes.” Her thoughts settled on the side dishes she
needed to prepare. Every so often, she heard her niece laugh aloud
and smiled. Hosting his daughter and a stranger for dinner probably
wasn’t what her brother had in mind when he'd asked her to look
after his kid. But at least Pam knew where Tara was and that she
had eaten a good meal. She chuckled, imagining her brother’s face
as she offered that explanation. Herald would blow a
gasket.

Tough.