I groaned inwardly before turning to see a scowling Leonard Riggs. I was so not in the mood for this fool.
“Look, Leonard, I don’t know what your problem with me is—”
“Myproblemwith—”
“Oh no,” I held up my hand, cutting him off. “That certainly wasn’t an invitation for you to tell me what your problem is. I really couldn’t care less. Your problem with me is just that.Yourproblem, not mine. And I suggest you handle it as far from me as possible. Now ex—”
I was stopped from turning away from Leonard when he grabbed the top of my arm, squeezing it tightly. “Take your goddamn hand off me!” I growled, pushing at his chest with my free hand. He barely budged, and in fact, squeezed my arm tighter.
“It’s bitches like you that run around from athlete to athlete looking for a good time and a come up that make me sick.”
“Get off me!” I insisted again, that time punching his chest. He loosened his grip just enough that I was able to snatch my arm free. “I don’t know what you think you know about me or what youragenthas told you about me, but who I am and what I am is none of your damned business. Don’t ever put your fucking hands on me again or you will get a taste of my pepper spray.” I held up the canister of my pepper spray that was attached to my keychain.
For the first time since the beginning of this little exchange, Leonard acted like he had a brain in his head and took a step back.
He tutted. “You ain’t worth it.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing he wanted to elicit some sort of response from me. I wouldn’t give him one. My self-worth didn’t rest in the eyes of any man, let alone Leonard fucking Riggs. He could think what he wanted.
I moved back, turning to head in the direction of my car. I had more important things to worry about.
Chapter Twenty
Tyler
“What’s on the ‘my man orders too much food for just two people’ menu tonight?” Destiny joked, grinning as she opened the door of her condo for me.
My gaze traveled down the beige off-the-shoulder sweater she wore with a pair of black leggings. I even noticed the shiny plum color nail polish that adorned her feet and matched the color of her fingernails. I never liked dark polish on a woman before—hell, I barely even noticed that type of shit before—but with her all of my senses were heightened.
“Greek,” I answered, holding up the bag containing the cartons of greek salad, chicken and pork gyros, and baklava for dessert.
Destiny groaned, tilting her head to the ceiling. My body went rigid. I loved when she did that.
“So many carbs,” she whined, stepping aside and allowing me to pass.
I headed directly to the couch instead of the dining area. We usually ate in the less formal living room area, with Destiny sandwiched between my legs.
“What do you care about carbs?” I questioned, pulling cartons out of the bag and placing them on the coffee table.
“Easy for you to say, Mr. I play sports for a living so it’s nothing for me to burn off excess calories.”
I chuckled as I slipped my jacket off, handing it to Destiny for her to put on the coat rack next to the door. I took one of the plates she’d set out and placed some of the salad and her chicken gyro on the plate, handing it to her as she came back over. She took it and waited for me to fix my own plate and sit on the floor in front of the couch before she stepped between my legs and lowered herself to sit. It’d become such a natural practice for us that neither one of us thought twice about it.
“Tell me about the rest of your day,” I inquired as we ate.
She began telling me about speaking with Brenda and how they were meeting with this guy from the SEC to share their impressions of this financial advisor, Destiny thought wasn’t on the up and up.
“And you’re just meeting with him, right? Passing along some information. That’s it?” I asked, still not liking her involvement in this shit. I understood her desire to report on the activity of a professional who wasn’t living up to ethical or even legal standards of their profession. What Ididn’tcare for was the fact that to do so, it felt like my woman was possibly putting herself in harm’s way. Call me paranoid, but taking a lesson from my brothers’ experiences, the women in my family tended to run into people who weren’t always the most savory of the bunch. And well, the men in my family, myself included, were well versed in breaking heads if it fucking came to it.
“Yes. That’s it. I’m just going to give him the information I know and be done with it. Phillip Morris won’t even know it was me who blew the whistle.”
I raised an eyebrow to Destiny as she turned in my lap, sitting back on her knees. She may not have known it but she was sitting in the perfectly submissive position. When her eyelids closed, covering her irises from my line of sight, and she slightly lowered her head, demurely, I started to believe she knew exactly what she was doing.
My eyes dipped to her bared, mahogany shoulder, more skin being revealed as she reached up, taking my plate from my hands, causing the sweater to shift.
“I promised you a hot bath. Are you sore from practice?”
She was so good at changing the subject. But I was better.
