Page 67 of Queen Of Dark Money

Finally, just whenIthought he’d wear a line in the fucking carpet, he whipped out his phone, shot off a phone call, and put the receiver to his ear, waiting for someone to pick up on the other end.

Iheld my breath as he opened his mouth, praying to godsIdidn’t believe in that this would work in my favor.

“Hey, it’s me.Callthe others.I’mcalling an emergency meeting.”Hedisconnected the call and leaned over me, hitting the button on his deskI’dnoticed earlier, but had paid no mind to.Almostimmediately, a very well-put-together woman bustled in, a clipboard in her hands and a scowl on her face.Sherounded onRiveralmost immediately, laying into him like he was her husband or some shit.

“Finally,you call for me!Iwas beginning to think you’d finally drank yourself to death!Jesus, do you have any idea how much bullshitIhave to go over with you after you decided to send me away for two days?Shit’scoming out of my damnears,B.Thebar needs to be refinished; there’s a hole in the wall fromTrixie’sheels in private room number four; a pole needs to be tightened on the secondary stage, and donotget me started on the carpet cleaning bill–oh, who’s this?”Shestopped the flowing word vomit for a second and blinked slowly at me, her brows almost in her hairline. “Newdancer?”

IwatchedRivershake his head, refusing to give her any more information. “We’lltalk about it later,Sasha.Rightnow,Ineed you to take care of everything on the schedule and then callFourandSixand tell them we’re doing an emergency meeting tonight, soI’llneed them to beef up their end of security for a few hours.”

Heturned to me, andIthrew my hands up, already way ahead of him. “Listen,I’llbe a good girl and sit in your office until you come back–or your apartment, as long as you promise to take the spare key outta the wall with you.”

“No.”

Istared at him without saying a word, waiting for him to explain.

Hedid not elaborate, soIwas forced to ask.

“No?”

“You’recoming with me.”Heoffered a hand, waiting untilItook it to move. “Butwe’d better get you out of that fuckinggetup and into something that covers all your best assets, or there won’t be a meeting, so much as an ogling session.”

Iblushed scarlet, imagining all of these men sitting in a circle, watching me in this outfit–watching me dance–watching me work–

Fuck.NowIwas horny, andIdidn’t have time for all that jazz.

“Areyou taking me out in public like this?”Igestured down at my outfit and watched as his eyes grazed me again, taking in how short this whole thing was.Itook that moment to rip the shirt off, tossing it to the floor dramatically. “Idon’t know if half the stores on the avenue would let me through the door looking like this.”

Hiseyes got stuck somewhere between my tube top and the tops of my knees, andIlet out a little giggle asIwatched hisAdam’sapple bob, throat working to sate a man who had suddenly become parched.

Iknew how this shit worked.IknewIlooked good.Andbeing half-naked didn’t hurt, either.Toreally drive home the control here,Idid a little spin, making sure to bounce a bit for his benefit.

Poorguy.

Iwatched as his knees almost buckled beneath him, his mouth open, jaw slack.Aknock at the door was the only thing that could draw his attention away from me, and he managed to screw his business first face back on asSashacame marching back through his office door, trusty clipboard still in hand, with a smile on her face.

Hereyes found me in the corner of the room, and that smile disappeared at the sight of my clothes. “Oh, you’re still here.”Herblonde curls bounced around her face as she cocked her head atRiver, that sickening smile of hers only getting sweeter. “Didyou want me to get rid of her?”

“No,” he snapped, stepping between her and me. “Iwant you to have a car brought around to the back entrance.I’mgoing out for a bit.”Heglanced at the wall clock, doing mental calculations in his head. “I’llbe back around five.Makesure the boys get whatever they’d like to drink in the meeting room, and that the guards are stationed where they’re supposed to be.I’llbe unreachable and unavailable from six until seven at the minimum.Possiblylater.”

Sashanodded, but her steely glare turned back on me through the nearby mirror on the wall. “Yougot it, boss.AnythingelseIcan get for you, sir?”Sheput some honey-dripping sugar on that last word there, almost to the point of drowning in it, andIhad to resist the urge to gag.Shewas clearly staking her claim, andIcouldn’t help but laugh at the sheer absurdity of it.

Shethought he viewed her as anything more than his assistant.Shewas delusional.I’dseen many of her type before–so pick me it hurt to watch.Ibet if he asked her to lick his shoes, she’d do it in a heartbeat.

Ha.

“Thanksfor the help,Sasha, butIthink we can take it from here.”Isauntered up behind him and ran my hands over his shoulders, digging my claws into his chest for her to see asIglanced around his shoulder and smiled so wideIthought my face would freeze like that. “You’resuch a good help.I’msureRivreally appreciates all the work you do.”

Theman in question had short-circuited, his eyes cut to the side to watch me asIstaked my claim, fucking withSashafor the hell of it.Ihad nothing else to do to keep myself entertained around here.Whatwas a little drama for the sake of my sanity?

IwatchedSashabat her eyelashes atRiver, waiting for him to agree, but he simply nodded, muttered‘thanks,Sasha,’and tipped his head at the door.Theminute she was gone, the doorclosed behind her, he spun on his heel, walked me backward, and pinned me against the top of his desk, those long, powerful arms caging me in as we went nose to nose with each other.

Heleaned over me, forcing me to lean back, elbows resting on the desk as his imposing figure weighed me down.Hewas close enoughIcould fucking close my eyes and breathe him in like an intoxicating drug.Likethe very airIneeded to breathe.Butsomething in his eyes told me now wasnotthe time to push his buttons.

“Whatwas that all about,MissSinclair?”Thosepretty emerald eyes narrowed, and he stared into mine, no doubt searing his imprint on my fucking soul. “Areyou trying to prove something to my secretary?”

Irolled my eyes, pretending to be nonchalant about the whole situation.Icouldn’t let him know how flustered he made me. “Oh, please.Sashais half in love with you, man.AndIjust got the feeling you didn’t feel the same way.SoIwas helping you out, okay?”

“Shesees me with women all the time.Sowhat makes you think she assumes she’ll be one of them someday?”

---