Page 2 of Slow Burn (The Boston Beauties)

He flipped the binder to the back page and took out the yellow Post-It note. ‘I assume it has to do with this?’

CHAPTER 1

MATT

18 months ago

‘Are you sure we can’t go out for dinner for once?’ Cindy asked, we were both naked and she was straddling me on the sofa. We were in my real office at the back of my sister’s salon, not the fake office I kept downtown as a facade for one of the many shell companies we ran.

The front that I was a pharmaceutical rep had been a brilliant idea. It gave me a lot of freedom from Jessa and a reason to be out of town a lot. Also, it allowed my siblings and me another outlet to launder our money and that of other organized crime partners.

We had a good system, well, my siblings did. It was new to me, but I was catching on, and it was easy money. My brother worked on securing partners and taking care of contracts. I was the face that met with potential investors in North and South America, while he took care of Europe, North Africa and some parts of the Middle East. My sister did the money, managed the salon and other shell companies, in addition to being the liaison with other operations.

‘You know the situation,’ I told Cindy, squeezing her ass. She was someone I’d been seeing on the side for a while now. Cindy knew I was engaged, but she didn’t know it was to Jessa Cahill, nor did she know about the con my family was pulling over on the Cahill family, the lie of the double life I was living or the truth behind the salon.

Jessa never had much of a sexual appetite to begin with, and after I revealed the sex tape I had of her, she’d stopped responding to any of my advances. But I let our non-existent sex life slide. While what I had done was cruel, I wasn’t a rapist, and I wasn’t going to force the issue—so long as she kept up her end of the bargain and supplied me with rich, powerful and connected businessmen that ran in her social circles. Besides, I had Cindy, who was one of the beauticians at my sister’s salon. She was small, petite and a natural blonde, in the physical and stereotypical sense. She wasn’t much for keeping a conversation, but we didn't really do much talking. I’d been fucking her pretty much ever since I’d moved to Boston. I’d never have been able to ride out the dry spell that Jessa was offering.

My phone was ringing and vibrating on my desk as I fondled Cindy.

‘Someone’s popular,’ Cindy commented still straddling me, kissing my neck. It was either my brother or my sister; they weren’t leaving me alone these days. It certainly wasn't Jessa, who still wasn’t returning any of my phone calls.

It had been over three weeks since the disaster that was the Fourth of July when I stormed out of her parents’ summer house, pissed over a prenup that I knew was coming, but that offended me, nonetheless. Jessa finally did reply to one of my text messages last week to let me know she was out of the country for work—which was news to me, she never told me about the possibility of her going away. I guess that was telling about the stat of our relationship, when she shared everything with me.

JESSA:I’m out of the country on business. When I’ve cooled down and am ready to talk to you, I will let you know.

She asked me to give her more space and that she would contact me when she was ready. Needless to say, that went over like a lead balloon with my siblings. She wasn’t telling me tofuck off, so I was taking that as a good sign, but they needed more assurances than that.

‘Let it go to voicemail,’ I commented, grinding up against her, trying to get hard again for round number two. ‘I don’t want to be disturbed.’

The office door opened. ‘Well, that’s just too bad,’ my sister announced walking in, holding her phone to her ear, looking straight at us, not fazed that we were naked and getting it on. ‘Cindy, get off my brother's dick and go home. Don’t make me have to tell you again.’

Embarrassed, trying to cover herself, she reached for her skirt and pulled it on while gathering the rest of her things.

‘Toss me my shorts,’ I asked Cindy, smiling and winking at her. I knew she was scared of my sister, Julia, and I didn’t blame her. She was my sister, but even I couldn’t over the look the fact she was a bitch, and when pushed, could be vicious. Hell, I was sometimes afraid of her. Jules, as she dubbed herself, had already told Cindy once to keep her distance from me, paranoid it would blow the cover, but I, of course, didn’t heed her warning and I was careful. Unlike the sloppy mistakes Jules had made in the past that nearly ruined everything.

Cindy bent down and picked up my shorts for me, looked to Jules who was now sitting in one of the office chairs, and tossed them next to me. I’d been covering my dick with my hands. ‘You mind turning around?’ I asked Jules as I stood up.

She obliged, standing up to walk Cindy out into the salon without saying a word. I quickly dressed, and when Jules returned, she shook her head. ‘You are going to get that girl fired.'

‘You’re just jealous because you’re not getting any,’ I told her pulling my shirt on.

‘And you know why,’ she scolded. I knew she hadn’t been involved with anyone since Josh. ‘Unintentional causalities are such a shame.’

‘It wasn’t my idea to off him,’ I reminded her. But I knew what she was getting after. We had been sloppy and didn’t have a strong backstory. We were caught in our lie by Josh, and she panicked, resulting in his death.

It really shook Jules to her core. I saw through her tough-girl exterior. I knew that on some level she really loved him. People do grow on you, and he was a good guy who really did love her in return. She wasn’t as much of a bitch then, and never showed that side of herself to him.

I assumed she had come to love him as I had come to care for Jessa at the start. I figured she was waiting to finish this con before getting involved again. Lying took its toll on relationships and one's mental state.

After Josh’s death, Jules went away for a few months, needing to deal with her emotions on her own. It was when she returned that she told me to distance myself emotionally from Jessa. So, I did, but remained close to her, as making her fall more in love with me was all a part of the con. It was really fucking with my head.

‘What the fuck are you still doing here?’ she bitched at me. ‘Didn’t I tell you to go get Jessa back?’

‘That’s hard to do when she’s still not ready to talk to me.’

‘So, make her,’ she demanded, pulling up Google on her phone to find the contact information at Cahill Global.

I saw her press the green call button. ‘Hello, I’m looking to speak with…’ she paused for dramatic effect, ‘Jessa Cahill regarding an invoice.’

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