A Million Guilty Pleasures: Million Dollar Duet (3 page)

“You stay the fuck away from her! Do you hear me?” He seethed, his words forced through clenched teeth as he pointed a finger in my face. “Stay the
fuck
away from her! That is your one and only warning, Stone. I swear to God, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

Mistake number three: terroristic threatening. I might need to get a protection order, you know, because I was terrified for my life and all and shouldn’t have to be subjected to a hostile work environment.

I flashed him my winning smile because I had him just where I wanted him. It was exactly that sort of emotional reaction I’d always warned him about when it came to getting attached to women. He wasn’t on his A game, wasn’t thinking clearly, and he certainly had no idea that he’d given me all the ammunition I needed to ambush him and steal away his pride and joy. Scarlet Lotus was mine for the taking. And take I would.

His cell phone rang. For a moment, he looked like he wasn’t going to answer it, but then he swore under his breath and finally backed away, restoring the flow of air through my trachea. I did my best to cover my cough as I rubbed at the
spot while he answered his phone. Crawford was no wuss. I knew if we ever went toe-to-toe in a physical altercation, he’d be a formidable foe, but no way was I going to let him know that.

“What?” he barked into the receiver.

I ignored him and started toward the elevator because, quite frankly, I was bored with him. I already had what I needed and still had that appointment, so …

“Polly, slow down. Who?… Dez? Who the fuck is Dez?… Shit, no … Oh, God, no. Where is she?… No, no, that’s fine. University?… Okay, just calm down. I’ll call Daniel, he’s on staff there … Yeah, go … Just go be with her, Polly.”

I had no clue what that one-sided conversation was about, but then again, I didn’t really give a fuck. As the elevator dinged and the door opened, he looked back at me briefly and then pulled the phone away from his ear. “I meant what I said, David. Stay away from her,” he warned again.

“Oh, yeah. Sure thing. You have my word.” I gave him a mock salute as the doors closed. He knew there was nothing doing, but it sounded like he had his hands full with whatever crisis that little gnat had called him about. Which just gave me a wide-open berth to take care of business.

Down in the parking garage, I climbed into my red Viper and cranked the custom stereo before I peeled out of the parking garage with tires squealing. All the more inadequate modes of transportation on the road ahead of me split like the Red Sea to allow me passage. It was plausible that it was just the fact that traffic was normally sparse on an early Sunday morning, but I’d like to think it was because I was a fucking god behind the wheel of that piece of masterful craftsmanship.

“That’s right, you sad bastards … make room for greatness.”

I pulled into the parking lot of Foreplay, a popular party spot for the college kids—and a place with big business deals that had been successfully kept on the down low. So down low they were underground. Hos and schmos on the top, real-life whores and business moguls in the pit. It was the perfect framework.

I walked up to the back door and gave two knocks in rapid succession, six in a heartbeat rhythm. Right on cue, Terrence answered the door.

“Mr. Stone! Right on time, as usual,” he lied convincingly. I was at least twenty minutes late, but like I said, time stood still for David Stone. “Come in, come in.”

I stepped inside the dark entrance and inhaled deeply. “Aw, the sweet, sweet smell of pussy and money in the morning,” I crooned. “Is there any better combination?”

“No way, man.” He laughed and clapped me on the back. “Mr. Christopher is waiting for you.”

Flashing my award-winning smile, I said, “Of course he is. I know the way.”

He nodded and went about his business as I walked down the corridor to Scott’s office and stepped inside without even bothering to knock. Scott was kicked back in his chair, smoking a joint. The day’s take was spread out on his desk along with blocks of the latest shipment that he’d yet to distribute to his runners.

“Hey,” he lazily greeted me, his eyes barely slivers through squinted lids as he exhaled his ganja smoke.

I shut the door and shrugged out of my jacket before nodding to the fluffy white lines of snow he’d arranged on a little rectangular mirror. “You started the party without me?”

“Just thought I’d get the sample ready in advance.” He sat up and butted the joint in the crystal ashtray on the corner of his desk, and then started shuffling the ledgers before him.

Scott Christopher was my business partner, though for my part it was silent. Foreplay belonged to him, but I provided the financial backing and most of the clientele for his trade business. Two trades, to be exact: sex and drugs. Scarlet Lotus was my main source of income, but the auction and cocaine padded my pockets. Nicely, I might add.

Fuck those amateur pimps and dealers on the streets. That was nothing more than chump change. We catered to the elite.

Although I had a solid investment in his dealings, the only reason Scott was able to attract the rich and powerful was through me. Nose candy was the hang-up for a lot of well-to-do types, and I had my finger in the punch bowl on that one. An entrepreneur like Scott would never be able to approach men of the same caliber as the ones with whom I associated. Many of my business luncheons and hobnobbing with clients and prospective investors for Scarlet Lotus provided me with a little side action to boot. My promise of discretion was what brought the big fish in for a nibble. Once they sampled the goods, their business was hook, line, and sinker. They only managed to go deeper inside after that, securing a bit of pussy to satisfy their needs in whatever way their pervy hearts desired. We had a little something for everyone.

The cherry on top was that I knew all of their secrets. I smiled in their faces, shook their hands, and patted them on the back. But at the end of the day, I’d stab them in it if push ever came to shove and mine was against a wall. The need for contracts meant there was a paper trail, proof of their scandalous behavior. However risky those documents were, our clients considered it a worthwhile liability in exchange for the goods. I considered it a surefire bet they’d be team David when I made my move to take Scarlet Lotus for my own.

I loved my fucking life.

“And how are the numbers looking on our other venture?” I hung my jacket on the coat rack and walked over to test the sample of coke for myself.

Bending over the desk, I took the straw and put the tip to my nose and the other end at the base of one of the sculptured lines. Once I closed my other nostril with a finger, I shut my eyes and inhaled the superior white powder. Although it felt like fine sand being shot up my nose, the cut was so pure there was no burn, only an immediate numbing and the high that would make Mighty Mouse feel like the Incredible Hulk.

I slowly opened my eyes as the sensation took the fast track through the rest of my body. “Oh yeah, baby. That’s the good shit right there.”

On a normal day, I’d feel like I could take on the world. Put a little of the devil’s dandruff up my nose, and I knew I could not only take on the world, but the universe as well. The rich and powerful craved that feeling, became addicted to it. Given our clientele, it was no surprise our hugely successful and highly profitable cocaine biz was the envy of street dealers the world over.

I took a seat and propped my feet on the corner of Scott’s desk. He looked irritated, but he wouldn’t say shit about it. “So, the numbers on the auction?”

“Spectacular, thanks to the virgin on the block, but that’s nothing compared to my other news.” His face lit up with a devious smile. “I’ve got an interesting bit of information for you.”

I arched a brow at him because he was acting like a man who suddenly knew all the answers in life and was about to make me a deal I wouldn’t refuse. “Is that right? Do tell.”

“How about if I just show you?” He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a manila folder that he slid across the desk.

I chuckled when I saw the name Delaine Talbot written in red on the tab.

I could practically see that sexy little smirk on her face from the Scarlet Lotus Ball when she’d torn me down. It gave me some serious wood. I knew word of mouth had been spreading among our customers and their colleagues, so I got pretty fucking curious as to the reason Scott would be holding a folder with my future conquest’s name on it. I flipped it open and scanned the singular document inside.

A satisfied smile crept over my face when I scanned what appeared to be a contract promising two years of Delaine’s life to one Noah P. Crawford. “Well, fuck me. Noah, Noah, Noah,” I tsked.

“Thought you might like that,” Scott said with a self-satisfied grin.

“Why didn’t you tell me this was going down?”

“I didn’t know he’d be here. He’s smart. When he called
in, he did it anonymously. Wouldn’t give me his name, only a number and a very particular interest. A virgin. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever hear from him again because the odds of finding a virgin desperate enough to put her innocence on the menu are nil to none. And then Delaine Talbot,” he said with a wave of his hand toward the folder I was holding like it was the holy grail because it fucking was, “signed up on the day before the auction.

“I called him up, and he told me he might make the auction and that I should reserve a room for him just in case. Imagine my surprise when Noah Crawford walked through those doors.”

“Yeah, I bet.” I laughed as Noah’s signature stared back at me, right alongside Delaine’s.

I closed the folder and pushed it back across the desk. It took everything in me to do it, but at least I knew where the contract was and had access to it at any time. Scott would never hand it over to me to use in my conquest to blackmail Crawford into giving up his half of Scarlet Lotus. That would be too risky for the rest of his business. All of it: the auction and the coke. Not to mention his suppliers and the power players involved in every aspect would get twitchy if they thought he’d gotten sloppy and their dirty deeds were in danger of being exposed. It was best not to spook them.

I just needed to figure out a way to make my newfound knowledge work in my favor without risking life and limb in the process.

“If you decide to tell Noah you know, you keep my name out of your mouth,” Scott said, putting the folder back in his desk. “And if he figures it out, you better make damn sure you
give me a heads-up so that I can clean house. I mean it, Stone. These people I deal with do not play well with others.”

“You worry too much, Scotty. Crawford isn’t about to step into a light that is unfavorable to him. Besides, I’m pretty sure I know how to get what I want without bringing you down in the process.”

I wasn’t confident my plan would work, but the important thing was that I had finally won. What had happened between Noah and me back at the office earlier that morning was my word against his. And although I would have had a valid case and would have thoroughly enjoyed dragging his name through the mud, there was no way I could prove what had happened. But this? There was just no denying this. I had it all in writing.

Scarlet Lotus was as good as mine.

Lanie

Why were hospital rooms always so cold? It was like death’s cruel hand had reached in and stolen all the warmth out of the place. No matter how warm and inviting the hospital attempted to make the room that was likely going to be the last your loved one would ever see, the realization that someone you cared about was in their last days, hours, or even minutes made the décor irrelevant. And then there was the smell: chemicals mixed with bodily fluids, sickness, and death. It made it too real, and I wanted to run away as fast as I could, find Noah, and just not deal with the very real possibility that I was going to lose my mother. But I couldn’t. For one, I would never forgive myself if these were in fact her final hours and I wasn’t there, and second, Noah had rejected me. Besides, it would be like running away from one problem only to have to face another that might have been every bit as hopeless. I was where I needed to be.