Page 52 of Regal Queen

“Sit." I gestured to the chair in front of me.

He frowned. "Rose, what kind of shit are you pulling--"

“I said, sit." I commanded, and Knight was at James' back, the threat of what would happen for disobedience clearly there. James' throat bobbed and he fell silent, shuffling forward to sit in the chair in front of me.

He suddenly looked a lot smaller, definitely more meek.

"Now," I slid the stack of papers in front of me towards him and when he looked down, he paled. They were his own bank statements from an offshore account. "You've received a significant amount of money in the past few months. Care to explain?"

“I’m not stealing money, if that's what you're implying." His voice was weak, with a slight desperation to it.

We all knew what happened to men who stole from the Kings.

I raised an eyebrow, thrilled like hell to watch him sweat. "Are you sure?”

“Of course not," he grew angry. “How dare you threaten me."

I looked up at Knight, whose hand came down on James's shoulder. James jumped, letting out a slight squeal of a noise, and the look on his face when Knight leaned down to whisper in his ear made a satisfaction strum through me.

"If it hasn't been made clear, James, you are to speak to her as if you're speaking to Mr. King himself, is that understood?"

James nodded, his voice barely a squeak. "Ye-yes."

Knight nodded, then stood back up, leering over James, who slumped in his chair.

"Explain." I gave him a look that told him if he even tried shitting me, I'd have his head on my desk in minutes.

James shuffled the papers, clearing his throat. "The first large transaction was for your contract." He paused, hesitating, but I gave him a blank look. He didn't deserve to know how my heart was racing at his confession.

It was unnerving to see my worth in his eyes.

At my silence, he continued. "The smaller transactions are some bets I won."

"I don’t care about the bets you won," I interrupted him. "I want to know about the other large transaction."

His throat bobbed again, and beads of sweat pooled at the top of his head. He took out a handkerchief to wipe at them and my nostrils flared.

I'd been wrong. He wasn't handsome.

He was just a weak asshole, a man who cared little for life, except for what it gave him.

"If you don't explain the next two seconds, Knight is going to slit--"

"The second transaction," he rushed, "was to set up a meeting between Aster and Dimitri."

Again, I didn’t react, even though I wanted to jump across the desk and throttle his throat. Bourbon had taught me well. “And what did you tell Aster’s father?"

“I told Valentino that you'd decided it was safe again to meet, and that you wanted to see her.”

I leaned back in my chair, silent as I mulled over this information. “When and where are they meeting?"

“In one week. At the Veracruz airport.”

I felt instant relief. So there was some time.

“So, you lied to Valentino."

"I didn't meant to lie. Dimitri threatened--"

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