Page 33 of Her Boss

Shit, what’s happening here? He gonna show you a body or something?

“Okay…”

“Not just okay. Tell me that you understand.”

I looked over at him, trying for a glare, but fearing I resembled a frightened mouse instead. “Fine. I understand, Rick.”

He surprised me again though by saying nothing, returning his attention back to the winding tree-lined drive. He slowed, then turned right, passing through an open, ornate wrought-iron gate. I peered behind us as we passed through it, a weight settling deeper in my belly as the gate swung closed smoothly in our wake.

“What, uh, what is this place?”

Maddeningly, he stayed silent, not even acknowledging my question. The sun-dappled shadows passed over the car as we drove, the strobe effect starting to give me a headache. We swept around a long left turn, then the forested landscape opened out into a vast, verdant gently rolling lawn, sprinklers spraying mists of water here and there.

Then I saw it. “Well… damn.”

The drive we were on ended in what looked essentially like a roundabout in front of a large, modern office complex several floors high, the smoky glass exterior reflecting the sun’s rays in dazzling, blinding brilliance. The three-story concrete parking structure set off just beyond, the tree-lined asphalt biking trails snaking in every direction across the sprawling, seemingly endless lawns. The sparkling contours of the main building evoked a sleek, tech campus feel.

Slow your roll, dummy. He’s a criminal, not a rich tech bro.

Rick pulled the car into a shaded parking spot among several other parked cars, the space only notable for the tiny sign at the head of it:

Reserved For CEO

“Isn’t this spot for someone else?”

He put the car in park, killing the ignition. “Nope.”

I snapped my head around to stare at him. “You… you can’t be serious about this. You expect me to believe this? That you… what? That you’re some kind of CEO?”

He gripped the top of the steering wheel, his big hand squeezing it so hard that it creaked. His voice was a gravelly rumble. “All I expect of you is to keep your mouth shut about this. Whatever else you think is irrelevant.” He jabbed a finger at me. “Provided you keep those opinions to yourself.”

With a fluid grace so unlike what I’d have expected from a big man like him, Rick stepped out of the car, slamming his door, and not bothering to look back at me as he strode across the parking lot toward the mirrored glass doors of the front entrance.

“Come with me,” was all he said.

My legs like lead, my heart galloping, my mouth agape, and the murmured words “I can’t fucking believe this” silently slipping from my lips, I did just as he ordered.

CHAPTER 15

Geneva

I stood in the expansive, sun-soaked space that was Rick’s office, a rushing sound in my ears. Momentarily transfixed by the immaculate white walls, accented with works of art that even someone with my modest art history credits was certain had to be worth more than my life, I still couldn’t quite believe what had happened.

Bright light reflected off the glass windows, slanting across the cherry wood planes of a desk the size of a small country.

And even sitting behind that, the cursed man still managed to look huge and imposing.

He watched me intently, not saying a single word since he’d brought me in. Among the color-coded folders stacked on one corner of the desk, more than one label read Global Eye—the same name I’d seen on some of the invoices I’d filed for him back at his awful hovel of an office.

What the hell is that?

Rick was most definitely not the small-time loser criminal hanger-on I had begun to fear he resembled—his Greek god of a body notwithstanding.

But he was still a very serious pain in my ass.

What the man was, appeared to be a CEO of some sort of security firm, and I’d have had to be a moron not to conclude that at least some of his clients likely included figures involved with organized crime.

The enormity of that realization threatened to overwhelm me. How was it possible that someone I had considered to be a low-rent gumshoe was actually a player in the criminal underworld?

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