Page 29 of Power

“Now that we’re done with the girl talk, we need to discuss saving our business.” Tarun was going to die.

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Jai and I spent the rest of the day strategizing. We conference-called our men in India to fill them in. Our men would be ramping up security on pending shipments and chaperoning the shipments until they reached our clients.

We couldn’t hold off any longer on finding Tarun. I needed him gone. The next step was a meeting with Amelia to discuss the facial-recognition software.

Amelia.Jai’s words from earlier were seared in my mind.

I needed her for her programming skills, but I couldn’t continue a sexual relationship with her if she was in love with me. This had to remain casual or we could have nothing at all. I wouldn’t lead her on.

After finishing up at Nirvana, I texted her, saying that we needed to talk.

When she didn’t reply, I called but reached her voicemail instead. I knew she was at home because she used the driver that I had arranged for her. I was livid that she was ignoring me, so I had my driver take me to her apartment.

In the car, I loosened the knot on my tie to ease the tension festering inside. I was angry at Tarun for everything he had done to sabotage my family and business. I was angry at Jai for running his mouth. I was angry at Amelia for ignoring me. I balled my hands into fists on my thighs, ready to punch something in my fury.

We pulled up to her building. It didn’t have a doorman or a lobby. I didn’t like the idea of her staying in a building without good security.

I knew the access code from the information I had found in her file from my men. I punched it in, unlocking the main door. I nearly yanked it off its hinges.

I stormed up to her door. The rage inside of me was spilling over. I banged on her door with my fist so loud that I was sure her neighbors had felt the floors shake.

I heard rustling inside and then footsteps approaching the door. The sounds paused for a moment. I knew she was looking at me through the peephole.

The locks clicked and then the door opened. Amelia stood in the doorway with her hand on the knob, ready to slam the door in my face. Her face said it all. She was just as pissed as I was, but for different reasons.

Her beautiful red hair was in a messy bun at the top of her head and her mascara was smudged. I could tell she had been crying because her eyes were red and swollen. She wore a thin white t-shirt with no bra underneath, and black yoga leggings that clung to her full hips. My cock stirred at what I saw through her shirt. Her nipples stood at attention underneath, as if her body were turned on at the mere sight of me, despite her heavy emotions.

“When I call, you answer the fucking phone. Understand?” My voice roared like thunder.

Her jaw dropped in shock. She was raging like a hurricane. “You have some nerve to come over here and yell at me,” she hissed.

I was sure her neighbors had a front-row view of our confrontation, and I wasn’t in the mood for an audience. I grabbed her waist with both hands and lifted her off the floor.

“Hey! Put me down!” She flailed her body to get me to loosen my grip.

I carried her inside and kicked the door shut. Her apartment was small, so her living room was the bedroom. I threw her down on the full-sized bed. She landed on her back with a bounce. I noticed the way her tits shook from the impact. She quickly planted her feet on the floor and righted herself, glaring at me, even more pissed than before.

“Where was your phone?” I had steadied my voice, but my anger was still evident.

She scoffed at me and put her hands on her hips. “Why do you care? Are your strippers not entertaining enough?” As if with satisfaction at her own scrappiness, she grinned. I admired her more when she was feisty. I liked it when she fought me.

“Actually, no. They’re not.”

She was surprised by my response. She must have expected me to raise my voice and deny her implications, but I was an expert at winning arguments. I changed my tactic. The element of surprise always gave one the upper hand in a disagreement. “Are you jealous of my extracurricular activities?”

I knew the answer from the way her face reddened. Jai was right. She might not necessarily love me, but she did have feelings for me, or she wouldn’t have cared.

“No.” Her reply was laced with untruth. I had to play this carefully. I needed to make her understand that this was a casual relationship for me. Nothing more.

I slowly closed the distance between us until I was close enough that her hard nipples poked me through our clothes. Angry and turned on was a great look on her.

I lowered my mouth to her ear. “Good. Then you wouldn’t care if I left right now and rang afriendfor company?” I hadn’t been with another woman since I’d met her. She didn’t need to know that, though, especially not now, when I was trying to convince her thatthiswas nothing more than sex.

Her breath hitched as my nose tickled the spot on her neck right under her ear. “Don’t fall for me, Amelia,” I whispered. She pulled back and looked at me, her eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not a good man. Iwillhurt you.”

Her eyes turned glassy at my warning as tears threatened to fall. I knew she understood.

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