Page 135 of Ruin

“Fifty thousand dollars!” I shriek, quickly glancing around to make sure nobody heard me.

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. You shouldn’t have to pay fifty thousand dollars to that asshole.”

“Dove, I’d pay it twice if it meant I got to shut him up again. It’s not a big deal. It’s only money. Just let it go. I have. And come here and celebrate the charges going away with me in bed.”

I draw in a deep breath and let it out. “Okay. But I’m the one who’s going to be doing the amazing things with my tongue to you. You deserve it.”

He growls, and it makes me shiver.

“I’m not gonna argue with that. How long till your lunch break?”

I glance up at the clock on the wall. “Just under an hour.”

“Can you leave sooner?”

“I wish.”

“Then, I’ll see you and that sexy mouth of yours in less than an hour.”

I hang up the phone with a smile on my face, feeling a lot less stressed than I did five minutes ago and a heck of a lot more excited about my lunch break than usual.

I pull my car up in front of Zeus’s building, parking behind a big-ass black SUV.

I check my teeth in the rearview mirror, smooth my hair down, and sort the girls’ position in my bra, making sure I’ve got ample cleavage showing. Grab my perfume from my bag and spritz myself with it.

Ready, I hang my bag on my shoulder and exit my car. I lock it and walk toward Zeus’s apartment.

I get the key he gave me to his place from my bag and let myself in. I hear the sound of male voices the moment I push the door open.

Huh? He has guests? What happened to my smexy lunchtime?

I close the door behind me and walk down the hall and into the living room.

The first thing I see is the less than welcome sight of Marcel Duran sitting in the middle of the sofa and two burly-looking guys standing on either side of it.

Oh, fucking fuck. What the hell is he doing here?

My eyes quickly seek out Zeus, who’s seated on the arm of the chair across from Marcel, hands clenched into fists on his thighs, staring at Marcel like he’s seconds away from killing him.

Jesus Christ. His lawyer only just got the charges for assault dropped this morning. The last thing I need is him killing Marcel and his cronies.

“Zeus,” I say quietly.

Zeus’s eyes flick to mine, the surprise in them telling me that he’s only just registered my being here. But, behind the surprise, I see the undiluted rage.

If I thought he was angry with that paparazzi guy the other day, then I was wrong. He was clearly just playing then in comparison to the way he looks right now.

“Cameron!” Marcel exclaims my name like it’s a production, spreading his arms wide. “It’s been so long since I last saw you.”

“Not long enough,” I say before I can stop myself.

Marcel chortles like I was joking. I wasn’t.

Zeus pushes to his feet. “Marcel was just leaving.”

“What? Come on now, Zeus. I only just got here,” he says cheerfully. “It’s been a while since we saw each other. We have a lot to catch up on. And there’s some business we need to discuss before I go. Now, be a love, Cameron, and go make me a coffee. I take it black, two sugars. Matt, Earl, you want anything?” he asks his paid lackeys, who have a vague resemblance to Ren and Stimpy.