“I’m telling you this because my gut says Sam Joshi is dirty and he’s using his shady moves to position himself to be made partner, and his friendship with your brother seems suspicious.
“That leaves us with his movements since he served you those damn papers. He’s been seen outside your clinic, your townhome, the penthouse, and I just heard he was outside of Lustz last night. He’s stalking you. To what end, I don’t know, but you need to be careful. Guys like him can become unstable and dangerous without warning. Believe me, Reign, and I have seen it. I don’t know if the guy is obsessed with you personally, as a means to obtain what he wants at work, or both.”
When Iker finished, I sat there letting everything he said sink in. While my heart raced and a sick feeling rose in my stomach, a part of me wasn’t surprised. Sam’s previous smoothness and ability to make me believe we were in sync and wanted the same things had been flawless. It smacked of lots of practice. If he were used to lying and getting away with it with his bosses, coworkers, and clients, it would be easy for him to do the same with me.
Reign hugged me to him. “Babe, don’t worry. He’s not getting away with it this time. Iker, I want you to continue surveillance on Sia and her mom. If you believe more people are needed, do it. Time will tell what exactly Sam’s endgame is. We’ll stay prepared. Thanks for telling us. Now, on to the good news, unless you have something more to tell us,” my man added.
“Nah, that’s all I have for now. So, what’s the good stuff? Lord knows some would be excellent right now,” Iker replied. There was an undertone there. I wasn’t sure what kind.
“Kathlyn wanted to pay for her protection detail. I said no and that you wouldn’t let her even if she asked,” Reign said first.
“Damn right I won’t. Go on.”
“So she said if no one will allow her to pay, then she wants to have everyone over for a home-cooked dinner. That includes you and all the people who have watched over her and Sia. She wants us to figure out, with you, when that can happen. I have no doubt Sia will help, and their cooking isn’t to be missed. Will you come and help arrange it so that all your people who should be there are? Sooner rather than later would be best,” Reign finished telling him.
“Mom won’t take no for an answer, and she’ll keep asking,” I warned.
Iker chuckled. “Sounds like you take after your mom. Sure, I’d love to meet her and to have a delicious home-cooked meal. Let me do some checking and juggling today, and I’ll get back to you with when we can. It’s sweet of her to want to do it. And I want to say I hate the way your family, aside from your mom, is treating you. It’s fucked up. I’m glad you both are out of it.”
“We soon will be. Mom allowed herself to be suppressed for years. She hates that she did. Blames herself for what happened to all her children. She regrets it. I’m pretty sure this separation will end in divorce. Dad won’t change, and she can’t live that way anymore,” I added.
We chatted for a few minutes more. We talked about last night, but no details. He was told of my introduction to shibari and that I loved it. When we hung up, I felt restless and needed to expend some energy. Reign shocked me when he suggested we go home shopping. I asked for what? He said anything that struck our fancy and would meld our things into ours. He was adamant that this was my home and needed to reflect more of me. I kissed him and said yes. Thirty minutes later, we were out the door, headed to the stores.
Sinner:
It was midweek, and the weekend couldn’t come soon enough. I loved my company and the work we did, but I wanted to spend more time with Anastasia. On Sunday, after speaking to Iker, the shopping had gone well. We found and bought a few pieces of furniture and decor to help meld our two styles. While we were doing it, she brought up something that stunned me.
“Rei, have you ever thought of making the guest bedroom into a private shibari studio? I mean, how often does anyone come to visit that you need it for? As much as you love rope, I would think you’d prefer to be able to practice whenever the mood hits you.”
There it was, one of my deepest wishes.
“Sia, I’ve thought about one for the past few years. I always thought I might have one if I got a house one day. I keep the guest room for when Rowan would crash, which isn’t an issue anymore. Or when a friend might need it, which is rare. There is your mom and any of your friends that might want to stay, though.”
She thought about it, then sighed. “Too bad you don’t have the option to expand it. That would be ideal. Even though we’re right in the middle of town, with the rooftop the way it is, you have a piece of the outdoors.”
Her words stuck with me. I wanted to make a call before talking to her about an idea that had popped into my head because of her words. I wanted to see what was possible.
Today, she’d taken the afternoon off and came to see Caldwell Catastrophes. I wanted to show her what I built and introduce her to my people. She arrived an hour and a half ago, and everyone had met her, and Anastasia had been given a tour. We were now behind closed doors in my office. I had her on my lap behind my desk.
“You’ve truly built something amazing, Reign,” she said, snuggling into me.
“Thank you. I think so. And it seems so do others. Several investors have been pushing for Caldwell Catastrophes to expand and open more offices. People who would invest to help that happen. I’ve always wanted to keep it family-owned and controlled. If I go public, then there’s a board of directors and all that to deal with. However, if I expand and draft the contracts correctly, I can retain control, and the investors merely receive payouts for the use of their initial capital.”
“You’re considering it?”
“I am. I have my legal team drafting the agreements and doing the due diligence before I decide. But I have a waiting list of investors. If it happens, I’d see a significant jump in revenue.”
“Wouldn’t that make Rowan's head spin? Does he know you were considering doing that?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No, I kept that top secret. But not only would it allow me to expand, but it would also make what I want us to consider doing even more secure.”
She gave me a puzzled look. “What do you want us to do?”
“Remember you said I needed a shibari studio and how it was too bad we couldn’t expand, so there was room for it and a guest room?”
“Of course.”
“Well, it got me thinking, and I went to the building’s owner. I spoke to him on Monday, and he got back to me this morning. He likes my proposal. All I need to know is if you do.”
