Page 16 of Ms. Fortune

Maria brings our dinners; sure enough, she knows precisely what each of us will love. Normandy is impressed with Maria’s selection for her, and after her first bite, she closes her eyes and moans.

“Oh my God. This is heaven.”

Watching her at that moment, eyes closed and groaning in ecstasy, is almost more than I can handle. I am not prepared. I can only stare at her, imagining her under me with the same expression on her face, those sounds in her throat as I make love to her.

“Sorry, this food is amazing.” Her words snap me out of my x-rated daydream, and I refocus on her. She’s blushing as though she knows what I was thinking, but she has no idea…. “I haven’t been here in so long. I forgot how good the food is.”

“So, you’ve been here before?” I don’t even know what I’m asking; words are just coming out. I’m still stuck in the perverse thoughts of a second ago.

“Oh yeah, this was our special occasion place when I was younger.” She looks around at the carpet and artwork, presumably searching for similarities or changes. “Lots of birthdays were spent here.” She gets a far-off look in her eyes as though she’s remembering particular moments fondly. At this moment, with that expression, she’s even more stunning now than she was moaning about the food a second ago. My breath almost catches as I take her in.

I need to be careful here. I admit that so far, Normandy Blake has been a challenge, but one I’ve been game to meet. And, one I think I’ve overcome, or am about to, if our dating agreement is any indication. But I’m not sure what my end goal is with her. Am I just doing this to make it through the Eve scandal relatively unscathed? I could be that cold, couldn’t I? That indifferent? The idea of using Normandy tightens my chest in a way I’m not used to. I barely know her, yet I’m already afraid of hurting her? I might need to get my head checked.

It takes me a second, but I notice Normandy has gotten quiet. When I glance over, her head is down, and she’s pushing the food on her plate around with her fork. A lump forms in my throat as I realize she’s most likely missing her father right now.

“You know, the last time I saw Victor, he was on the phone arguing with someone, I have no clue what about, but man, he was the king of one-liners.” I can’t help but chuckle, remembering the incident. “He said, “Louie,” or “Lou,” something like that, I can’t remember exactly, “I started this business with nothing, and I still have most of it. I’d like to keep it that way.” He sure had a way of turning negatives into positives, even in the middle of arguments.”

She snaps her eyes up to mine, she’s not laughing, and her brow furrows. “Did you say, Louie? Did you get the last name?”

“No.” I shrug. “I don’t think he ever said it. Why?”

“There was a man at the funeral, Louie Calnetta, apparently a business rival. He was creepy, and your security guard had to move me away from him when he got too aggressive with me.”

“Is that when you called me into your office to yell at me?” The smirk on my face is involuntary. The whole thing reminded me of elementary school, but the smile doesn’t last long as I realize what she’s said. “He was aggressive with you? How so?” I’m instantly on alert now. “Randall said there was an incident but didn’t go into details. Did this guy hurt you? Nobody said anything.” I’m reaching for my phone, preparing to put a hit out on this Louie guy if I need to. This is Vegas, somebody still does that, right? “If I’d known at the time, I would have done something….”

“No, he didn’t hurt me. Just squeezed my arm too tight and said he wanted to talk business.” She seems to shiver as she thinks about it.

Before she finishes her sentence, I text Taylor to find out everything I can about this Louie Calnetta person.

“Brandon.”

“Yeah, one second.” Next, I type out a text to the head of my legal department to draft an application for a restraining order to keep him away from Normandy. This asshole is going to find out what it’s like to have someone get aggressive with him. We’ll see how he fucking likes it.

“Brandon. What are you doing?”

“I, am taking care of it.” I press send on the last text. “There. Done.” I put my phone back on the table face down. I don’t need to see replies yet. I know they’ll get what I asked done. It’s what I pay them for.

She stares at me blankly. “Taking care of what?”

“Louie Calnetta. You won’t need to worry about him. I took care of it.”

Her eyes widen in disbelief. “You did what? How? And more importantly, why?”

I’m a little thrown by her reaction. I figured getting this guy off her back would be a good thing, a welcome thing. But of course, Normandy has other ideas.

“I’m having my security find out what they can about this asshole, and my lawyers are getting a protective order prepared to keep him away from you.”

“Are you being serious? A restraining order? That’s a bit extreme.”

I grab her hand, and again she doesn’t pull away. I like it. Way more than I probably should. “As my girlfriend, fake or otherwise, you should know I won’t put up with anyone fucking with you. If someone crosses that line, they’re going to regret it. That’s all.” I shrug. It’s the truth. I will not put up with anyone messing with her or her business. Not while I’m around, anyway.

She doesn’t say anything but gives me an unreadable look. She’s got a great poker face. I’d hate to get into a high-stakes hand with her. I have a feeling she’d take me for everything I’ve got, and I’d let her.

Chapter 12

VULTURES

NORMANDY

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