Page 31 of Filthiest Of Them All

“I know Halo can hack the cameras around the city and before you lie and say you guys aren’t even here, don’t.” He snickers but remains silent. “I think someone is stonewalling my build for the next hotel and I need to know who it is… please.”

“Halo, bring up the feed around Lividica in the city.” I roll my eyes, my point has been proven, these men have no fucking boundaries. “What am I looking for?” Omen asks.

“There are three blacked out Lincoln's parked in the alley next to the hotel. Ez thinks they are the ones paying off our inspector.”

“Give me twenty minutes,” he says, then ends the call. Vivian motions for me to follow them inside. I sigh and do as she asks, but just before we enter the building she comes to a stop and faces me. Her eyes hold a hard edge and I start to worry she may fire me.

“This is your show. We may own the hotels but you are the one who knows everything about them. When we get in there, we’ll follow your lead. This is your show, Tate.” My jaw drops, I’m at a loss for words.

“Vox and Nova just arrived,” Archer says as I turn away from Vi and sure enough, Nova and Vox are making their way toward us. Vox is wearing his usual scowl while Nova is beaming at me. When she is within reach, she wraps her arms around me and holds me tight.

“I freaking missed you, Tate!” I melt into her embrace and can’t help but smile.

“Yeah, I kind of missed you too,” I mutter as she pulls back and shoots me a wink.

“So, what’s the plan?” Nova asks. Vivian tells her what she just told me and to my surprise both her and Vox agree without complaint. I’m so used to rich people always thinking they know everything and taking control but not this lot. They are leaving me to handle everything and I fucking respect that shit so damn much. I never thought I would ever be in the position that I am. I’m just some kid from the system who was never wanted and yet… I have people that actually care about me and come when I call, that’s something that will take a long time to get used to.

“Let’s do this,” I say as I lead the way inside the lobby that is still under construction. My jaw locks when I see the builders we have employed sitting around doing fucking nothing while they get paid for it. I pause in the center and look around and not once do any of these greased up pigs try to act like they are actually working. They just continue on with their conversations and scrolling on their damn phones. “If you sons of bitches want your paycheck at the end of the fucking week, I suggest you do some damn work!” I shout garnering the attention of everyone.

“Who the hell is she?” one of the guys asks.

“Your boss,” Vox snarls as he steps forward to stand at my side. A silent gasp escapes me. “I suggest you listen to her or you're all fired.” His threat seems to do the trick, all of them scramble to get off their lazy asses and return to work. The sound of clapping draws my attention to the other side of the room where a woman stands. She wears a white suit with no shirt beneath her jacket to show off the swell of her tits. Her black hair is tied in a high ponytail with no loose strands but it’s her eyes, the blue, it stands out against her tanned skin. I look at the three guys flanking her. I cock my head to the side and frown. The one covered in tattoos reminds me of Halo for some reason. The other two are twins, both of them look vicious. Their brown eyes are filled with mischief, both of them have their blond hair spiked and cut short on the sides.

“Tatum Lawson, I presume?” the woman says in a stuck up tone. I hate the way she stands there looking down her nose at me. I can tell she is wealthy just from the way she holds herself and from what she’s wearing. The three guys are dressed similar to us, casual. Well, I’m wearing a loose tee that is knotted in the front and a pair of jeans I’ve had for years that didn’t start out with rips in the knees but after years of use they now have them.

“Should I know who you are?” I ask. Her upper lip twitches in distaste, good. I have no interest in kissing this bitches ass. I know for a fact now they are the ones stonewalling us. I can smell it on them, she’s here to intimidate me and push me out of town. She can try as much as she likes but I never fucking run from a fight. The woman takes a step forward but the Halo clone darts his arm out and stops her. She scowls at him but he doesn’t budge, just shakes his head in warning.

“The meeting is about to begin,” Halo 2 says, then turns and heads back through the doors. The bitch shoots me one last glare before following the guy with the other two. I crack my neck side to side and follow after them.

“Let the fucking fun begin,” I growl. As we enter the room, I snort at the sight of a large oval table and chairs that weren't here yesterday. “Made yourself at home I see?” I snark. The four of them sit at one end of the table with the bitch at the head, so I make a power move of my own. I claim the seat at the other end, sitting across from her. Nova and Vivian are both grinning as they sit on either side of me with the guys claiming the seats by them. Just to piss the bitch off further I slouch back in my seat while maintaining eye contact and nod my head for her to begin. Halo 2 has a ghost of a smirk on his face but it isn’t him I’m worried about, it's the twins. I can tell they are unhinged and I would hate to face those fuckers in a dark alley alone.

“It’smycity. I’ll make a home where I want,” the cunt grits out. The red lipstick she wears just adds to her cunt vibe and has me rolling my eyes.

“Is that so…” I let my sentence trail off. Vox and the other three guys recline in their seats, happy to leave this meeting to me which means a lot, they could undermine me at any time but won’t. Nova and Vivian sit there with blank looks on their faces, ready to intervene if I need them—I won’t, I got this.

She sits forward and steeples her hands on the table and stares at me with hatred. I keep my own face free of emotion, knowing it will drive someone like her insane not being able to get a read on me.

“You think you can come into my city and try to open an establishment without my blessing?” I don’t bother answering, knowing she isn’t done and clearly loves the sound of her own voice. “I own Chicago. Everyone in this city knows all new businesses must pay a tax to my family.”

Laughter bubbles out of me which just has her nostrils flaring and her eyes burning with hatred. “Let’s get something straight here. I won’t and never fucking will pay a tax to you and your family. You keep stonewalling me and hindering the opening of my hotel and you will learn really fast how resourceful I am.”

“Do you have any idea who the fuck I am?” she grinds out.

I purse my lips and pretend to think for a second before shaking my head. “No idea and honestly, I don’t give a shit.”

She pushes back and stands, laying her palms flat on top of the table as she glares across at me. I don’t move or even react. “You little?—”

“Sit the fuck down, Desire.” My breath hitches at the sound of Alex’s booming voice but I don’t react. I remain composed with my gaze on the bitch before me. Her eyes twitch, she wants to look at Alex but doesn’t want to lose the glaring match. The man himself makes it easy for her when he comes to stand behind me. I see out of the corner of my eyes he isn’t alone. I don’t need to see their faces to know it’s Omen and the others. “Sit the fuck down,” Alex grits out. She reluctantly obeys him, me on the other hand I feel like stirring the pot so I purse my lips and blow her a kiss.

She doesn’t like that. She catapults out of her seat and tries to round the table, but Halo 2 grabs her wrist and pulls her back as he stands. “I’m gonna snap her fucking neck,” she seethes.

“Touch her and our deal is off,” Alex snaps, drawing her attention to him. My brow furrows when I see recognition in her eyes. I reign in my jealousy and keep my composure, not wanting to show her that she is getting to me.

“You know the rules. She came into my city and everyone knows there is a fee to be paid.” Desire sounds unhinged and it makes me smile, knowing I’m getting to her.

“Why the sudden interest in her and the hotel now?” Vatican volleys back.

Desire’s face blanks and I know without a shadow of a doubt she is about to spin some bullshit. “I’ve been busy, it's a lot of work running a city. Someone had to fill our father’s shoes when the four of you ran away like little pussies.” This time my jaw pops open in shock, the cunt swings her gaze to me and winks. “Oh, you didn’t know?” she says in a sickly sweet tone.

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