But Emilio…I was stuck. There was just no other way out.
“Cash or transfer?” he asked.
My heart was thumping so hard I was sure he could hear it.
“I’ll know shortly,” I said, amazed at how steady my voice had become.
He dipped his head. Pulled away from the counter, and stepped around me as he slid out a chair for me to sit in.
“You need to eat,” he said, as if we hadn’t just spoken about the money. I was suddenly speechless again.
What was going through his mind?
Just hours ago, he’d come home to find me weeping over being called a whore. Then we’d had sex…and now I was asking him for cash. Part of me wished he’d ask what it was for. If I could just explain, he’d understand how important this was.
But how could I do that?
How could I tell him about Razortip, and admit to him that I’d been lying to him from the start?
Chapter 5
Prince Walker
“Ahundred grand, Prince?” Andy’s face was incredulous. I shrugged. It had nothing to do with him. “You gave her a hundred K?”
“Is this a problem, Andy?” I asked. I’d seen him drop double that in one night on the tables at Vegas.
“No, I…” He sank back into his seat, then exhaled. “Look, I just want you to be careful, alright?”
I kept my eyes on him.
“Fuck it, Prince!” He raked a hand through his hair. “You don’t even know who this goddamn girl is!”
“I know enough,” I responded. And somehow, I meant that, though I couldn’t explain why.
“Jesus, man, it’s not like you have cash to spare right now!” he bit out.
“I’ll make do,” I said. I’d had to call in a string of favors to make it happen, but he didn’t need to know that. Although knowing Andy, he already did. “Any news from the Swiss?” I changed the subject. He brightened immediately.
“It’s a shoe-in,” he replied. “One last signature – basically a rubber-stamper. We’re in.” I could already see his incredible brain tallying up the profits. The man had a mind like a machine. “And it gets better…”
“Oh? Delight me.”
“Looks like there may be some interest from on high.” He was grinning.
“You’ll need to elaborate, Andrew. Do you mean God?” I was fucking with him.
“No, you prick. I had a defense official sniffing around this morning. I don’t know how they got wind of it, but you know what these guys are like. Seems word may be out. People are talking about military applications.”
I leaned back in my seat and steepled my fingers in front of me, trying to quell the surge of adrenalin. I had to keep a clear head about this. No sense in getting excited until the ink was dry.
“Anyhow, if we get the backing we need for the R&D, we’ll be able to get proof of concept pinned down,” Andy went on. “You’re already halfway there – it’s really just a matter of getting the men in the tech coats to put the numbers behind it to make it official. When that happens, the world is your oyster, my friend.” His lips had curved into a smile that was almost lewd. “Does that delight you enough?”
“Almost,” I answered. “How firmly tied in will the Swiss be once the ball is in motion? I don’t want another replay of Syscorp screwing this deal up for us.”
“Oh, that’s where you’re gonna love this even more.” Andy’s grin was pure evil now. “Guess which Swiss industrialist walked in on his wife ‘schtooping’ a certain Russian IT mogul two weeks ago?”
I almost choked as I stifled a snort of laughter. “Dmitri Sysenov is screwing Horst’s woman? You’re fucking kidding me!”
