Page 2 of Ruin Me

The huge tsunami I’d hoped and begged for with tortured moans I silenced. I stretched to receive a lager-than-life event only to have a small crest lap at my body. I nearly wept as my muscles tensed from the unsatisfactory orgasm. My shoulders, neck, and back screamed at me for teasing them with a euphoria that never manifested as they locked up in protest.

Why did I think today would be any different? I cleaned myself up, fighting back the frustrated tears that would destroy my mascara and eyeliner. After a hasty glance in the mirror to refresh my hair and lip stain, I squared my shoulders and walked out the door.

A shitty start to my first day working for my best friend’s dad. If calling at the last minute to cancel the arrangement wouldn’t reflect badly on my professionalism, I would do it in an instant.

But Ife’s pleading voice rang in my ear. Her father and his company needed my help. Although guilt and shame led me toagree to her request, I would face Kent Luxe and revamp his and his company’s image at all costs.

Because the one thing I couldn’t do was admit my most shameful secret to Ife, the reason I’d moved away from Douglas with no intention of returning. Despite violating the first rule of our friendship contract—No secret shall exist between us—she didn’t need to know that I was one hundred percent prepared to wreck her home life for a chance to be with her dad. I doubt she would forgive me even if I was a teenager at the time.

Not when her father’s company was the center of a murder scandal that dominated international news.

CHAPTER 2

Kent

“What the fuck is going on?” My chief operating officer, Mal-chin, slid a tablet across my desk after stomping into my office.

I glanced at the screen. The headline,Another Unidentified Body Found At Billionaire Mogul, Kent Luxe’s Headquarters,glared at me. I tempered the urge to smash the device that turned my hectic day into another waking nightmare on top of the many emergencies I had to handle.

“The fuck if I know. This is the sixth body in two months. I’ll have to call Hal and my personal attorney because there’s no way the cops won’t show up on my doorstep.”

Hal was the general counsel for my company, Luxe Locations. He handled all legal issues, including anything that might paint my organization as a criminal entity. He was a fucking genius, able to sanitize our connection with the local arm of the DeLuca crime family. And I needed to call on him again to handle what was coming my way.

No sooner had I gotten off the phone with my attorney, Quarren, did Douglas PD appear on the floor. The glass walls facing the office floor allowed me to watch as the two men marched toward me. Detective Glass led the way. Annoyance and suspicion dragged their mouths into unpleasant frowns that mirrored my own.

As they stepped into my office, I activated the special feature that convinced me a glass bowl office was worth sacrificing my privacy for. The invisible walls frosted over into an opaque landscape, barring onlookers from seeing inside, but not the other way around.

“Detectives,” I greeted them, stiff and unwelcoming.

Glass’s partner, a young man who seemed incompatible with the more experienced, stubbled cop, reintroduced himself. “I’m Detective Salinas. We have a few?—”

“I know the drill. This is your fifth visit here, after all.” I turned to Mal-chin and nodded toward the door.

He shook his head. “Don’t mind me. I’m an independent bystander making sure the police don’t overstep their authority.” He dragged a heavy chair meant for wooing new business partners beside my desk and angled it to best watch me and the detectives. “By the way, the name’s Mal-chin Kang. Please, continue as if I’m not here,” he finished with a mime of locking his mouth and throwing away the key.

Independent bystander, my ass. With a sneer, I gave him the middle finger. I shouldn’t have. Mal-chin grinned and winked at me. If he were anybody else, he would be on the streets living the Trading Places life. His sense of humor rankled on the best days. I wished I could chop it up to him being the youngest CFO in Douglas, but the brilliant asshole was too successful at his job. He didn’t have to work for me, and he knew it.

“Now, Mr. Luxe, where were you two nights ago?” The older detective took the lead.

“He was probably fucking some model, actress, or social climber looking to live the good life,” Mal answered for me.

“Aren’t bystanders supposed to remain silent?” I gritted.

Glass and Salinas shared a glance. “Is what Mr. Kang said true? You have an alibi?”

“I’ll wait for my lawyers to arrive before I respond to your inquiry. You know how it is.” I smiled at them because this wasn’t my first visit, nor did I expect it to be my last. “While you wait, may I offer you some refreshment?”

They both requested coffee. I relayed their desires to my assistant. A few minutes later, he entered the office with Hal and Quarren dogging his heels. I sat through the men reacquainting themselves and waited for my assistant to leave.

“Now where were we?” Detective Glass asked, pulling out a notepad and pen.

“Confirming Mr. Luxe’s alibi for two nights ago,” Detective Salinas responded, following suit. “The body of Jane Engleman was found abandoned on the property line this morning. Her time of death occurred between ten and midnight Saturday night.”

The woman’s name sounded vaguely familiar, but I wasn’t sure. While married, and for years after my wife died, I hadn’t expressed interest in other women. That all changed about five years ago, but the women I saw fulfilled one purpose: to scratch an itch.

With few exceptions, I never saw them more than once. The memorable ones earned a second night of fucking to convince me otherwise. To this day, my longest streak was two dates. The women I saw rarely sparked any interest outside the bedroom, and I never pretended they had a chance at something longer than one night.

Salinas pointed a pen at Mal. “Mr. Kang offered a possibility that could clear you of suspicion. Was he right?”

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