Page 20 of Paid In Full

“You have an hour to get to my office with him in tow,” Benito said. “Don’t make me come looking for you.”

“Whoa, Benito, hold on a second. Why do you need us there? I mean, seriously, what are you going to do?”

“An hour.”

Benito hung up on me. I stared at the phone.Ah fuck. Me and my big goddamn mouth!I wanted to bang my head against the sink. Instead, I forced myself to shower, get dressed, and search for Ash. I needed to warn him about what was happening.

What the hell is Benito going to do to the kid anyway?

“I can’t have anything nice,” I muttered as I paused in the hallway.

The smell of coffee and food drew my attention to the kitchen instead of the guest room. Ash was in the same clothes as the night before, an apron wrapped around his body as he cooked something at the stove.

“What are you doing?”

Ash jumped. “Shit!” He panted, turning around to look me up and down. “Um, making something to eat,” he said quickly. “I was hungry, and I don’t have any money, so I thought it would be okay to just cook something. I’ll replace whatever I use if I can, of course.” He walked over to the coffee maker. “Do you want some? How do you take it?”

“Up the ass as you saw last night.” When his face went red, I barked out a laugh. “Relax, kid. I’m fucking with you. And stop talking so much. I don’t give a damn if you make yourself some food.” I nodded toward the coffee maker. “Black with a splash of creamer is fine for me.”

“O-okay,” he said.

Ash quickly grabbed a mug and made me a cup of coffee. He sat it in front of me, nervously shuffling from one foot to the other as I picked it up and took a sip. When he continued to stare at me, I raised a brow.

“Calm down, or you’re going to piddle on the rug,” I said. “What are you cooking?”

“Basic stuff. Eggs, bacon, home fries. There was some fruit, so I’m having some of that too.”

I sat down. “Make me a plate.”

“Y-yes, sir,” he said.

“Sir, huh?” I mused. “I like the way that sounds.”

If Ash was red before, he was even more so now. He quickly turned on his heels and walked over to the stove to hide from me. I chuckled. When he returned, his composure had come back. He put a plate in front of me, and I tasted the eggs.

“These are good,” I muttered, scooping more into my mouth. “Or I’m just starving.”

“No one was really around to cook food for me,” he said. “I’ve been cooking for myself since I was young. Mostly I just pour a bowl of cereal and call it a day, but I know how to make a few things. Breakfast mostly. Everything else, I’m a little lost,” he muttered. He returned to the table with a plate of his own. “I want to talk about money now. You said we could in the morning.”

“I did.”

Ash squirmed in his seat when I didn’t say anything else. The grin that wanted to pull at my lips was so strong I almost let it out, but I quickly stuffed it down.He’s kind of cute when he’s freaking out.

“Mr. Vitale,” he started. “I—”

“Giancarlo,” I said.

“Giancarlo.” He cleared his throat. “I did what you wanted last night. Several times,” he said, his face flaring red again. “How much did I earn?”

“How much do you want?” I asked.

Ash shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Okay, a thousand.”

His head shot up. “No way! I’ll be here forever if you only let me earn that little. That’s not fair! Last night alone should have been a lot more than that!”

I raised a brow. “You said the first time was free. Frankly, you gave your virginity to me. For free,” I reiterated. “That’s on you.”

---