Andy’s face was cracking into a broad grin. Yep, he was creaming his panties alright. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking, bud?” he said. I grinned back.
“I sure as hell am, my friend,” I replied. I’d spent the last year in our IT research department working on precisely the solution to this particular problem. If this shit went down, Cedar Inc. would be ideally positioned to meet a global need. And soon! I felt my heart rate soar.
“Thank fuck!” he was going on. “For a while there, I thought I wouldn’t get you to stop obsessing about Angelique and that dick.”
I scowled. “Why the fuck would you bring that up now?” I asked. There were days when my so-called best friend could be a complete ass.
“I … I guess I just worry about you, buddy,” he added. “This crazy game you’re playing isn’t healthy. You know it as well as I do.”
What the fuck?
“It’s none of your business, Andy,” I ground out. I knew I’d been less than scintillating company these last few days, but I was pretty certain I had good cause. I still had a 10-carat pink diamond ring in a box, just waiting for a finger to slide it onto. I knew that putting it on auction would lessen some of my financial issues, but it was a mere drop in my ocean of debt right now. And the scandal would be more than I wanted to deal with. Besides, it should have been Angelique’s. It would have been, if she hadn’t chosen to run off with my fucking biggest competitor. The bastard who owned SysCorp, the company that was trying to screw my whole business.
Yeah. I was pretty certain I had cause to want revenge.
And the best weapon in my arsenal was on her way to me right now.
“I hope you’re not planning on taking this thing further, Prince,” Andy was saying, reaching for his drink and taking a sip.
“I’m taking it exactly as far as I need to…friend,” I put emphasis on the word. Andy might be the closest person in my world, but that didn’t give him rights over me.
“Really?” he pushed on, clearly enjoying living on the edge of my temper. “Do you really think this latest escapade of yours is a good idea?”
“What latest escapade, Andy?” I asked, deciding it was time to make him spell it out. Only he and Jane knew what I had planned, and I intended to keep it that way.
“This girl, Prince, the hooker. For God’s sake, are you really planning to go through with it?” He kept talking as if he wasn’t sitting in my living room, drinking my 60-year-old whisky. No fucking respect. “I mean, what do you know about her? She could be coming in with some pimp boyfriend, waiting for you to fall asleep so she can cut your throat and clean you out.”
I stared at him as if he was mad. “That would be pretty stupid. She’d never get her money.”
“Yeah…about that,” he said, draining his glass. “You don’t have any.”
“I’ll make a plan.” I scowled. I didn’t need my friend rubbing my nose in my shitty circumstances. I glanced at my wristwatch. “I think it’s time you headed home.”
Andy’s face dropped, and he shot a look at his nearly empty glass. “But I was just about to pour another,” he grumbled.
“Take the bottle. Now, get out of here.”
“But why can’t I stay over? It’s late, dammit, and I’ve had a few too many.” He was eyeing the hallway that led to the guest wing. There were half a dozen empty suites down there and he normally made himself at home. Not tonight, though. I’d had enough of his shit for one day. And I had other plans.
“Call a cab,” I said, spotting his phone on the coffee table and tossing it toward him. “And go get some rest. I need your mind sharp. We’ve got big things to plan. That chip. It’s going to be the answer to all our problems.”
He brightened up immediately. “Good point!” He was on his feet and heading to the bar in the corner, reaching for The Macallan as he tucked his phone between his shoulder and his ear. The fucker was actually going to take my whiskey with him. Whatever. As long as he left before she got here.
I stood and paced again, giving the place a final inspection. I don’t know why I was feeling so anxious about her arrival. Though maybe it had something to do with the fact that I’d never had a woman here before. Apart from my mother, of course. And Angelique once or twice. That had always been a fuck-up. As I thought about it more, it was dawning on me that she never truly fitted into my world. Or maybe I never gave her a chance.
Too bad. And too late.
I had more important things to think about. As Andy left, slamming the door shut behind him, I turned and stared out the window at the glittering city lights that stretched before me. My body tautened with anticipation. She’d be here any minute.
Any minute… and she’d be mine.
Chapter 5
Sasha Ramirez
Horatio pushed open the door and stepped aside to let me pass him, then followed on my heels and dropped my bag beside the door. I took two steps forward and then came to an abrupt halt, my mouth hanging open. I’d never seen anything like it before. The place was like something from a movie set. I was almost afraid to set foot on the tiles they had such a high shine on them.
Holy crap!
