Page 241 of Love Me in the Dark

“Not worth it.” I shrug in response. “But if she tries to sabotage our deal with her father’s company again, you can do whatever you want.”

“I did not.” But the corner of her lips turn up, showing her satisfaction at having my attention. “But maybe if you answered your phone, you wouldn’t have an issue.”

Tired of her bullshit doesn’t even begin to cover it. Pushing aside the rage simmering in my veins at the thought that she’s fucking with my money, I push my glass to the center of the table.

Slowly, I back out of my chair and stand to my full six-foot-seven height. Staring down my nose at the woman who tried to use sex to manipulate me into doing her bidding, I smile.

Not the smile I’d give a friend. The one a lion shows its prey before devouring them. And she’s just that. My prey. Ready to be taken and left rotting when I’m finished with her.

I lean down, pressing my mouth to her ear.

“Fuck with my business again, and I’ll buy your father’s company. Then I’ll sell off every single department. I’ll demolish his entire life’s work, and I’ll make damn sure that he knows it’s your fault that his legacy is destroyed.”

I can taste her fear, and it’s delicious. Her chest is flushed and her heart is racing. Even now, I bet I could bend her over and fuck her. Even while I’m threatening her family. Her father.

Pathetic.

“Ezra. Take out the trash. I’ll see you when I’m back.”

I turn and walk away to the sound of her gasping.

“Let’s go, Ruby.” Ezra’s laugh-filled voice fills the sudden silence all around us. “You really should have known better than to try and fuck with our family. I’d feel sorry for you if I had any feelings at all.”

By the time I step outside, my car is already waiting for me.

“Sir.” My driver opens the door, and I slide into the backseat where my assistant, Asher, is busy drawing something on his tablet or typing or doing something to keep my business running.

“Thanks, Paul. We’re headed home then to the jet.”

I close the door and wait for him to take his place.

“Don’t forget, sir.” Asher looks up from his tablet. “You arranged to fly on the company jet, since you let Candace borrow the family jet for her graduation trip.”

Nodding, I pull out my phone to make sure that my little sister remembers not to be a dick to my staff.

Roman:Candy, take care of my flight crew. They’re the best and I don’t want to hear that you mistreated them.

The response isquick to hit my inbox in the form of a picture of my ever-charming sister with my flight attendants, all smiles and laughter. And in true little sister form, she’s flipping me the bird in the photo.

Roman:Good. Keep it that way.

“Thanks for the reminder,Asher. Paul, we’re going to the team hanger, not my personal one.”

“Got it.”

He pulls out into the busy street, efficiently navigating through the chaos like it’s his own personal track.

I lean back against the leather seat and shut my eyes. The hum of traffic, the soft thump of tires over uneven pavement—none of it does a damn thing to settle the burn crawling beneath my skin. It’s been there for weeks now. It doesn’t itch. It doesn’t sting. It just simmers, like something inside me is waking up after being dormant for too long.

It’s annoying as fuck is what it is.

I don’t like shifts in my equilibrium.

“Sir,” Asher says, not bothering to look up from his tablet. “There’s a flagged employee report you should see. Internal escalation. Nothing urgent, but it’s… interesting.”

My eyes stay closed. “Handled?”

He hesitates. “I held it for you.”