Page 44 of Prettiest Little Thief
“Half of my clientele are felons, Gianna.”
“And the other half? Fucking cops. You’re setting yourself up for failure,” Gianna replied, frustration evident.
This was not what I had expected to hear today. My heart skipped a beat at the realization that I could be the downfall of Knight Technologies by Lucas marrying me.
I snuck a peek around the corner with a lump in my throat and fell back into my hiding spot. A tall brunette paced in front of Lucas’s desk, all legs and sex appeal. Her flared hips and cinched waist sent my stomach into somersaults and bile rising.
Is she trying to convince him to marryher?
No, that wouldn’t make sense. Would it?
“Gianna, calm the fuck down. You don’t know a damn thing about business. Too busy rolling in your father’s money to work a day in your life.”
“Hey, I was lucky to be born into such a rich family. What the fuck do you even know about Monroe Whitlock?” she scoffed, her footfalls across the floor stalling.
But Lucas didn’t speak. He stayed silent, and it only caused me to want to hurl.
Instead of staying to listen in embarrassment, I ran back to the room, stuffed a few things in a bag, and left out the back door.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lucas
“You don’t have an answer, Lucas. Surprise, surprise.” Gianna tapped her painted fingernail on my desk, and a smug smirk grew on her face. She was really pissing me off, and if she wasn’t my cousin, I would kick her ass out of my house.
“I know plenty about Monroe. I just don’t owe you shit. I don’t need to explain myself to you or my reasoning for anything.” I leaned forward, threading my fingers together on top of my desk. “She will be my wife with or without your blessing. And if you think you will come to our home and make her feel anything less than a member of our family, I will be sure to have a word with Uncle Ted.”
Gianna’s face fell and turned a couple of shades whiter. She took a step back and straightened. “You don’t know anything about me that you can use against me.”
“I do though.” A sneer spread across my face.
“You’re a liar.” Gianna flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I have nothing to hide.”
“I know about the video. The one where you let a few guys at your dad’s club…”
“Shut up!” Gianna yelled. “I was drunk… my dad… you can’t…” Her breaths came heavily, and her cheeks turned scarlet.
“You’ll go back to your dad and everyone else in our family and tell them you met Monroe. That she’s a fuckingpeach.Do you understand?”
Tears swam in Gianna’s eyes, and she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth but nodded anyway. “If I do that, you won’t tell anyone about the video?”
“You have my word. As your cousin.”
One of her eyes twitched and her lips pursed. “You’re an asshole, Lucas.” She stormed out of the office, grabbing her expensive Chanel bag from a chair as she went.
“Bye, Gianna,” I called after her.
The truth was, I knew about the video from mutual friends. I was sure if I dug deep enough, I could have someone bring it to the surface for my uncle to find. That would get her disowned and disinherited. Gianna knew I wasn’t someone to mess with. She had seen what I was capable of.
Fox waltzed into my office, his usual smirk in place. He took a seat at one of the chairs in front of my desk but said nothing, humor dancing in his brown eyes.
“What?” I snapped.
Fox picked an invisible piece of lint from his shirt. “Do you know where Roe is?”
My brow arched. “In her room, where she should be resting.”
He rolled his lips and shook his head. “I’m assuming your Corvette wasn’t sold, right?”
