Page 25 of Full Throttle 2

Begrudgingly, Carrington agreed. “Fine.”

Kelly was irritated. She wanted to argue. She wanted to use his indiscretions to barter, but after his earlier look, she decided to take the fifteen. “Now that we’ve agreed on a figure, please call the finance man so that he can release the funds.”

Carrington leaned over to pick up the phone, his teeth silently grinding. His knuckles whitened on the handset. If only it were Kelly’s neck.

Once the deed was done, Kelly stood to leave. Her eyes connected with his and narrowed. “I suggest you toss that magazine in the garbage. Whatever ideas you have in your head, forget about them. My life should not have to change because that bitch still makes your dick hard.”

As Kelly turned to walk out the door, she brushed past Carrington’s cousin, Philip. She couldn’t stand him either, so she didn’t offer a greeting. The dirty look she gave, though, spoke volumes.

Chapter Twelve

“What’s up with her?” Philip asked as Kelly almost bowled him over.

“Pissed she’s been put on a budget.”

Knowing Kelly, Philip thought her frostier-than-usual demeanor made sense. “Why not just ask Daddy Warbucks?”

“He cut her off.”

Philip didn’t care enough to ask why and changed the subject. “I don’t understand why getting you these numbers was so urgent that I had to drop everything and come up here.”

“I told you why. This sponsorship is the answer to our little problem.”

“I’m still not sure what ‘problem’ you’re referring to.” Philip didn’t like the look in Carrington’s eyes when they gleamed like that. It usually spelled trouble.

“Lila James.”

Philip hadn’t heard that name in a while. “Lila?” There was a short time when she had been quite the obsession for Carrington. “I thought...how does she fit into becoming a sponsor for Lockwood Racing?”

Carrington handed Philip the magazine. “Colby James is her cousin.”

Philip stared at it, then chose his words carefully. “When was the last time you talked to Lila?”

Even that simple question irritated Carrington. Unlike when he spoke to Kelly, Carrington didn’t mask the simmering anger now written all over his face. He rose from his desk. “Haven’t seen that bitch since she left like a thief in the night.”

Philip sighed. “You need to let it andhergo.”

“Fuck that! Who the hell does she think she is? Did Lila think she could just spend my money and then leave? Hell, no. She does not get to dictate when the relationship is over. It’s not over until I say it’s done.”

Philip was calm but matter-of-fact. “It’s been over a year. Whatever situationship you had, it looks over to me. What would your wife think about you chasing behind your mistress?”

“For the record, my relationship with Lila is none of Kelly’s business. Lila and I wouldn’t have been separated for so long if she hadn’t gone into hiding, and we simply talked.”

“Do you know how crazy that sounds?” Carrington’s narcissism was on full display, and it irked the hell out of Philip. “Kelly is your wife and the mother to your sons.” Marriage seemed to be an inconvenient truth that Carrington ignored quite frequently.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch. Kelly knows the deal.”

“Are you sure? If I recall, she didn’t seem to know the deal when she showed up to the apartment you shared with Lila tearing shit up.”

Carrington smiled at the memory. “As I said, Kelly is well aware of my needs but seeing her spazz out like that was interesting.”

“Maybe she was threatened by your heightened interest in Lila. Even I have never seen you behave like that over other women. Wives have a sixth sense when it comes to these things.”

Lila wasn’t like other women, but that wasn’t anything Carrington was willing to admit. He continued to ignore the psychobabble coming out of Philip’s mouth. Instead, he allowed his mind to wander back to the last time her body had been writhing underneath his.

Carrington had that faraway look in his eyes that came whenever Lila was on his mind. Philip snapped his fingers in Carrington’s face to wake him up from his trance. “C’mon, man. Are you even listening? Get it together.”

Carrington’s response came out chilled. “I hear you droning on and on about women and their sixth sense. How would your wife know anything about that? You’ve never cheated on her in your life.”

---