“Enough,” I growled.
Silence came over the three of us. I was still pissed Cassius wasn’t here.
“You might as well get to it eventually,” Lucas said. He looked like he wanted to add something more, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. Still, his point wasn’t wrong. I sometimes got so enamored with playing the game that I failed to realize I could win it at a single moment.
I didn’t think I was quite at that point with Delilah, but the point remained. At some point, time would run out, even if I was “winning.” And when that happened, if I hadn’t taken her, I never would.
“Now then, you wanted to talk about some business concerns?” Dante said, folding his arms.
“I would, when Cassius gets here,” I said. “I don’t know why the fucking CEO is prioritizing love over business.”
“Who said anything about that?”
Cassius.
Somehow, he’d slipped in without making much of a sound. He was well dressed, in a black suit and pants with no tie, ever with the icy stare that he’d just as quickly affix on one of us as on an employee who slacked on the job. People said he had the most intense stare of all of us; I wasn’t sure if that was fair, but he certainly had the coldest, most stoic of all.
“I did,” I said, taking a step toward him. “You've found the love of your life. Good for you. Have you forgotten that you are the Chief. Executive. Officer. Of our empire?”
“Relax,” Cassius said, holding out a downward hand. God, that irritated me. How the fuck was I to relax? “I have not forgotten, and I assure you that when it is time for me to be the CEO, I am as good as I have ever been. If anything, I would argue I am even better than before. I simply also make time for my fiance.”
“If you insist,” I growled.
“Now, explain what you wanted to.”
Begrudgingly, I went over the details of the possible embezzlement and the petty crime. Begrudgingly, because it seemed like my frustration with Cassius was being brushed off.
Did that make me the wrong one? Or were Cassius in denial and Dante and Lucas in stupidity?
Who the fuck cared? I had a job as CFO and King of Diamonds. I would step in if need be.
But still. I was pissed off.
“The petty crime, unfortunately, is part of the deal,” Cassius said. “It’s been with us long before the name Morril ever meant anything. Dante, investigate as you wish, but take no action unless necessary. And for fuck’s sake, do not contact any of the Black Reapers about this. We tried that once already. I think theonly way they’re getting involved is if one of their women gets hurt.”
Dante snorted but said nothing. His lack of reaction concerned me. Dante was just crazy enough to kidnap one of the Black Reapers’ wives as a bargaining chip for something with the Morrils. That was also a fast way to get shot in the back of the skull one evening.
As for me? The Reapers were not my cup of tea. I knew they existed, and I knew Cassius and Dante were enamored with them, no matter what Cassius said. But diamonds and bikers and CFO money and illegal trade money didn’t exactly mix. If I saw one in the bar, I’d be mindful of them, perhaps even respectful.
But I’d be damned if I ever fucking called a man named Satan or Phoenix for help about a media image. That’d be like calling someone in Alcoholics Anonymous for the best way to shoot a beer commercial.
“The embezzlement, however, concerns me,” Cassius said.Finally, something’s getting fucking serious here.“It may only be a few thousand dollars right now, but left unchecked, it will grow. And at some point, they’ll take enough that they know they’ve gone too far. They’ll run, but they’ll have the money, and we won’t have any way to track it. So, yes, let’s monitor it. Adrian, I leave it up to you to do as you wish.”
I tried not to read Cassius as being lazy in that one. Even if Sarah never existed, as CFO, I was tasked with handling all things financial. It was unlikely six months ago, Cassius would have gotten involved.
It was easier said than done, though.
“Is there anything else?”
No one said anything. I’d said my bit. Dante and Lucas had given me shit about Delilah. I’d gotten a little bit of good out of it with the embezzlement investigation, but for what was supposedto be an unwind and recharge meeting, it hadn’t exactly gone that way.
“Then let’s call it an evening. Dante, Lucas, will you give the two of us a moment?”
What?
“It’s been a bit since Adrian and I spoke alone.”
Well, this was going to be fucking interesting. Dante and Lucas didn’t say a word as they left. It was only when the elevator doors shut that Cassius turned to me.
