“You want me telling him that we’ve fucked?”
He felt his cheeks heat and glared. “You both have enough coin he can pay you out of pocket for whatever you still feel you’re owed. This has nothing to do with me. He runs the races, I just happened to be a part of that one.”
“Someone sounds bitter,” he said, then corrected, “Or is envious a better word choice? We do have money, more than you could ever dream of. But that’s not what this is about anymore. I like getting what I’m owed, is that so wrong?”
“It is when what you lost was placed on a bet,” Nate snapped back, cursing under his breath and risking a glance over his shoulder toward his boss's office. When the blinds didn’t shake or anything else to indicate he’d been overheard, he turned back and forced himself to lower his voice. “I don’t owe you anything. As far as I’m concerned, there’s literally nothing between us and no reason for you to be here other than you’re bored. If that’s the case, go find someone else to bother because I’m too busy for this shit.”
“Make time then.”
Nate blew out a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Seriously? There are loads of people who’d love to throw themselves at a Devil of Vitality. Go find one of them.”
“Nah, I’m good here.”
“I—”
“You aren’t catching on quick enough, Pretty Boy.” Kazimir crossed his arms. “You owe me not because you lost that race, but because I say so. I’m coming to collect,” he shrugged a single shoulder, “This is merely advanced notice, brought on by my generous heart. Keep ignoring my generosity, and I might have to rearrange your face a bit before we proceed. I don’t really want to do that. I actually kind of like your face. It’s hot.”
Nate scowled. “Do you hear yourself when you speak?” He held up a hand before the other guy could respond. “Never mind. Look, can we just get this over with so I can get back to work?”
“You’re not nearly as concerned about all of this as you should be.”
“Trust me, I am.” He was just too poor to allow that type of thing to get in the way of his job. “I just know better than to show fear in front of a predator. I get it, okay? You’re terrifying and intimidating and all the other words ending in ‘ing’ that mean badass. You’re also three years my junior and currently standing in my place of work interfering with my livelihood. Maybe it’s because you’re rich, or maybe it’s because you’ve yet to join the adult workforce, but there are a lot scarier things in this world than a spoiled trust fund baby waving his mafia connections around.”
There kind of weren’t, but Nate was admittedly afraid of being broke so…It wasn’t a total lie. Of course, Kazimir didn’t need to know that Nate’s brother had recently married into wealth and there was no way Nuri would allow Nate to becomedestitute. Not that Nate would ever be able to live with himself if things ever came to that.
Good Light. How would he be able to look Nuri in the eyes if it got that bad?
If he became that big of a burden on the one person who’d always put him and their sister first? No, Nuri had finally found happiness. Nate couldn’t—
Kazimir snapped his fingers in front of his face, forcing him out of the spiral his thoughts had been taking him down. “What the fuck was that?”
He cleared his throat. “Nothing.”
“Do you have some kind of psychological damage, Pretty Boy?”
“Again, I’m older than you.”
“We’re not on campus, and no one is around to hear me be disrespectful.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Don’t like it?”
“I don’t like anything about you or whatever this is.”
“Even better. Apparently that’s how things started for them as well.”
“Started for…who?” Nate frowned.
“My cousin and his Possessio.”
“Your…What?” He waved a hand in the air. “I’m sorry, you’re making even less sense than you were a moment ago. What does you being here bothering me at work have to do with your cousin?”
“It’s simple really,” Kazimir replied, and it was obvious from his cavalier tone he truly believed that. “All our lives, we’ve always had the same things. Sure, he was raised to be the leader, but that’s different. I don’t mind taking a step back when it comes to business, but our regular lives? Hell no. If Kal has something, I want it too.”
Nate blinked at him, certain he was misunderstanding, but when Kaz didn’t elaborate it became apparent he was not. “You’re not seriously telling me this is all because some weird complex you have with your cousin, right? Like, you feel competitive toward him or some other such nonsense and somehow that’s why you’re here right now?”
“You can call it whatever you want to,” he said. “All I know is seeing Baikal happy made me want to give it a try.”
