Page 16 of Playing to Win

“I’m beginning to think I’m part of the problem in this relationship. I mean, this one kind of came out of left field, but still. Can’t our lives be boring for a week or so?” she asks.

“Fairy, our life is anything but boring. Now, kiss me before the chaos rains down on us.” That gets her attention. Her lips land on mine. I nip at them until she opens for me, and then my tongue is inside, gliding against hers, giving her a taste of what my mouth is going to do later tonight: Danica naked, legs spread, and my shoulders wedged between her thighs.

TWENTY-FOUR

Theo

“Jesus, I’m charging triple,”Sylvester greets me once he’s inside my home office. Parker and Ezra are already here. The fuckers are enjoying a good bottle of bourbon. Boston is back in New Orleans. We’ll catch him up to speed tomorrow when we’re back in the office.

“I’d expect no less. Fucking lawyers,” I joke as I sit down on top of my desk, facing the two chairs. Sly takes the vacant seat. Ezra likes to stand when we talk shit out. He’s got ants in his pants, and right now, he’s got his gaze on Danica’s desk.

“How very domesticated of you, Theo.” I’d expect nothing less from my friends. I gave them hell for falling fast and hard for their women. Now look at me.

“Very funny. It’s your wife who takes over your office, right? At least I share mine,” I grunt out my response.

“Alright, let’s get down to brass tacks. I hate dragging Nessa out of the house this late when she has to work tomorrow morning.” Vanessa must still be on days. I’m sure Parker is more than pleased with her schedule. Though, we’re a lot alike in the fact that we’d be happier if they stayed home and didn’t have a job. Maybe I am a caveman like Danica says after all.

“Whatever we were planning to do with EverTrust is off the table. I’m pulling rank this time around. I know we did a lot for everyone in this room, myself included. Charles Trust is Danica’s stepfather and the reason she left home when she was eighteen.” I let my words sink in, waiting before I elaborate.

“Motherfucker. What do you mean the reason she left?” Sylvester’s intense stare is locked on me.

“Shit, do whatever you need to. We don’t need a bank that’ll be more of a headache than we need,” Ezra states.

“Is this going to turn into the same situation as last time? Because if so, I’m in,” Parker suggests. He’s bloodthirsty when it comes to men hurting women.

“I’m told it better not because conjugal visits, orange jumpsuits, and sending nail files aren’t on Danica’s to-do list.” The guys get a kick out my response. “Anyways, she left at eighteen, has her biological father’s last name, and a friend of Mallory’s was willing to seal her file after she made it to the women’s shelter. That’s why when we ran Charles boy’s name, there was no hit on him regarding Danica.” Once I made the calls to the men in this room, Danica elaborated a bit more. She even talked about the bruises and how the lights went out in her mom’s eyes the night she left. My woman is strong, a lot fucking stronger than any one person should ever have to be. “Charles didn’t have a chance to get his hooks in Danica. Though, given the opportunity, I’m sure he would have. His comments caused her to lock her bedroom door with a chair beneath for good measure, and she had a go-bag on the ready, which told me plenty. It’s the fact he brought his associates around that really got me thinking.” I take a healthy sip of my own bourbon.

“So, he’s another man willing to use his authority for his own gain.” Sylvester has one foot over his knee, frustration laced through his tone.

“Yep, Mrs. Trust was and is his current victim. Danica said her mom had bruises on her when she left. She goes around once or twice a year, stays hidden while getting a glance at her mom, but she is too scared to approach.”

“I guess this is all adding up on how we couldn’t figure out where EverTrust’s money was going. I’m willing to bet he’s funneling it out to pay his associates for whatever they want,” Ezra says what I’ve been thinking since putting things together.

“Well, for obvious reasons, the contract and merger are null and void,” I tell them.

“Abso-damn-lutely,” Ezra agrees. Parker nods his response. We’re all on the same page.

“The next question is how to proceed?” Sly asks, but I can see the wheels are turning in his head like all of ours surely are.

“Dismantle him piece by piece, figure out who his associates are, and start exposing them,” I say without a hint of remorse. “If Boston were here, he’d say the exact same thing. Make it so it won’t come back on Sly’s firm or Four Brothers. It’ll be easy to get out of any contract with him, now more than ever. I only ask that you keep Danica’s name out of it. If that means I hang back and don’t come into Four Brothers for a while, so be it.” That’ll be harder on Parker and Ezra, more Parker with his penchant of working from home. Ezra comes in more but not every day like I do.

“We’ll figure it out. Right now, we’re all heading home with our women. We’ll call Boston in the morning, apprise him of the situation. Sly will have to do work more than all of us as soon as he figures out a safe and smart way to disassemble him from the inside out. Let them turn against one another,” Parker wraps our impromptu meeting up, simultaneously suggesting to Sylvester how to start dealing with this situation.

“Theo, glad to see you’re happy, brother. It’s about damn time. Can’t wait until there are little Danicas running around the penthouse,” Ezra jokes as he shakes my hand after we all head out my office door.

“Take that shit back. The woman busts my balls at least nine times a day. Christ, if we have girls with her beauty and attitude? I’m fucked, completely fucked.” Children with Danica hadn’t crossed my mind yet. We’ve been too busy dealing with one damn catastrophe after the other. Now that it has, I’m wondering if I can somehow throw her birth control pills in the trash without her noticing. Highly unlikely. It doesn’t matter if she’s in the hospital, recovering from a concussion, or working two damn jobs. She never forgets to take them, ever.

“This is going to be fun to watch,” Ezra finishes off before we reach the mouth of the hallway. The girls have popcorn, chips, drinks, and what looks like desserts surrounding them while a reality show plays on the television. It doesn’t matter that we’re in a high-rise penthouse that’s worth billions and has panoramic million-dollar views. Our women are creatures of comfort—good food, good company is all they really need or want.

TWENTY-FIVE

Danica

“So,are you going to tell me what the menfolk talked about?” I ask Theo. I’ve held my question in long enough. Of course, it was me who was craving a long hot shower, needing to decompress after pouring out years of pent-up emotion. And what does that say about myself? I cried over my mom, but the Brian situation? Not so much. I was more pissed off than anything, but also too out of my mind to do anything except retaliate. Theo taking care of him in a way that no judge, jury, or prosecutor can also helped. Yep, that’s how little faith I have in our system, especially when Theo elaborated about Brian’s past. It also helped that he made sure he was there while I recovered and anytime I needed to talk it out or replay what happened. Some of those times were tense, for me and Theo. Now I’m out of the shower, and the stress and worry are still at the forefront of my mind. Which is why I’m asking what they’re planning in a roundabout way.

“You know, the normal. Women, marriage, and babies.” My eyes must pop out of my head judging by the deep chuckle I’m met with. I’m standing at the foot of the bed wrapped in a towel, and Theo is wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. The look in his eyes is telling me I’m going to be his next meal, and I’d willingly have thrown myself at him, too, if it weren’t for the babies comment.

“Hold your horses there, big guy. No babies are coming out of me anytime soon.” I step back. Theo moves closer, and when the back of my knees meet the mattress, he continues his slow perusal of my body, starting at the bottom and working his way up. The searing of his eyes causes my thighs to clench. Theo is a man of many talents, but his mouth, Jesus, he uses it in a way that has me seeing stars, calling him my god, and begging for him to stop after one orgasm rolls into another.

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