Nate already had both hands on Kaz’s chest and he tried to shove him away a second time.
The younger guy retaliated by settling a palm against Nate’s throat. He didn’t apply any pressure, but the silent threat was there, and it snapped Nate out of it enough he could lift his head and meet that garnet gaze.
Kazimir’s eyes were so pretty. Nate would be lying if he claimed he hadn’t noticed that before. They were an odd deep red color that leaned toward black in certain lighting, intense and calculating. Like the rest of him, there was nothing soft about those eyes, and yet Nate found himself staring up into them, that tight restricting sensation in his chest slowly loosening with each passing second.
“There you go,” Kaz noticed and praised softly. “Keeping breathing just like that. Focus on me, baby.”
“Do not call me that,” Nate sneered.
“All right. At least you’re talking now.” He cocked his head. “Care to explain what that was, Pretty Boy?”
“No.” He dropped his hands since attempting force was a lost cause. “Move.”
“Not until we clarify a few things.”
“There’s nothing to discuss between us at all.”
“I’m your boss now,” Kazimir reminded, “and I disagree.”
“Why the hell is a college kid buying a shitty shop like ours anyway?”
“Don’t be like that. You know the reason. Playing dumb doesn’t suit you. At least when you were drunk and clueless there was an excuse. But I can tell Sier didn’t pour enough drinks down your throat. I’ll have to consider that when I go over everyone’s employee profile and decide who to keep and who to cut, crazy bitch actually wants to stay on as manager.”
“You’re going to fire people?” More than half of the people in that restaurant were living paycheck to paycheck just like Nate. They needed this job. They didn’t have any other options.
At least Nate had Silver to fall back on if he absolutely had to. It would suck, and he’d probably end up wishing for death, but it was still something. What about the others? He doubtedthey had that same chance. Emperor brothers-in-law’s weren’t exactly a dime a dozen.
“Because of me?” Nate made himself ask, even though Kaz was right. He did know the reason. It was so obvious; how could he not? “This is all so you can get back at me. Just because I told you no? That’s insane, Kazimir. Even for you.”
Kaz stared at him for a moment. “That’s the first time you’ve said my name, did you know that?”
He frowned. Nate was pretty sure he’d said it before, but then again…Whatever. “Is that really important right now?”
“It is if I say it is,” Kaz told him.
“Of course.” Why did he even bother? “Remove your arm at least.”
“Am I making you uncomfortable, Pretty Boy?”
“Always.”
Kazimir hummed and dropped his arm, but he didn’t step away, making sure to stay close so that the sheer size of him was warning enough for Nate to stay put with his back against the wall. “Did you really think running was going to work?”
“I wasn’t.” Nate had merely needed to get away in that moment. Recoup and figure out his next move. He wouldn’t call it running, since he hadn’t fully intended on never coming back. “What did you expect me to do? How did you think this was going to play out?”
He needed to get a grasp on what Kazimir actually wanted from him, because Nate wasn’t entirely convinced he knew anymore. Things had gotten way more complicated since the night of the race, and even though that had been weeks ago, it felt like it was all progressing far too quickly. He couldn’t keep up.
“Why can’t you just leave me alone?” he added.
“I thought, being the desperate employee that you are,” Kazimir began, “that you would see me and sit there and listen to my plans for you.”
“The company,” he corrected. “You mean your plans for the company.”
“You should learn now, Narek, that I’m not the type to misspeak. Every word that comes out of my mouth is carefully selected to deliver the exact intention I mean for it to. To confirm, yes, I bought this shitty business because of you. For you. It isn’t Quartet Air that I’m interested in owning.”
“That’s not how this works,” Nate said. “You can’t buy me the same way you can a building.”
“No?”
