Billionaire Stepbrother - Secret Lives (14 page)

Monday morning came upon them like an inevitable plague. Even the weather outside seemed to know that something was about to go down. Cynthia looked out the window in hopes to see that the sun would peek out from behind the grey clouds, but instead was greeted by a flash of lightning followed by thunder that shook the whole apartment. Apparently, it was loud enough to wake Dante because he suddenly sat straight up next to her.

“Did I oversleep?” he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes, but Cynthia shook her head. She hadn’t gotten much sleep, so she’d been roaming the house and watching the storm all night. She’d even upset her stomach with the worry she had for Dante and his company’s future. She knew full well that Winslow did not know the definition of mercy.

“What time is it?” he asked, still seemingly concerned. She picked up her phone to show him that it was a few minutes before six in the morning. “Why don’t you lay down for a few more minutes, babe? I don’t have to be up until almost seven.”

She seethed quietly at the way he implied that he was the only one going to that meeting. He had spent the night before begging her not to go. He didn’t think she could handle being around Winslow. What he didn’t understand is that with Dante there she could handle anything, and no way was she letting him go to a chopping block that was created by her relationship with Winslow all by his lonesome.

“You mean
we
don’t have to be up until then. I’m going with you, end of story. That’s why I couldn’t sleep, why I can’t lay down.”

“Oh, babe, it’s way too early for this fight. Just come lay on my chest and rest for the next hour. We’ll worry about this then.” Cynthia was about to reply angrily, but then she looked over at him. His eyes were glowing in the dark and his messy brown hair was even more ruffled than normal. She reached over and ran her fingers through it, loving the fact that he was starting to grow it out for her.

She tried to relax, laying against his hard and warm chest, but her mind would not let it go no matter what she did. “I’m scared for you, Dante.” She said it almost inaudibly and wasn’t sure he heard her until he said something back.

“Why would you be afraid for me, Cynthia? I’m the big bad president of a notorious motorcycle gang. I own a huge corporation and spent a lot of my youth on the streets. This bad boy can handle himself. Besides, I doubt we’re talking about some kind of physical show down here. It’s only a meeting.” He let a little chuckle go, and she found herself in a sudden panic that was threatening to crush her chest.

“Don’t joke about this, Dante. There is nothing funny here. You don’t know him. You don’t know what he does. Winslow has more money than you or anyone else could dream of having. He’s like freaking Donald Trump or something. He eats companies like yours for breakfast. Buying places out and blackmail are his specialties. He will ruin you, your business, and your life without batting an eyelash. You have to let me go. Maybe I can do something to soften the blow.” She pleaded with him, desperate to get through his thick skull. Everything about the situation scared her. Winslow was up to something; she just knew it.

“What could you possibly do that I couldn’t other than fuck him, Cynthia? The damage is done, and I am at his mercy. All you would do is make everything harder because you would complicate the whole deal. Besides, what if he made a move on you in front of me or something? Then I’d have to kill him. Then where would we be?” She wasn't sure how much of that was a joke, but she knew he was right. It did sound like something Winslow might try to do, but she had to show her support for Dante. Her heart ached for him. His pain had become her pain. and now she knew why.

“Dante, I just can’t let you go alone. It's partially my fault that you’re in this mess. Maybe more than partially. And I want to be there with you. I need to be there with you.”

“Why, Cynthia? What is this obsession you have with going?”

“Because I love you.” It came out almost in a whisper, and for a moment she wasn’t even sure she had said the words out loud. It wasn’t a step they had taken yet, and things were so great. She was so afraid that those three little words were going to push him away where he was unreachable.

She looked at Dante who looked almost like he had been stunned, and she cowered from him. She had spoken way too soon, and she was bracing for the heartbreak.

Then, his callused hand slid over her cheek as his thumb caressed her skin. He kissed her gently on the forehead and then passionately on the lips. “I love you, too.” Her heart swelled with relief, and she tried to hold back tears of joy. She couldn’t believe he’d said it back. So, instead of reacting like a total girl, she took advantage of the moment, laying back down against his chest.

“Then, you’ll let me go with you. Even if you have me wait outside the conference room instead of inside of it; just let me go with you. I want to be there for you for this.”

She felt his chest rise and fall and was almost certain he was about to cave. “You can wait in the car.”

She wrinkled her nose in protest. “It’ll be all hot and muggy because of the rain.”

“Fine, you can wait in the downstairs lobby, but I’m not letting him anywhere near you. Do you understand?” Cynthia nodded as a smile came to her face. She had just won their first argument, and she had a feeling there would be many more to come.

The alarm on her phone blared into their ears at the same time loud thunder shook the building again. “Ugh,” they both groaned in unison, neither of them ready to get out of bed. They both slowly stood up and stretched before scooting their feet across the wood floor into the kitchen for breakfast.

“I’ll go shopping for us this evening, okay?” Cynthia offered as she poured the last bit of the Count Chocula into a bowl along with the milk that was fast approaching its expiration date. Dante gave a grunt that made him sound like a cave man as he emptied out the Corn Flakes.

Before she knew it, they kicked into high gear and began rushing around, bumping into each other, and trying to get ready to go. Being tired had made breakfast go so slow that they were running behind, and the last thing they needed on their plate was for Dante to be late for the meeting at Vosh. It was already bad enough just going in the first place.

Finally, they both climbed into his car with only a minute or two to spare as he started the engine. “Here we go,” he sighed.

She reached over and placed her hand on his right knee to give it a squeeze. That was exactly why he needed her with him; for moral support. “I’m here,” she told him. “And, I love you, Dante.” It felt so good to finally be saying it, to have that scary milestone over with. Never once in a relationship had she been the first to say it, but it was turning out pretty well. She never thought the first person she'd say it to would be her stepbrother, though. Certainly not in a romantic way. But they'd moved beyond that relationship. It no longer mattered.

“I love you, too,” he repeated before taking off to Vosh, where their future would be decided by someone with a lot of money and very little heart.

Dante rode the elevator up to the conference room at Vosh with a secretary as an escort. By the look her and Cynthia gave each other, he was almost certain it was the infamous secretary that had broken Winslow and her up. He looked her up and down to see what might be worth losing Cynthia over and didn’t understand. Her fingers and hair told him that she was a long time smoker, and her lips were always pursed like she was sucking on a lemon. Winslow must be crazy, and that didn’t help his nerves considering Winslow held the key to his company’s future in his proverbial hand.

The woman didn’t say a word as she led him into a room with barely any lights on and only three figures; Winslow at the head of the table with the men he had met the previous week flanking him on either side.

“Dante!” Winslow exclaimed in a booming voice, standing up to greet him. Dante just stared straight forward and stiffly shook his hand only for as long as necessary before taking a seat. It felt like his skin was crawling from just that brief exchange. It was going to be difficult to be civil with his guy, even for the sake of his company.

“So, what is this about? You made your intentions pretty clear the other day; give you my company or you’ll expose me.”

Winslow stared him down for a moment, the smile threatening to leave his face. “Want to get right down to business I see; a man after my own heart!” His fakeness bounced off the walls, and Dante felt like he’d eventually have to physically dodge the shit spilling from his mouth. “I hope you accept my apology, but I feel that my decision to give you that option was made in haste. After contemplating what it is I truly want, I’d like to offer you an alternative to that deal. How does that sound?”

Winslow had an open-mouthed smile which showed that he had a gold cap on one of his teeth. When it hit the light just right it was blinding so that Dante had to squint. “I think we both know I don’t have a choice, so why don’t you just continue so that we can both get back to work.” He said it as politely as he could, but it came out exasperated.

“Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to bear with me for a moment, Mr. Cross. I have done my research, and I want to make sure you understand that and that you’re getting a good deal. My associates here will take the floor for a moment while I check in with a client real fast. After all, they come first, don’t they Mr. Cross?” Dante gave a tight nod as Winslow left the room. What was this guy up to?

One of the men put on a pair of thin-framed glasses and rifled through papers before clearing his throat. It was like nails on a chalkboard to Dante. “Our client would like to inform you of the following. That he is aware of the new shares of stock about to go on the market and plans on letting his many associates aware of that fact. He knows that your net worth has recently gone up millions as well. Also, we are in talks with Mr. Tycochi to see if there is anything we can do for him.” The man tried to glare at Dante with the last part as if he was reading such directions off a script, and knowing Winslow he probably was. It made Dante instantly suspicious.

All the information that Winslow had about him and Essential Steel was insider information. Only three people in the company other than himself had access to such things. Someone from inside his own company was involved in all of this, and Winslow wanted him to know for some reason. He guessed that Winslow had at least some respect in business, if not much. He couldn’t say the same about his personal life, though.

Dante let out a deep sigh. Mr. Tycochi was a new client in talks with Cynthia about shipping parts to Japan to make and repair cars. He was going to really launch Essential Steel into the foreign market. Losing him could be quite devastating.

“I get the point. Where is your Winslow? I’m ready to make a deal.” It came out curt, but he didn’t care. The cowards in front of him were nothing more than a couple of nerds bullied into being this rich guy’s lackeys.

“He will be back in a moment. He is in a meeting with Mr. Tycochi as we speak,” the second lackey spoke. The first nudged him in the ribs. Apparently, he hadn’t gotten the memo that that was a secret.

Dante held himself back from running out of the conference room to find where Winslow was holding his very important client. He knew that a deal was going to be the only way out of it, and even then it would be difficult to maintain an amicable relationship. He’d have to learn to keep his mouth shut.

Winslow finally re-entered the room a few minutes later with a shit eating grin plastered on his face. “Excuse my temporary absence. Is everything squared away in here?” His two associates nodded as he took his chair at the head of the table again. Dante resisted the urge to fly at him and wrap his hands around his throat. It was a good thing Cynthia had agreed not to come up to the meeting. He wasn’t sure how she’d be reacting.

“Well, that’s good to hear. If you two will leave us; I think Mr. Cross and I are ready to make a deal.” They jumped up like they were being shot at and ran out of the room, leaving just Dante and Winslow who quickly dropped the fake smile. “I want Cynthia; plain and simple. I’m sure you knew that on some level. I made a mistake, and I want the chance to make it right. You have to break up with her and send her back my way to resume her job here at Vosh. I will offer her a comparable employment package. In return, nothing comes out about your secret life as a professional criminal, and your business stays intact.”

Winslow put his fist down on the table like a period while Dante sat there in shock. Of all the things Winslow could have asked for, that was the one thing he was not willing to give. Not only was she indispensable at work, but she was indispensable in his life. He loved her. There was nothing simple about that deal.

“I don’t know about that; I just don’t know. How much time do I have to think about it?” It came out in almost a whisper. What a ridiculous idea; gifting his girlfriend to another man to save his business and reputation. Maybe if he didn’t love her, if he had just met her, but he was too attached. He needed to buy some time, though.

“I can give you one week and no longer,” he responded matter-of-factly.

“Well, I better get to thinking.” Dante stood up, ready to leave before he did something stupid. He made it all the way to the door before Winslow approached him.

“Mr. Cross, no matter our differences, I appreciate you not bringing Cynthia with you.” It was the most vulnerable that man had ever and probably would ever seem. Leave it to a woman like Cynthia to bring the great corporate snake to his knees.

Dante nodded and walked out of the room. He couldn’t stick around any longer. When he reached Cynthia, pacing back and forth in the lobby, she wanted immediate answers. He led her outside and helped her into the car before saying anything. It wasn’t a conversation they needed to be having out in the open.

“So what happened?” Her eyes were as big as saucers as she leaned over and pressed her hand on his knee. She wasn’t going to let it go until he told her. It was an inevitable argument too; one he didn’t want to lose.

“He changed the deal. He had a new proposal for me.” He said it flatly, hoping that she’d leave it alone but knowing she wasn’t going to.

“What was the deal, Dante? Did you take it?” She seemed almost excited, like maybe he had softened the blow. She was dead wrong, though. Winslow had hit him where it hurt.

“He wants you.”