by Sam Crescent
“Try me.”
“Hammer Industries have a reputation for rebuilding the companies they take over. They push all money and resources to build each one back up. Creating a family and something that will thrive for all. Whereas you’re … you’re about changing it all. Tearing it down, creating a new brand. Doing something different.”
“You don’t like what we do?” Axton asked, startling her. She hadn’t even heard him approach.
He leaned against the door looking every bit as imposing as she imagined he intended to be.
“I don’t have a problem with how you organize your business. You’re at the top for a reason.”
“But?”
“There’s a reason Hammer rivals you. Their business is diverse, as is yours. Part of their company is to offer something long-lasting. Something different for the struggling business.”
“What is it they offer?”
“Hope. Rather than being torn down or taken over.”
Karson snorted. “Please. What they do is lose money.”
“Do they?” she asked, forcing herself to look away from Axton. He started to make her nervous. “They may be losing money, but It wouldn’t matter to the companies that they’re buying, would it? We all know that being sentimental will only ever get you so far. It’s not good business, but over the past few years, they’ve been able to stay afloat so they’re clearly doing something right somewhere. The businesses that took time to rebuild themselves, to change with the ever-growing markets. They’re finally coming into fruition. Hammer Industries are not just interested in making their books look solid today but investment for the future. I’ll have these documents written up. I will leave you both to your meeting.”
“I take it he’s my three o’clock,” Karson asked.
“You got it.”
“I’ll pass. Tell him I have a headache.”
She chuckled. “Karson will see you now.” She smiled up at Axton. He stood in the doorway but wouldn’t let her pass. Holding onto her files tightly, she waited.
“You’ve got some good theories about Hammer Industries.”
They weren’t good theories. For ten years she’d watched them. Any company that rivaled the Four Kings’ Empire she’d kept a close eye on. No one else had ever come close, but they had.
She had a great respect for them, too. She had this image that they didn’t even look at Axton and his crew as any threat at all. Far from it, in fact. They were not in the market to take. They weren’t interested in them.
Sitting behind her desk, she waved her mouse to bring the screen back to life.
Her cell phone buzzed, and she saw it was a message from Paul.
Paul: Date arranged. Saturday. Ten.
He’d finally organized the meeting with Catherine Riley. This was one of the biggest risks she’d ever taken.
Deleting the message, she pocketed her cell phone and got started on work.
She hated business so damn much.
When she first started her degree, she’d been tempted to change her plan. Nothing else captured her attention. She couldn’t go back to doing English as that was something she and Carla were going to do together.
It’s was on their bucket list of plans.
Doing them now felt like she was leaving Carla behind.
She couldn’t bring herself to do that.
So, she got started typing, making sure there were no mistakes. No missing commas, apostrophes in the right places. Another perfect letter for her in a long line of them.
You can’t keep doing this forever.
Time was ticking.
She couldn’t allow herself to become complacent.
Sitting up straight, she placed her fingers over the keyboard and started to type.
Stick to the plan.
****
“You’re settling in quite well,” Axton said.
With a notebook on her lap, waiting for Axton to get started seeing as he’d asked her to his office on this very fine lovely Friday morning, she waited. “I’m enjoying my time here.”
“You are?”
“Yes. Does that surprise you?”
“Some find it much harder to adapt to a more intense way of life.”
“I don’t find this all that intense. I like to keep busy.”
“You’ve changed a lot over the years,” he said.
“Not really. You didn’t know me back then.”
“I’m talking about your appearance.”
She looked up from her notebook, confused. “My appearance?”
“You always wore your hair up in a ponytail, bigger clothing. You were never like this. Never fully on display.”
“Do I make you nervous?” she asked, staring at him.
“No, do I?”
“Make me nervous?”
He nodded.
She held her finger and thumb very close together. “A little bit.”
“Good.”
“You like making people nervous?”
“It means I’m doing something right.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Gives you the right edge?”
“Something like that.” He winked at her.
Her body heated under his gaze, and she smiled. “I think we should get down to business, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
She started to make notes for a letter that he wanted, detailing what the Four Kings’ Empire would consider doing with the current business that had decided to change tactics and go with someone else.
He continued to talk as she made notes to the relevant key points that he was making. She was rather impressed with the changes that he made.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“This is a huge change from what you were going to do.” He’d intended to fire all existing employees, change the business, turn it into an online company, and turn the entire stores into warehouse facilities. The e-community was building fast, and she knew the impact of it would mean more work for everyone. She got it and even understood it.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“You seem … surprised. Will you go through with your plans?” she asked.
“I’m tempted.”
“Oh.”
“I’m kidding. You have to understand, Taylor, I won’t make promises if I have no intention of keeping them.”
“So, you make promises then?”
“Only the ones I intend to keep.”
She stared at him, and something passed between them. She didn’t know what.
“Go out with me tonight.”
“Go out with you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m your PA.”
“Not after five.”
She chuckled. “I work long after five.”
“Then the moment you leave this building, you stop being an employee.”
“Why?”
“To show you how to have a good time.”
“I know how to have a good time.”
“Then show me how you have a good time.”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, Taylor, what have you got to lose?”
She thought about it. This was what she wanted. To get close to him, to have access to all of his things, or whatever she could prove about the company.
“You’re not going to think badly of me?” she asked.
“How is that even possible?”
“Simple. My kind of fun may not be your kind of fun.”
“Let’s have a deal then. The start of the night, I’ll be in charge of the fun. The second part of the night, you will.”
“You think we’re going to last all night?”
“Hell, yeah,” he said. “Come on, Taylor, we’ve got a lot to catch up on.”
“I’ve got to ask. Will you be the boss here or someone else?”
“Oh, I’ll be the boss.”
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“How do you know I’ll be ready?
”
“I don’t mind waiting in your apartment if you’re not ready by then.”
She sighed. “Fine. I’ll be ready by seven.”
“You can leave at four if that will give you plenty of time.”
She turned back to look at him. “I’ll be ready by seven, probably even long before then as well.”
“I expect that done by the end of the day.”
“It will be.” She left his office with a smile. Everything was working incredibly well.
****
“What will a date give you that our PI hasn’t?” Karson asked.
Axton had already watched Taylor leave for the day. Her office desk had given no inclination of what she had planned for either of them.
“Come on, she was getting off to him. The only reason he’s interested in this date is to fuck her,” Easton said.
He glared at him.
Easton held his hands up. “What? It’s true. She looked fucking hot, and we all wanted a taste of her.”
Axton clenched his hands into fists. He wanted to knock that fucking look off their faces. When the PI had given him the up close and personal details of her touching herself, he’d nearly lost his fucking mind. This had also made him … curious. Did she know she was being watched? Why had she come back after all this time?
He didn’t trust her.
It was as simple as that.
Her secrecy.
The way she watched them.
Something just didn’t sit right with him.
He didn’t understand it.
“You’re looking for something that’s not there,” Easton said.
“Something’s not right,” Karson said. “I believe Axton. We’ve got to be careful around her. She’s too curious about us all.”
“And she doesn’t bring anything up directly, but she’s always waiting for one of us to mention something.”
Easton shook his head. “When did you all become so fucking paranoid? I mean, seriously.”
“What is your plan?” Karson asked.
“Get to know her. Find out if she’s holding anything back. I don’t know. Do whatever is necessary to make sure we’re all in the clear. Until I say otherwise, be careful. All of you. What you say. What you do. All of it. Even down to memories you share.”
“This is all bullshit,” Easton said. “If you were so fucking worried why did you employ her? There are a million other people who’d be less of a headache than this.”
“Easton, don’t,” Karson said.
“What? Don’t admit that he’s a fucking stalker? How he couldn’t get enough of her in high school?”
Axton glared at Easton.
Each of them had come to blows many times, but never once had they gone for the kill.
“What? He can go around doing whatever shit he likes, but we’ve all got to go ahead and take it? To keep his shit.”
“You know why we do that,” Karson said.
“No, I don’t know anything. You’re all fucking bowing down to him as if he’s some kind of god. He’s no different from any of us,” Easton said. “And I think it’s time Taylor learned the truth.”
Axton stepped forward.
Hands clenched into fists.
Ready.
Poised.
Primed to attack.
“What’s the matter, Axton? You don’t like the thought of your secrets being exposed?”
“Your secrets go far deeper than any of mine, Easton. Remember that,” Axton said. “Or do I need to remind you once again what happened to your last little rebellion?”
Easton physically backed down, the fight leaving him.
The room grew tense, and Axton looked at his friends, not liking the way they were watching him, clearly waiting to see if he’d strike.
“Do any of you have a problem with the way I handle this?”
“Look, man, you’ve got to go what you need to do.”
“The Four Kings’ Empire is all of ours,” Axton said. “When we took this over, I gave you all an equal share. You all demanded that I take a percentage from each of you, which meant I had the final say. That was what you guys agreed to. If you have a problem with any way I do business, speak now.”
“We don’t have a problem,” Karson said.
“Romeo?”
“No problem.”
“Easton?”
“No.”
“No, what?”
“I don’t have a problem with who you do fucking shit to. I know when we took over that we inherited a whole load of shit. Don’t try and vet everything I’ve got to say to Taylor. Okay. I know I’ve got to be careful. I told her years ago that I had to be careful.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter though, does it? Are we done?” Easton asked. “I need a drink.”
Axton stared at his friend. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry.”
“Doesn’t mean shit right now, Axton. It doesn’t end.” Easton stepped out of the room, leaving him alone with Romeo and Karson.
“I’ll go and talk to him. Make sure he doesn’t fuck up or do anything stupid,” Romeo said, leaving him with Karson.
“You’ve got something to say,” Axton said. “Say it.”
“Do you think you’re worrying for no reason? Taylor’s reliable, good at her job, and has never given us cause for concern, apart from that first day when she flew off the handle over a little thing.”
“She’s close friends with Paul and an escort, and I don’t know, I have a feeling she’s trying to figure out what happened to Carla all those years ago.”
“How do you know that?” Karson asked. “There’s no way of knowing that.”
“Because I know her. Creepy stalker, remember. I know what she’s thinking and how she operates. I knew back then she wouldn’t let it stand.”
Karson stood with a hand on his hip. “We’ve come a long way from being teenage boys.”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re all in this together. Have been for a long time. I hope I’m wrong.”
“You’re rarely wrong. You said to Easton that this wasn’t good for him. When we all discovered she was pregnant, we warned him.”
“And she was found dead.” He knew, as did Karson, Romeo, and Easton that she didn’t die from her wrists being cut.
“Don’t you think she has a right to know the truth? Maybe if you talk to her,” Karson said. “I don’t know, you two have this thing going on right now where you seem to fuck each other with your eyes.” Axton simply stared at Karson, who eventually put his hands up in surrender. “Fine. This is your deal. Remember, we warned you.”
Karson left his office.
Stepping up to his office window, Axton looked out across the city. It was a little overcast, not painting the city in the best light.
Hands on his hips, he thought about the pictures he’d seen. The way she touched herself. She’d been so fucking beautiful, and yet, he’d not even for a second believed she’d reached her full potential.
The lust that shone in her eyes, he wanted all to himself. He wanted to pull that lip that she had a habit of biting and show her what to do with them.
He wanted to make her dirty.
To take her down a path and show her what true carnal pleasure was like.
First though, he wanted to take her on a date.
Asking her had been a fucking mistake, but he’d done so because he couldn’t help himself. Since hiring her, work had become a fucking chore. He found himself at the most inconvenient of moments, thinking about her. About the past, the sacrifices he’d made to be where he was right now.
No one knew the true extent of what he’d done to be where he was. Everyone assumed it had all been handed to him on a plate. In a way, it had. He’d always been expected to take over from his father, to be the one who took the Four Kings’ Empire to new heights. Of course, his father never actually intended for that to happen.
When the takeover had happened, and he, Easton, Karson, and Romeo had taken their rightful places, they’d u
ncovered a whole shitload of trouble.
Trouble he hadn’t been prepared for.
Trouble he’d inherited and now carried that burden with him.
He knew if given the chance, his father would try to destroy him. It was the only reason Axton kept the evidence of what his father, and all of their fathers, had done before they took over. For now, it kept their fathers quiet and out of the picture.
They were fighting a constant battle of wills.
Axton had no intention of losing.
Ten years ago, he’d known his own needs had to be put aside.
What he wanted didn’t matter.
Only what his family needed, what his position was within the Four Kings. Everything else was null and void. So, he’d done things from afar. They knew what he’d done. No one else.
Rubbing at his temples, he felt the first stirrings of a headache.
This was not what he wanted to deal with.
When he hired Taylor, he’d wanted his concerns to not be valid. However, he was starting to feel that he was right, and with that created a whole new set of problems. She did damn good work, but now he had to make sure she never found out the truth about anything.
“Why couldn’t you have stayed safe elsewhere?”
Chapter Eight
Ten years ago
“There is no greater person on this earth than you. One day, I hope you see what I see,” Carla said. “Is that it?”
“What?” Taylor asked. “It’s sweet.”
“It’s getting kind of creepy if you ask me.”
“What’s getting kind of creepy, ladies?” Paul asked, moving up behind them, placing his arm across both of their shoulders.
Carla rolled her eyes and handed the single note to Paul. “This.”
He read it over.
“Let’s not forget the single rose either. It’s always a different color.”
“No, it’s not. It’s never the same color one after the other,” Taylor said.
“You have an admirer?” Paul asked.
“Not me, silly,” Carla said. “Taylor. She’s been getting these weird letters and roses for some time.”
“You have? How come I’ve only just heard about it?”
Taylor chuckled as Carla hit him on the arm. “I’ve told you so many times about them. This is the thing with men. They don’t listen.”
“Hey, I listen all the time,” Paul said.
