Page 51 of Quinlan

“The five of them?” Gwen tucks her hair behind her ears. Once. Twice. Her pale-blue gaze is horrified. “They’ve been with us for years. Just because one of them forgot—”

“It’s one of them today, another tomorrow.” My easy-going nature is nowhere to be found. My expression is steely. Deadly. “As I said, a liability. We need to hire from scratch. People who aren’t total fuckups.”

Rome and I are the ones who deal with them, since it’s personal for Liam. All it’d take is for Gwen to mention to someone the man with the distinctive scar, and the rumors would spread throughout the small business.

Aria, as dumb as she is, will put two and two together. She’ll ruin our plan.

We can’t have that.

“They forgot to put up the mandatoryCaution Wet Floorsign on the plant’s floor.” My accusation is delivered in a derisive voice. “Good thing there’s one decent person left in your plant to have reported it back to me.”

This wasn’t a decent person. Nor did the cleaning crew forget any fucking sign.

The woman who moved the sign and took a picture for me got paid handsomely for her efforts. For waiting for Aria to go on her bathroom break to stage the scene.

“The rest of the cleaning crew minus the culpable one”—Aria, granted—“will be compensated for being let go.”

We’re not after them. But they’re a distraction. Firing them makes it look like we haven’t targeted this one person. That we’re cleaning house.

“Mr. Black, I’m urging you to reconsider.”

I’m too involved in our group chat on my phone to hear Gwen’s blabbering. Liam says we’re going to be touching Quinlan while she sleeps. Rome admits to kissing her.

He kissed her before me.

A surge of jealousy blinds me. It’s fucking suffocating, this thing. This strange feeling.

My Quinlan.

Mine.

The moment you planned on locking her in your apartment, she belonged to the three of you. Be grateful he didn’t bend herover in the middle of the street and spank her just be-fucking-cause.

That settles the green monster.

“Mr. Black?” A shrivel of hope can be heard in Gwen’s voice. “Would you? Reconsider?”

She’s mistaken my silence for kindness. Thought I’m texting the others, asking them whether she gets to keep her cleaning crew or not.

The only thing I’m considering is Quinlan in her bed, sleeping with the three of us there.

Jerking off to her.

We want her. We have a soft, toxic spot for our future captive.

There’s no use denying that anymore.

No use in continuing this conversation, either.

“Enough, Gwen.” My hardened gaze means I’m not fucking around. My hand slices the air between us. “You’ll fire the five of them. You. This isn’t a request.”

Her face blanches. She’s pale. Shocked at my abruptness. Over the year we’ve been the owners of her family’s company, I’ve never been this hostile.

That’s Rome’s job.

Mine is to trick her into believing we care about their legacy.

All I care about is her firing Aria.

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