Stingray Billionaire: The Complete Series (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (61 page)

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

Lexi

Instead
of going home, I walked over to Peter's office. His receptionist said he was in
a meeting, but told me he'd be done shortly, so I sat down and waited for him
to finish. The phone call from Josh had opened a wound that was still way too
fresh and I felt the anger begin to surface as I thought about him. He'd dumped
me and then called to ask for my help! What nerve!

"Ms. Wallace?
Mr. Baxter will see you now," the receptionist said, pulling me out of my
rumination.

"What? Oh,
thank you." I got up and headed down the hall to Peter's office.

"Well, well,
well, if it isn't my favorite star!" Peter smiled as I entered the room.

"Yeah, I bet
you say that to all the actors on your roster," I grinned. "But
thanks for making me feel special."

"I do try to
make everyone feel good, but not everyone is a star," he laughed.
"Come in and sit down; what's going on? How's the job going?"

"It's good. I
like Max, he's a nice guy," I said trying to keep everything on a
professional level. "The store is beautiful and the things he's imported
are exquisite. I think he'll be able to find someone in no time, but it's nice
to be helping out while he looks."

"Great
review, now tell me what's really going on," Peter said as he reached
under his desk and pulled out what was probably his tenth diet soda of the day.
On an average day, he'd go through a case of it. I wondered if the chemicals
were what kept him looking so young at fifty.

"What do you
mean?"

"I mean, now
tell me what's really going on," he repeated popping the top on the can
and drinking deeply. When he finished, he set the can down and gestured at it.
"Want one?"

"No, I'm
good, thanks," I shook my head. "Peter, everything is a mess. Josh
called me at work and asked for money, and I lost my cool."

"In front of
the Malinchenko guy?" he asked.

"Who?"

"Max, your
boss," he said as he looked at a stack of papers on his desk and began
tossing sheets in the trash. "Did you lose your cool in front of
him?"

"I guess so,
but I was quiet about it," I said. "Wait, I thought his last name was
Malin."

"Ah, so he
took my advice," Peter nodded. "Look, kid, that little piece of crap
McLean is a nobody. Don't waste your time crying over him. He's a third rate
actor who is going to get nothing but crowd-filler parts. You're the
professional. You've got skills and a chance to do something big."

"He's not a
third rate actor, he's got a pilot in LA!" I cried. "He dumped me to
move there for a sitcom!"

"Kid, you are
far too gullible," Peter said as he stopped sorting papers and looked at
me. "That guy doesn't have a part in a sitcom. I talked to his agent two
days ago, and he said that he had told McLean that if he wanted real work, he
was going to have to get to a big city."

"You meant he
didn't have a job?" I said. I was stunned that Josh had not only lied to
me, but that he then had the nerve to keep the lie going. How blind was I to
believe him?

"Nope,
nothing," Peter answered. "Now you, you are a different matter. Are
you ready for your audition this weekend?"

"I've been
running my lines with Viv and I think I'm ready," I said. Peter loved Viv
and was always trying to get her to consider a career in acting, but she didn't
have the patience for all of the auditions, so she kept turning him down.

"You've
really got a shot at this one, kid," he said. "I'm not kidding, this
part is one of the big ones and I think that if you can land it, you'll get the
attention you deserve. Plus, it's a six-month run at top pay!"

"Yeah, and
you get ten percent of it, don't remind me," I said with a grim smile.

"C'mon, isn't
this all worth it?" he said spreading his arms wide and looking around the
small office. "I mean, we have a classy operation going here!"

"You're too
much!" I burst out laughing as he leaned back in his chair and put his
hands behind his head. "But yes, you are definitely worth it."

"All right
then, you get out there and nail that part, kid!" he smiled. "I have
faith in you!"

I left Peter's
office feeling better about my chances of landing the role in the play, but
worse about what had happened with Josh. I walked home, and by the time I
opened my front door, I had put the drama of Josh McLean behind me and was
looking forward to my audition.

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

Max

My
brother's visit to the store left me feeling enraged by my father's empty
promise, and I needed an outlet for my anger. I had my driver take me home,
where I quickly changed into shorts, a t-shirt, and my favorite running shoes,
and headed out to the lake for a long run. I thought about all of the ways in
which my father had lied to us over the years as my feet pounded the pavement.

Usually, running
was my outlet for frustration, but this time, the farther I ran, the angrier I
felt. I felt betrayed and foolish that I'd trusted my father to be true to his
word. I should have seen the deception and I beat myself up for not having
thought of all the angles before I'd gone to see him. I felt abandoned, and
more than anything, I missed my mother. She had always been the one who had
reminded me of the good things about my father, and she'd been the one to
soothe hurt feelings on both sides of any disagreement. She loved us all so
much, and right now, I wished she were there to help find a way to stop my
father from forcing me to do something I didn't want to do.

"Damn him!"
I muttered as I opened the front door to my apartment.

"What did you
say, darling?" Natalia said, emerging from the kitchen carrying two
glasses of red wine and wearing an outfit that was definitely designed to
attract attention.

"What are you
doing here?" I said. I was irritated that she'd let herself in without
calling first, but I'd given her a set of keys, so I had no one to blame but
myself.

"I'm here to
help you, Max," she purred as she set the wine down on the table in the
entry and moved toward me. She was wearing a form-fitting black blouse that
emphasized her large breasts, a short, black leather skirt that looked like
she'd been sewn into it, and a pair of black suede boots that stopped just
below the skirt's hem to give a glimpse of the lacy tops of her thigh-high
stockings and the garters that held them up.

"You look
like a walking felony," I said as I tossed my keys on the table next to
the wine and walked toward the bedroom.

"Thank you, I
think," she laughed as she followed me. "What's wrong with you, Max?
Why are you so uptight?"

"I've got a
lot on my mind, Nat," I said as I pulled off my t-shirt and shorts and
prepared to step into the shower.

"My God, you
are an exquisite man," she said as she leaned against the doorway and
watched me undress. "I can never get enough of that body of yours."

"Good to
know," I said tersely. "Mind if I take a shower now or do you need to
ogle me a bit more?"

"Oh, I'd like
to do much more than just ogle you, Max," she grinned as she walked across
the room. I felt myself becoming hard as I watched her hips sway as she walked.
She was undeniably sexy, and without the cover of clothing, I couldn't hide my
response. She looked straight at me as she dropped her voice, "You like
what you see, do you?"

I said nothing; I
, simply dropped the clothing I'd been holding and reached out to roughly grab
her so I could pull her against me. She let out a throaty laugh as I wrapped an
arm around her waist and pulled her against me. I grabbed a fistful of her
shiny, black hair and pulled her head back before grinding my lips against hers
in a brutal kiss. She responded by reaching around and digging her nails into
my back and running them all the way down the length of my body.

I growled as my
hands groped her body to find the hem of her blouse and yanked it up over her
head. I dug a hand into the lacy fabric of her bra and pulled out one of her
breasts before lowering my head and sucking hard on the already engorged
nipple. She moaned and grabbed two fistfuls of my hair, pulling hard as we
battled for control of each other's bodies. I could feel her need as I yanked
her skirt up and pushed my hand between her legs, and as she groaned, I pushed
her panties to the side and shoved her back against the wall. I gripped her
waist and quickly lifted her up onto the dresser before roughly spreading her
legs and plunging into her warm, wet opening.

She moaned as I
entered her and then pushed her hips forward to meet my thrusts, digging her
nails into my shoulders. I held her waist and rammed myself into her over and
over again as she groaned and urged me to do it harder and faster. I felt
myself lose control as I took out all my anger, rage, and pain on her body. She
cried out for more as I thrust into her more violently, seeking relief from the
feelings that were threatening to pull me under.

I could feel
myself getting close to the edge, and I tried to hold back long enough for her
to reach the peak first, but I was too far-gone and in an instant, I felt
myself letting go and falling over the edge. I could feel myself releasing
inside her as I remained buried in her warmth. A wave of heat passed through my
body as I jerked and throbbed. I could hear her moaning softy as she ran her
hands down the length of my back and pressed her cheek against my shoulder.

"Wow, that
was some run you must have had," she laughed softly when both of us were
breathing normally again.

"Are you
okay?" I asked as I rested my head on her shoulder and breathed deeply.

"Yeah, I'm
fine," she said, patting my head. "The question is whether you are
okay or not."

"I'm
good," I nodded.

"Then, let me
get off of this dresser. My ass is getting cold on this glass top," she
said, lightly smacking my shoulder.

"Oh, sorry.
Here, let me help you." I stepped back and helped her down off of her
perch.

"Are you sure
you're okay, Max?" she asked, looking at me with a great deal of concern.
"That was pretty intense."

"I'm okay,
Nat," I nodded. "I've just got a lot on my mind with the store
opening tomorrow and my family stuff."

"Was your dad
responsible for that shooting?" she asked as she located her blouse and
pulled it on.

That was the thing
I loved about Natalia. She understood my family situation because hers was very
similar. Her father had defected and moved the family to Chicago around the
same time my father had moved us here. When I was with Nat, there was a lot I
didn't have to say. She understood the
vory
v zakone
and she was just as wary of it as I was, only as a woman, she was
expected to marry one of the
bratán
,
whether she wanted to or not. Us getting together solved a host of problems for
both of us, and the friendship had lasted because we both knew that we didn't
want to get sucked into the thieving life.

At one point, when
it looked like she was going to have to marry a guy who was a high ranking
captain in her father's gang, I asked her to marry me. She turned me down,
saying that she knew I loved her, but that we weren't like that and to pretend
that we were was a lie she just couldn't live with. Soon after, she convinced
her father that she wasn't cut out for marrying anyone and went off to college.
By the time she returned, her father had been killed in a dispute over a
shipment that hadn't contained what was promised. She mourned the loss of her
father, but was glad to be freed from his iron rule.

"I don't
know, Nat," I shrugged. "He might have been, but I don't think it was
him this time. I think he's lost control of the younger ones and that's why
he's cracking down on me and Kristov." I told her about my father's
promise and my brother's visit to the shop.

"Man, that's
fucked up, Max," she said shaking her head. "What are you going to
do?"

"I don't
know; what can I do?" I asked. "I'm going to run the shop for as long
as I can, and then when things get unbearable, maybe I'll just disappear and
never come back."

"I'd miss you
if you did that," she said punching me lightly.

"I'd take you
with me, if you wanted to go, Nat," I told her. "And, you know
that."

"What, and
leave all of this?" She grinned. "Nah, I'm good. Pop left me enough
money to last me a lifetime and the
bratán
now know that I'm off limits. I couldn't leave Mama or Babi. How would they
survive without me?"

"Good
point," I nodded. "But still, the offer stands."

"And, I love
you for that, Max," she said standing on tiptoe to kiss my cheek.
"You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

I pulled her to me
and held her tightly against my chest for a moment before letting go and
heading into the bathroom.

"What do you
want for dinner?" she called on her way out of the bedroom. "I'm
thinking Italian. How does that sound?"

"Order
whatever you want," I yelled. "I don't care."

I stood under the
hot water for a long time, letting it pound on my head as I tried to figure out
how I could extract myself from my father's plan to pull me into his business.
I couldn't see a way out that would allow me the freedom I desperately desired.
My worst fear was that I would have to drop everything and simply disappear,
but I knew that if it came down to it, I would choose disappearing on my own
terms over those of my father.