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“Oh, sweetheart.” His features soften, and he reaches for the briefcase, setting it down against the wall and vacating the seat for me. “Please, sit for as long as you need.” His words sound genuine, and maybe I’d believe them if his eyes weren’t still locked on my cleavage.

Piece of shit.

“Thank you so much.” I choke on a fake sob as I drop into the chair and rest my elbows on the table. I swipe the put-on tears from my cheeks and take a sip of my drink, pursing my lipsaround the straw more than necessary to keep James’s attention on me.

Men are predictable creatures, and I’ve made it my sole purpose to use their stupidity for my own gain.

“I’m sorry your boyfriend is such an idiot,” he says, finally plucking his gaze from my chest and meeting my eyes. “A pretty little thing like you should have someone who will treat you right.”

I half laugh, bitterness etched into the sound. “I don’t think men like that exist.” I pause. “No offense.”

He chuckles, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “None taken, sweet thing.”

I swipe at the tears again, drawing attention to them before running my fingers beneath my nose. I only need him to leave the table for thirty seconds. Long enough for me to pick the lock on the case, extract the documents, and settle myself before he gets back.

“Let me get you some napkins,” he offers. Bingo.

“You don’t have to do that,” I argue weakly.

“It’s the least I can do to apologize for my gender’s stupidity.” He pushes himself up and weaves through the tables toward the counter.

Like I said, men are predictable. You just have to know how to play them.

CHAPTER TWO

ORION

The benefit of no one knowing who I am is that I rarely have to deal with the idiots who work within my organization.

Not directly, anyway.

I’m very aware of every single move that’s made within my business. I know the names and backstories of every runner we have, every dealer on the streets, even the woman who launders some of our cash at the laundromat on the outskirts of Tulsa.

There are hundreds of people who work for me, and I know every single one of them, even if none of them have so much as laid eyes on me.

But today is one of those days I actually have to come face-to-face with one of my people.

Killian, my right-hand man and the only person who I allow to see my face, is waiting for me when I arrive at the warehouse, rows of our product lined up ready to go to their new homes around the country.

There’s not an ounce of narcotics that comes into this country that I don’t source, and if there is, it’s dealt with swiftly. You don’t get to where I am without exercising your dominance a time or two. It’s been twelve years since I took over the drug distribution network for the Americas. While the transition fromeach city sourcing their own drugs to it all coming through me and my organization was a bumpy one, things have long settled into a steady rhythm.

“You look like shit,” Killian comments as he falls into step with me. His dark brown hair is pushed back and messy, while his amber eyes survey our stock the same way mine are. I lucked out when I brought him on not long after I started running things. He was a scared teenager, full of anger and bad decisions, but he’s turned out to be everything I needed in a number two.

“Don’t bother mincing your words.” I sigh, but he’s right. I haven’t been sleeping, and not because my operation has been requiring all my attention.

No. Something else has been plaguing me.

Or someone rather.

But I don’t tell him that. I don’t tell him about the woman that haunts me day and night, or how many lines I’ve crossed over the last few months just to get close to her.

And I definitely don’t mention the fact we’re here today because of her.

He’d have a fucking heart attack if he knew I was mixing business with my search to find my queen, an endeavor he has often criticized because he doesn’t feel the same emptiness I do.

Killian is more than happy fucking girls behind nightclubs and sleeping alone every night, and sometimes I’m jealous as fuck about it.

But then her sapphire eyes staring straight into my soul fill my mind, and I’m back to plotting ways to get her by my side.