Page 61 of Double Down
Sure. It’s not like I’m busy or anything.
Con
Thanks, man.
I’m being a dick, but fuck it. He can be pissy. He’ll get over it when he finds out I’m leaving him to hold Phoenix. He likes the cuddling shit, and when she wakes up, she’ll be his for a while.
I just have to get her upstairs unseen, then deal with Legal. Then figure out a training program for my little secretary.
Her employment contract with the Titans is getting amended—naked secretarial work, possibly an MBA track—and whatever the others want now that the ground is shifting.
I just have to keep reminding myself that my end goal is to break her, not keep her. The higher I lift her, the farther she’ll fall. That’s all it is.
This isn’t caring.
This isn’t love.
This is about her being gutted by the pain she’ll feel when she loses.
And when she does, everyone will know who dropped her.
14
Maverick
When I getto the penthouse, it’s just me and Zeus…the dog I’m pretty sure likes watching Phoenix get railed more than I do.
Of course Conrad isn’t here. He’s busy being pulled in a million directions, fixing issues and making plans.
I’m just picking up the slack, dealing with promotions and soothing over issues the front desk and concierge don’t have the authority to handle.
I take a deep breath and try to remind myself that it could be worse. No one is looking to me to solve the hard shit. I get the simple stuff, the fun stuff. Like Phoenix and her aftercare.
Storm is taking care of culling the weak employees and dealing with the lawyers. Atticus gets to run numbers—ugh—and hunt down the hackers. Just the idea of staring at all that code endlessly scrolling on a monitor makes my skin itch.
Con is playing master of the universe. It sounds like fun, but I know better. Master of the universe means that all the responsibility lands on him. Sure, he gets the praise if we succeed, but he also takes it on the chin if we fail.
Fuck that noise.
I get to plan parties, approve special cocktails, pick the colors and cuts of bikinis for the models we’re hiring to be waitresses at one of the poolside parties.
The hardest part of that job is making sure they all sign ironclad NDAs, that they are well compensated, and that the bouncers are watching for any signals the waitresses might give if a patron gets too handsy.
Anyone could do this shit, and since the skills I have are the same Con has—but not as good—it all lands on me.
I should be thrilled, so why does it feel like a noose?
Con comes in with Phoenix asleep in his arms, dressed in what looks like a bathing-suit cover-up for a woman four times her size.
“Couldn’t find a circus tent?” I ask.
“I had something run up from the gift shop. I told them I needed something that would cover her completely, and this is what they sent.”
“Okay, then.”
“Look, she came hard, and she came a lot. I pushed further than I should have, and normally I wouldn’t give a fuck, but…”
“But it’s Phoenix,” I nod, then add the words I know Con won’t. “This girl is different, and it isn’t just because Storm wants to keep her.”
