Page 22 of Punish Me

“Bryn, it’s not as simple as you make it.”

“Oh? According to Rick, we’re doing business with the mob, you’re probably getting some incentive, and the business will get screwed. Do you mind telling me what’s going on here?”

“What’s going on is that we can do a few things here. One, we can build the Ocean Falls area up to the premier tourism destination not only in the state of Georgia but on the East Coast. Second, a collaboration with the Black Hospitality Group and the DeLuca Group, despite who you believe them to be, would allow this company to finally become an international construction company, which is something we’ve been struggling to do for the last three years. And third, do you know what would happen if we pull this off?”

“No. Please enlighten me,” she hisses, crossing her arms over her breasts and stepping close to me.

“It would increase the bottom line by more than the twenty percent the board is seeking to gain and save those jobs you’ve been going to war for over the last month!”

Her arms drop, and her eyes widen slightly.

“I...I didn’t know.”

“I fucking know that. You’ll have to learn to trust me if we’re partners in this organization.”

“You can’t expect that just because you’re my boss. I won’t question things when they don’t look like they’re on the up and up.”

“What makes you think that they’re not?”

“The DeLucas? Come on, everyone knows they’re part of the mafia. Hell, they’re mafia royalty.”

A smirk dances across my lips before being replaced with a scowl. “Thank you.”

“Excuse me?”

“For recognizing who the fuck we are and not underestimating our power. Our reach.”

“We?”

“Those men in there are my cousins. Their mother, Angela, is my mother’s sister. We are royalty, so we have no need to beg anyone for shit. Whatever we put our hands to, you can guarantee it will turn to gold. I would never compromise the integrity of this company, my staff, or myself by involving this company in mafia dealings. I know who we are and what the fuck we are, but I also know how to keep the two separate, as does Marco and Alessandro,” I hiss through clenched teeth.

“Can you?”

I snarl, but no words come out.

I hate that her eyes are wide, and I can’t determine if it’s fear, frustration, or surprise. Right now, I don’t give a fuck because she knows me. It may have been over a decade since we had dealings, but she knows the man that I am. Despite our past, she knows I’ve always been a man of integrity.

“I never knew. Why didn’t I know?”

“Because it wasn’t something that I proudly displayed. I’m used to people judging us, and I’m used to reactions like yours.I didn’t try to hide it, but there was no reason to talk about it unless we approached that fork in the road. We never did.”

“We talked about marriage, Ambrose. Would you have told me?”

“I would’ve told you every goddamned thing you wanted and needed to hear if given a chance.”

She holds her hand up. “Let’s not go there.”

A knock sounds at the door, and I jerk it open.

“They’re ready for us now,” Austin says, glancing between Brynlee and me.

I turn back to her, ready to tell him we’ll be there in a second, but Brynlee pushes past me and heads back to the main conference room.

8 – BRYNLEE

Six of the finest motherfuckers I’ve ever seen in one room. That shit should be against the law. I almost orgasmed in my panties just from looking at them.

I know that our company does business with some of the largest businesses in the country, so seeing Greyson and Mitchell Black in the room wasn’t a surprise. The Black brothers are part of the Black Hospitality Group, an empire built by their father, which has some of the largest and most popular resorts and hotels worldwide. Having their business is a major coup for Top Tier.

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