The world leaders now know that he’s the original buyer. They also know I allowed him to bid, something they asked me not to do. But I’m a sovereign with secrets they don’t want me to tell, so they bicker with each other. Normally, I would enjoy it, but today, I must defuse the situation and pray nobody finds out he’s breached the security team transporting Susan.
As I answer questions from the various people who file into situation rooms in their respective government establishments and bark at me from their end of the line, I hope we can come to an agreement that the prime minister is a threat that must be removed.
Naturally, this takes several hours of debate, and they arrive at the same conclusion I did before I even opened the line. Now, the leaders bid us goodbye so they can deny any knowledge of the operations their agencies will arrange with me. The agency heads from each country, who were left on the call, will tell me what kind of protections and money they can offer if I’ll arrange the PM’s demise. They ask for a timeline.
“Six months,” I answer.
“Six is too long. One of our agents will do it.”
“Okay,” I say. When they butcher the job, they’ll come back to me and give me their firstborn. Figuratively speaking.
“Can you do it in four months?” one of the other two men asks.
“Possibly. My asset will need protections that extend into both of your borders.” I don’t want to worry about Miro’s safety while he’s in the US, and nobody else can do this job besides him.
One man agrees, but the other says, “I will have to take this to my superior.”
“Let me know.” I hang up and wipe the rain off my face, then I see Lake running toward me.
I slide under the large blue umbrella she’s holding.
“My God, Alessio, you’re soaking wet.”
“My shoes make a sloshing noise when I walk.”
She fights a smile. “Are you done now?”
“Not yet. Do you need something?”
“No, I just came to bring you an umbrella.”
I should hold the umbrella, but I won’t because it keeps both her hands on the rod. She’s powerless to move or touch me, which means I get to cup her face and tilt it up so I can kiss her. When I press my lips to hers, I grow hard. I’m rewarded with a moan, but it sounds more painful than enjoyable. Lake steps back.
I drop my hands. “What did I do?”
“Nothing.”
“What did I do?” I repeat. Although she’s mad at me, she came down to protect me from the rain. I like her even more now.
“Honestly, it’s nothing you did.”
“What did I say, then?”
“It doesn’t matter. Let it go.”
“It matters since I want to kiss you, and you won’t let me.”
Lake scrunches up her nose. She dislikes fighting, but I want her to stand up for herself when she faces me.
I continue, “I want to do better with you, and if you want me to do better, you have to tell me when I’m wrong.”
“The issue is you’re not wrong. If I’m only someone you’re fucking or just a governess, you don’t have to do better. You’re not a bad boss or a bad fuck.” Lake shrugs. “I have no complaints.”
I recall my conversation with Miro and how, when I turned, I nearly stepped on her foot.
“Eavesdropping is impolite. You shouldn’t teach my nephew to eavesdrop.”
“We weren’t. We brought you lunch because we knew you weren’t going to join us and happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
