Page 13 of Arianna

My child.

“Let’s get you dressed, little lady, and let daddy handle the mean witch.” Banning hugs my kid closer and talks to her in a silly and irritating voice. The same one I warned him not to use with my kid. I want her to be a kid, of course, but not an idiot or as academically challenged as my right-hand man. I bet Banning’s mother used that idiotic tone with him.

Once he is gone with my kid, I stand up from the kitchen table and button my suit. I have a press conference to attend this morning regarding the latest mass shooting. I take a sip of my coffee and give Celene my attention.

Celene has been with me since I decided to run for Senator. She takes care of the press and serves as my assistant. She is beautiful, there is no doubt about that, but her beauty is forced. Not effortless. Black hair. Brown eyes. A slim waist. She is small and has curves in all the right places.

She is smart and efficient, too.

That is all I ask of my employees.

To get shit done as quickly as possible without fucking up, and to be discreet and loyal.

Celene takes a deep breath before speaking up. “I think you should find yourself a woman.”

This again.

Already knowing where she is going with this, I shut her down. “No.”

“J-just listen to me, Seb—” I stare her down. She damn well knows no one calls me by my birth name. “Pardon me, sir. I believe that if the public sees you settling down for a while with a good woman, it might help clean your playboy image and make you more appealing to the conservative party.”

Not giving her absurd idea a second thought, I open my mouth to reject her suggestion when she stops me.

“Do it for the kid.” She smiles sweetly while looking at the picture of Ellaiza I have framed on the coffee table. Too sweetly, I might say. “Don’t you want things to settle down for her sake?” That was a blow below the belt.

Using Ellaiza to get me to comply.

Dirty tactic, but sadly…effective.

Sighing, “I’ll give it some thought.”

“Perfect!” Celene claps and says in a chirpy voice that grates on my nerves. She is so happy all the time, and no one sane could be that happy. “I’ll get right to it, then.”

I turn around and leave her there, plotting, while I walk out the door with my security on my tail.

Little did I know that from that moment on, my life would never be the same again.

* * *

A week later

“Mr. Kenton, I have Gabriele Parisi on the line.” Celene’s voice breaks through my thoughts as I finish typing an email.

Parisi.

He has been calling my office relentlessly for weeks now, and I haven’t given him the time of day once. I refuse to make deals with traitorous snakes, and Gabriele Parisi is the worst of them.

He has no honor.

The type of man that throws stones and quickly hides the hand.

He believes the world owes him shit, but that will change today.

I did say that there are evils that should be punished more creatively than others.

It will be my pleasure to send the Parisi criminal to hell, just not yet.

He needs to suffer first.

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