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“Can you please give me five minutes of your time?” Hale sneered.

Finished with his fucking attitude, but needing to know what he wanted, I said, “Enough of this shit. Get in the fucking office.”

Not giving a fuck if he followed, I turned and strode to my desk, sitting down and swiping the pile of invoices off my desk and into my drawer before closing it. I also shut off my monitor.

B followed suit. He didn’t trust the man any more than I did.

The silence grew as he took a seat in front of my desk and stared.

“You’ve wasted five minutes of our time. Get on with it,” B demanded.

Not enjoying being told what to do, Hale glared at B before he cleared his throat and started the spiel he came here for.

“I’ve talked to several real estate developers who will sign a multi-year deal with your company, with the option of prosperous bonuses for jobs completed before the deadline.”

I scoffed before I asked, “In exchange for what?”

“Two conditions.”

I glared at the man and knew the precise first condition he’d demand.

“I’ll say this one time before we address your offer,” I growled, but made sure Hale Aalto met my eyes before I continued. “Phoenix is a grown man. He’s creative, intelligent, independent, and protective of those he counts as his friends and family. Despite you doing your best to tear him down and shape him into something he most definitely is not, he’s grown into a lovely and caring man who we love more than life itself.”

“Your point?” he sneered.

“His fight is our fight. For a reason I can never fathom, you want to destroy him and everything he’s worked for. Even after he became a successful real estate agent, when you told him time and time again he would fail at it. But you underestimate him, and us, for that matter. People are loyal to you because they benefit from the business relationship. But loyalty only reaches so far, as you’ll soon find out. So lay out your stipulations.”

I knew it was coming, but nothing could prevent my heart from leaping in my throat.

“I want the both of you to leave Phoenix alone. Make it a clean break where you never see him again.”

Fuck that!

“No,” I growled, “and since we don’t agree, you can see yourself the fuck out.”

Tired of this absolute fuckwad, I stood and opened the top drawer for my wallet, phone, and keys. I pocketed the first two and glanced at B, who had his backpack ready to go. As Irounded the desk, Hale blocked me and leaned his face close to mine.

“That fucking catastrophe has ruined my entire life. I want his fairy business to disappear and here’s hoping he’ll leave Boston and go somewhere no one knows me or can associate him with me.”

“You have three fucking seconds to get the fuck out of my face before I beat you down in my office and then call the cops and tell them you threatened not only me, but my business partner and our PA.”

The man had some nerve.

“So, that’s a no to my offer?”

“That does it?—”

As I stepped forward, ready to leave Aalto in a bloody mess on our office floor, B jumped on my back and held my arms down.

There was no need.

Once that asshole saw my eyes flash, he started backing away from me. At my growl; he turned and ran.

Stunned when the door slammed as he exited the building, I glanced back to see B’s hilarious expression. His mouth was open, his eyes wide, blinking every few seconds as he processed the speed at which the older man sprinted out of the building.

“Does it say something bad about me since I’m torn between laughing and chasing after him? I wanted you to pummel him, but watching him scurry out the door was hilarious,” B said.

“Nah, it doesn’t. If you hadn’t stopped me, my fist would’ve found his nose or his gut.”