Page 45 of Power Twist

“You were. We made you badass.” I incline my head, accepting his statement. “I took a chance on the poor girl, and it worked out for the both of us. Hardest worker I've ever had to date. On her breaks, you'd always find her with a cigarette in one hand and flash cards in the other.”

I snort and push the near-empty tray across the rough wood table. “You and the other guys corrupted me in the best way.” I don't stop my smirk as I glance over to Trey, who's scanning the restaurant with his head tilted toward the table, listening to every word. “Someday I'd like to come in and actually pay to have more work done.”

“You for real?” he asks, uncertainty lingering in his questioning tone.

“Yeah. Why do you sound surprised?”

His wide shoulders rise and fall, and I swear the bench bounces with the movement. Tiny might be his name, but he's the exact opposite. The man makes T look small with his tall frame and bulk. Sure, he's not as in shape as my guys, but the man could still own any person in the restaurant if they so much as looked at him the wrong way. I'd like to call him a gentle giant, but he isn't unless you're in his inner circle. Which, thankfully, I weaseled my way into somehow.

“I watched you during the campaign and seen pictures since. You never show your tats. Figured you were ashamed of them or something now that you're big-time.”

“First of all,” I interject, “I'm not big-time. I'm just as small-time as I ever was, believe me. Second, it wasn't my choice to keep your pretty art covered. The campaign manager thought it would better if I kept them covered since it would already be an uphill battle getting the shitheads in DC to accept me.”

“Did it help?”

“No,” I grumble. Reaching out, I tug on Taeler's long blonde ponytail to draw her attention back to the conversation. Her eyes stay glued to something in the corner of the restaurant. Huh. Leaning forward, I look around Tiny and follow her line of sight.

My eyes narrow when I find what's snagged her undivided attention.

“Taeler Lynn, don't even think about it.” I turn her face to meet mine, her eyes reluctantly following. “No.”

“But he's cute,” she practically whines as she bounces on the bench.

“No.” One hundred percent no.

“Why?”

“You can't find one of my agents hot.”

An interrupting cough sounds from somewhere close. I roll my eyes and wave Trey off.

“That doesn't make any sense. I'm just looking.” Her eyes slide back to the corner where Grem stands, hands casually clasped. “How old is he anyway?”

“I don't—”

“Twenty-seven.”

Eyes narrowed, I turn to glare at a smiling Trey. “Stay out of this, Trouble.” For several seconds, I hold his stare in a standoff. “She doesn't need that kind of distraction.”

“Oh, like you do?”

Shifting along the bench, I turn my annoyed glare to Tiny. “And what exactly does that mean?”

He laughs, smacking his palm on top of the table. The trays rattle and the roll of paper towels tumbles to the ground.

“Seriously, you think I'm blind or something? You two,” he says, pointing between me and Trey. “There's something going on there.”

“Tiny,” I growl in warning.

“Mom! Wait, are you dating them both?”

“Shh,” I hiss as I glance around, making sure no one's listening to our conversation. “No, I'm not dating them both.”

“So you are dating one of them.”

“Fuck me.” Leaning forward, I rest my face in my palms. “Why are you ganging up on me?”

“Because it's fun,” Taeler says on a laugh. “He's cute though.”

---