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“Here you go.” I placed the latte down for Vivian.

“Wow. That was fast. Thank you.”

I took my seat, offered Calvin a blueberry muffin, and smiled.

He glanced at the long line and arched an eyebrow. “I’m not a muffin kind of guy, but thank you.”

“You really don’t have any updates for me?” Vivian asked.

“Sorry, no,” Calvin replied.

“But you said you had something for me.”

“I asked if we could meet. You just assumed.” He leaned back in his chair and smirked. “I just wanted to see you.”

Vivian blinked, and I kept my gaze on Calvin.

Was he testing my feelings for Vivian? He was holding back information because of my presence.

“When do you think you’ll have something for me? I don’t have time for games, Calvin.”

“I just wanted to see if you remember our deal.”

“What deal?” I interjected.

Vivian’s lips twisted as he looked down at the table and back up at Calvin. “You have my word. Get me all the information on Aimee, and I’ll fulfill my end of the bargain.”

“Are you blackmailing her?” I eyed Calvin as the need to protect her coursed through me.

“She needs my help. There’s a price for everything.” Calvin offered me a sly smile.“You should know this, Arrow.”

He neither admitted nor declined.

“No, he’s not,” Vivian said. From under the table, she placed a hand on my thigh to stop my inquiry or to calm my anger.

I placed my hand over hers, keeping it where I liked it.

She tried to yank it away, but my grip was stronger.

Something was going on between Vivian and Calvin, and I had to find out. Anything to do with Calvin wouldn’t be good for Vivian. Was Calvin helping her as a friend or member of The Triad? Either way, danger was lurking around her.

I didn’t like the way he looked at her. The possessiveness in me surged. “Any man who blackmails a woman deserves severe punishment.”

“Is that a threat?” he asked, showing no fear.

A man who was used to violence should be accustomed to placing fear on others. Having served in the Navy and traveling to remote areas of the world, I’d seen my share of monsters. My rough childhood, along with those worldly experiences, had created a monster in me. Sometimes, you have to be the most terrifying monster to deal with the worst of humanity.

“It’s a promise.” I held his eyes. “And I’m a man who keeps his promises.”

Laughing, Calvin leaned on the table. “It’s best if you focus on your bamboo wine so another employee doesn’t sabotage it.”

How the fuck did he knowabout that? This was confidential information. I made sure no one outside of Holt Enterprises knew that a former employee had stolenan order of my wine prototype and sabotaged the warehouse.

James Chin had been missing for months. But I’d find him and make him pay. The fucker had cost me millions of dollars in damages. What had he done with the three cases of wine? I’d searched the black market for any resale, but nothing had shown up.

Could James have been working for The Triad and stolen my goods for them? The Tai Lok wine from The Taipans triad was a successful brand long before my Bambooze Series came about. It didn’t make sense, but there could be another agenda I wasn’t aware of.

My jaw tightened. “Do you have anything to do with my stolen wine or damaged warehouse?”