Page 50 of House of Payne

I know he’s itching to take my demise to my father and remove me as a chess piece once and for all.

I won’t give him the satisfaction.

I sit up straighter and roll my shoulders. “I said I’ll fucking handle it. Or do you want me to screw things up and bring even more heat on us?”

With the new mayor eager to make a name for himself, we both know we can’t afford any more scrutiny if we want to keep the machine moving.

It’s taken a long time to build the intricate empire, and no one wants to risk having it fall.

More than anyone, I have too much riding on its success.

Even if you expand the empire beyond his wildest dreams, your father will never give you the approval you seek.

A small part of me longs for his nod of satisfaction anyway.

Ever since I was little, everything I’ve done has been to earn his approval. Little has changed since I became an adult, even as frustration and anger burn through me at the reminder that I’m still essentially his puppet.

“The Everetts are not as patient as we are,” Liam reminds me, and I can hear the amusement in his voice. “I know you’re new to this, but it’s all tied together—”

“I don’t need reminding,” I cut him off coldly. “You’ll have your spot.”

Liam says something else, but I don’t hear him.

The car I’m riding in rolls to a stop at a traffic light, and I turn toward the window. Through the dark pane, I see the family in the car next to me. The mother and father are in the front seat, holding hands and exchanging smiles. A car seat in the back holds a young boy with a mess of dark hair. His eyes are squinted, and a screen is clutched in his hand.

The window closest to me has a redhead with wisps of hair clinging to her face and a bottle of nail polish in her manicured hands.

I blink, and her face is replaced by London’s, her mouth forming a perfect “O”.

I picture her in the library, her tight and bare ass on display. I exhaleand see her fingers darting in and out of her wet folds. I imagine myself coming up behind her with a leather whip in hand. Then, I see myself pulling out a pair of handcuffs. The thought of her being tied up and at my mercy is almost enough to make me come right there.

The car jerks forward again, and I’m snapped out of my thoughts.

Liam is still droning on in the background, rattling off facts and statistics that hold no interest to me. When we pull up outside the mansion, I end the call and shove the phone into my pocket. I make my way through the members lounging about and the women entertaining them. On my way to the elevators in the back, a few scantily clad women in tight clothes with pounds of makeup wave at me. I step onto the elevator and spin to face them again.

One of them bears a passing resemblance to London.

I pause with my finger over the button.

When I blink, her red lips are pursed in my direction, and her long lashes frame almond-shaped eyes. Growling, I jab the button and stand straighter. The doors ping shut, and I shove a hand into my pocket. When the doors open again, I’m greeted by a few more barely dressed women, but they’re focused on the men in front of them.

Many of them are on their knees.

A few have their legs spread wide.

The smell of sex and sweat follows me as I snake through the crowd. I reach my office and spot Katia leaning against the nearest wall in her usual skin-tight outfit. Her long hair is braided, and a bored and calculated look is etched onto her features.

She straightens when she sees me. “Anything?”

I brush past her and twist the knob to my office. “The business side of things isn’t your concern, is it?”

Katia steps in after me, her dark eyes scanning my office. “That’s never stopped us before. You know I’m here for whatever you need.”

It’s the sole reason I have her in my life.

Katia has been groomed for this life since she was little.

Being with her is uncomplicated.