I dipped my chin. “I owe you an ass whippin’ at poker. You cleaned me out last time.”
He chuckled softly. “They don’t call me Bullseye for nothin’, Pagan. I never miss.”
We stood from the table, and I clapped my friend on the back as we headed for the exit. “Thanks for the chat.”
“Takin’ over the gavel can mess with your head. You wanna make the big chair your own and do things your way, then you get bogged down with the bullshit, and you realize that livin’ free just means that you have to play by a whole different set of rules. But remember, there’s always a silver linin’.” Bullseye’s hand hit my shoulder, and he gave me some serious side-eye. “I mean, what other job do you know where you get to order men to shove a computer mouse up a pervert’s ass?”
I busted out a laugh because my friend made a good point.
Being prez had its perks.
CHAPTER 3
AISLYNN
Things took a weird turn the morning after Pagan left my apartment.
The thought of going to work made me feel physically sick. After what happened the day before, the notion of having to face Richard Sketch and my colleagues made my knees turn to Jell-O.
Pagan told me I shouldn’t have any more problems with my boss, and a tiny part of me was curious as to what had happened after Bootneck and the other brother went up to the office. Maybe I’d walk into bedlam, and it was likely I wouldn’t have a job to go back to, but it was better to get the confrontation out of the way. If I sat at home, I’d only worry myself sick regardless.
Usually, I loved the short stroll heading northeast into RiNo. Crossing the area between I-25 and I-70 took me straight into the midst of street art, breweries, and restaurants, where I spent most of my free time with my friends.
I needed something strong to face the shitty day I knew I was about to have, and a vodka was out of the question, so I headed to Blue Sparrow Coffee to grab a latte. As soon as I walked in, I saw two of my friends sitting in the corner, giggling with each other.
Kerry was a receptionist, while Jada worked as a PA for one of the senior architects. They were nice girls, and they often invited me to go out with them on weekends, so I knew them pretty well.
Jada saw me and immediately stood, furiously beckoning me, and calling, “Aislynn. Over here.”
I put my order in and then weaved my way through the tables, raising my hand in greeting as I approached my friends.
“Sit,” Kerry demanded. “Tell us all about it. I have one day off, and I come back in to be told you were competing for gold in the one-hundred-meter sprint after spending ten minutes in the boss’s office yesterday.”
“Oh God,” I exclaimed softly, taking the seat beside her. “Has the gossip tree already gotten to you? I was going to tell you today. That’s if I’ve still got a job.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that right now,” Jada interjected, smirking. “Tricky Dickie’s got a lot more than you on his overflowing plate today.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to play it cool even though my heart felt as if it was thudding out of my chest.
Kerry leaned toward me and whisper-shouted, “Security went in this morning to find the boss strapped face down, naked to his desk. He’d been stabbed through the hand and...” She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.
“And what?” I asked.
She winced, her mouth twisting with humor. “He’d been violated.”
My eyebrows pulled together. “Violated? How?”
“Let’s just say I’ll never be able to click on a computer mouse again without picturing it,” she told me knowingly.
My face scrunched up. “What are you talking about...?” My words trailed off as the meaning behind my friend’s words washed over me, and I whispered incredulously, “No way.”
The girls began to laugh.
I sat back in my chair, not quite able to believe what I was hearing.
So,thatwas what Pagan’s brothers were doing when he was at my apartment.
Oh my God!
