Page 157 of Savage Bosses

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?”

I conferred with both attorneys, who nodded their approval for me to respond. “No, he’s wrong, a state he’s not used to being in.” I glared at Mal from the corner of my eye. “My social calendar has seen a lot of cancelations recently, which is why I worked late last night.”

“Did anyone see you leave?” Glass tapped his pen against his notebook, not attempting to record my account.

“No, not that they would. When I pull long hours, I usually stay in the penthouse apartment on the top floor. The only access is through my office.” I pointed at a discreet panel hiding the elevator keypad.

The elevator had four stops, the parking garage where I kept a half dozen cars at my disposal, my office, and the two penthouse levels above. The top was reserved for my use and the second was for important visitors from any of the international markets where Luxe Locations did business. From looking at the wall, no one would recognize the seamless blend of mahogany wood paneling and mirrors as a ploy to hide the secret access.

“Did you have a history with the victim?” This time, Glass pressed his pen against the pad.

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask my assistant if this woman, Jane Engleman, ever met with me.”

Salinas rubbed his neck, an aggrieved grimace hinting at an unwelcome exchange. “Mr. Luxe, you’re not giving us anything to work with. We want to clear you, but with each new body, you’re looking more like a suspect. It’s bad enough that the bodies keep showing up on your properties. When we add your intimate relationships with each woman to the mix… Well, at some point you have to agree, these aren’t mere coincidences.”

“I don’t do relationships, intimate or otherwise.” I stared down the detectives, not for one second concerned about the tension growing in the room.

Quarren cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Although we agree these incidents aren’t from happenstance, that’s all we agree on. My client is another victim of these crimes. He’s done nothing wrong. Yet the person maliciously murdering women with a loose connection to him continues to damage his reputation and that of his company. And that’s assuming the latest victim is someone my client knows.”

“We’re just trying to do our jobs. Someone is making the streets of Douglas unsafe and all the signs point to Mr. Luxe being at the center.”

“Really? My client is at the center of your investigation? With what proof? That he knew the women? Please be for real. Unless you want me to call up the new Chief of police and ask him to explain why you’re harassing my client with this flimsy accusation.”

Hal, Mal, and I watched the exchange in silence. My input was unnecessary and nothing the police officers said had anything to do with the company, but unease skittered along my nape.

Glass stood and snapped his notepad shut. “There’s no need for that. Before we approach Mr. Luxe again, we’ll be sure to have some evidence.”

“If another body doesn’t show up first,” Salinas added as he glared at me and my team.

When they left, Hal and Quarren took the evacuated seats.

Hal glanced at his watch and sighed. “It’s too early for a drink, but I swear every time that detective comes around, your bar calls to me.”

Mal rested his leg over his knee. “Didn’t you hire a crisis manager who’s supposed to handle things like this?”

“I did,” I said as I folded my arms and pressed against my chair.

“Then where is she?”

“She’s late,” I bit out, furious about my current predicament.

“How did you find her?” Quarren asked.

“Ife made me hire her.”

The men broke into gales of laughter at my expense.

“Of course, only your daughter has that kind of control. But since she’s a pity hire, you can fire her with cause. Late on the first day.” Hal shook his head.

I pierced him with a scowl. “Would you fire the person who rehabilitated that prince’s image? The one from Ras Al Najib.”

“You mean Emir Javed ibn Al-Kamran? The Arab prince accused of genocide?” Quarren straightens in his chair.

“I remember that.” Mal retrieved his tablet and typed something into it before turning it to face the rest of us. “I knew I heard something about that being a hoax. The genocide thing was a campaign orchestrated by internet trolls to discredit him from the line of succession by one of his uncles.”

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