by K. L. Ramsey
That was the mission behind her unsuccessful trip to meet with Pride. Rock believed that if they could get Damion on board, he’d be able to convince Finn Envy to a partnership with the Greeds, giving Rock some spark of hope that he’d be able to bring down the Gluttony family in no time. Having to show back up to the office with no signed agreement was only going to piss her boss off and that was the last thing she needed right now. Although the only thing she wanted from any merger between the Syndicate families was the possibility of rebuilding the Lust portion of it. She wanted to restore her family’s good name and show the entire Syndicate that they might be able to knock a Lust down, but they better be ready for them to get back up and fight like hell afterward.
“Hey girl,” Ella said. “There is only one reason you’d be calling me right now. I’m guessing your meeting with Pride and Envy wasn’t successful.”
“No,” Nix breathed. “Pride is a fucking asshole and Envy was too busy flirting with me to get him to agree to any of Rock’s propositions. I did get Envy to agree to set up another meeting and he promised that he’d make sure to have Pride there.”
“Well, a second meeting is a good thing, right?” Ella asked.
“I guess, but for today, I’ve failed and that’s all that Rock will see. He won’t be as understanding as you just were, that’s for sure,” Nix said.
“Honestly, I don’t know how you put up with him, Nix. I wouldn’t trade places with you for anything—and we both know how I feel about working with Jett.” Nix wasn’t sure if Ella hated working with Jett, or if she hated that Jett paid her no attention. She saw the way Ella looked at Jett, even when she was complaining about everything that the man did, she looked at him like she was a love-sick puppy.
“How about a run?” Nix asked.
“Lunch time?” Ella asked.
“Yep—at our usual place,” Nix said.
“I’ll be there,” Ella agreed.
“And, if Rock asks, I haven’t called in with an update. In fact—pretend that you haven’t heard from me all day. I need time to think and regroup before I face him.” Nix had a feeling that there would be no amount of time to tamper his anger when Rock found out that she had failed at her mission today.
Damion
Damion hid away in his office for most of the morning, sulking over the way that his meeting went with sexy Nixon Ryker. The only thing that would make him feel better was a run through the park, down by the lake, but he had too much to do.
“Oh, fuck it,” he grumbled to himself. “I’m no good to anyone like this.” The only problem was that his running clothes, shoes, and favorite running companion were at his town home. If he hauled ass, he’d have enough time to run across town to his place, change, grab his black lab, Oak, and go for a quick run. He would have to shower back at his office to get ready for his afternoon meetings.
Damion decided that it was a good plan and texted his dog walker to let her know that he’d take Oak out for her mid-day walk. He sometimes wished he lived closer to his townhouse so he’d be able to run home every day during lunch, to take her for a quick walk. He didn’t know that when he bought the place that his office would be across town and with traffic, quite a commute.
He stuck his head into Finn’s office and plastered on his best smile. “I’m going to head out for a bit. You need anything?” he casually asked.
“Head out?” Finn almost shouted. “Where the hell are you going, Damion? We have two big meetings to get through this afternoon and I need you here.”
“I get that, man, but I’m finding it hard to focus. Plus, my dog walker just texted to tell me that she can’t walk Oak this afternoon. You know how she gets when she doesn’t go for her mid-day walk, right?” Sure, he was totally lying, but Finn was well acquainted with Damion’s new puppy and how much energy she had. “I promise to be quick. I’ll grab Oak, go for a quick run, and be back here reenergized and ready to get down to business,” he promised.
Finn groaned and dramatically threw himself across his desk. “You’re killing me, Damion,” he grumbled. “Fine,” he said, sitting back in his chair. “Go do what you have to do and get your ass back here.”
“You know we’re partners and you’re technically not the boss of me, right?” Damion asked.
“Whatever,” Finn said, waving him off as if dismissing him. “See you soon, partner,” he said. Damion shook his head at his friend and headed for the elevator.
“You know, you’re really a grumpy ass lately,” Damion whispered under his breath.
“I heard that,” Finn shouted after him. “Not cool, man,” he called as the elevator doors closed. Damion chuckled to himself and pushed the button for the lobby. If he had luck on his side, he’d be able to do what he needed to do and get back in time to keep his partner happy—at least, that was the plan.
Damion found one very excited puppy wiggling around in her crate and by the time he quickly changed and got her over to the park, the sky had clouded over and it looked like it was going to rain. Oak hated the rain and if there was thunder or lightning involved, he could forget about her running with him. Hell, she’d bolt and drag his flailing body on the running path behind her.
“We’ll have a quick run, girl,” he promised. Oak wagged her tail and sniffed the air as if assessing the weather, not trusting him to do right by her. “Wow girl,” he breathed. “I thought we were tighter than that. You don’t trust me?” he asked. She wagged her tail again, but not because he was talking to her or paying attention to her. No, his puppy spotted two pretty women jogging on the path and practically tore off trying to keep pace with them.
“Shit, Oak,” he shouted. “No, bad dog.” There was no stopping her once she decided what she wanted and his dog apparently wanted the pretty blond and her friend who jogged just ahead of them.
Oak’s leash tugged free from his sweaty hand and she took off like a shot for the two joggers. There would be no stopping her now, all he could do was warn the two women and hope like hell that they were dog people. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath. “I’m so sorry,” he shouted as his puppy jumped eagerly around the women’s legs. They stopped and the blond stooped to pet his dog who had dramatically fallen to the ground, rolled to her back, and showed the nice ladies her belly.
He smiled when he heard the women giggle and gush about how adorable his puppy was. “Thank God,” he whispered to himself. “They like dogs.” He quickly caught up with the two women and his naughty puppy.
“Bag girl, Oak,” he said, with no real heat. “I’m so sorry.” He stopped talking when he realized that the pretty blond was the same woman he so easily dismissed earlier at his office—Nixon Ryker.
“Ms. Ryker,” he breathed, hooking Oak’s leash back to her collar. “I’m so sorry about all of this,” he offered.
“Not at all, Mr. Pride,” she dryly answered. She stopped rubbing Oak’s belly and stood. Damion looked over the woman standing next to her and Nixon sighed. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m being rude. This is my friend and co-worker, Ella Laxton.” She held out her hand for Damion to shake and he took it into his own.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Pride. I’ve heard a good deal about you,” Ella said. He just bet that she did.
“You work for my uncle too?” he asked. He knew that running into them at the park had to be more than just a coincidence. He wanted to be a total prick and flat out ask them if they were following him, but he needed to figure out why they were doing so, first.
“No,” Ella admitted. “I work for your cousin, Jett.” His cousin was a good guy. He and Damion had grown up playing together at their grandmother’s house when they were just kids, and all in all, he’d consider Jett not just his family, but his friend. He just needed to remember that Jett played for the enemy. He worked for his father, Rock, as did the two women standing in front of him.
“You know, Ms. Ryker, if I was paranoid, I’d believe that you’re following me today,” he said. He tried to keep things light
, even pretend that he was teasing, but he wasn’t. Nixon looked him up and down and threw back her head, barking out her laugh.
“If?” she questioned. “Oh—you’re plenty paranoid, Mr. Pride. I’m betting that you’re trying to figure out who told me that you’d be in the park today, taking your sweet puppy for a run. Let me clue you in,” she whispered, leaning into his body. Damion couldn’t seem to help himself; he did the same and they were practically standing nose to nose.
“I’m waiting,” he taunted.
“I didn’t follow you here,” she whispered. “I needed to blow off steam after having a shitty morning meeting with an asshole whose ego was bigger than his bank account. So, I called my friend here and asked her to go for a run with me. End of story. There, now you know my little secret,” she teased. “No need to run back to your office and fire your entire staff for being traitors.”
“Okay,” he said. “If that’s the way you want to play this, I’ll play along,” he breathed. “I’ve never seen either of you here before. Why this park?” He had always taken Oak to this particular park because it was literally across the street from his townhouse.
“I chose this park because I live right over there,” Nixon said, pointing to the street adjacent to his. She practically lived directly across the street from him. Hell, he’d be able to look out of his bedroom window and into hers.
“Shit,” he mumbled under his breath.
“Yeah—now, how about you tell me why you chose this park, and then, I’ll take your apology,” Nixon demanded.
He’d give her an explanation since she had given him hers. But, it would be a cold day in hell before he apologized to her for something he didn’t need to say he was sorry for. “I live right over there,” he said, pointing to his townhouse.
“Well, now I see why you seem so upset—we’re neighbors,” she said. “How did we both miss that fact before now?”
“No clue,” he breathed. “I haven’t lived here long and I don’t get out much.” It was true—most of his free time was spent either downtown at clubs or his office across town. When he took Oak out for runs, it was usually before sunrise. He liked to begin his days with a run and his favorite running partner when no one else seemed to be up. He loved the quiet park and feeling like he was the only person in the world. Sometimes, it felt that way—like it was him against the world.
Nixon’s phone chimed and she pulled it from the waistband of her workout pants. “Hidden pocket,” she said, smiling over at him. “I just love these pants.” She scrolled through her messages, nodded, and put her phone back in its secret hiding place.
“I thought you said that you left your phone in the car,” Ella grumbled. Her friend didn’t sound too happy that Nixon had brought her phone along on their run.
“You and I both know it’s not an option for me. If Rock tries to call me and I don’t answer—well, let’s just say he’s not pleasant when that happens.” Damion wasn’t sure, but he thought that maybe he caught a hint of disdain for her boss in Nixon’s voice, and that wasn’t something he expected. With the way she pushed for her boss, he thought for sure that she looked up to Rock Greed. But her tone right now told him a different story.
Ella pulled out her cell phone and the two giggled, “Yeah—like father, like son,” she grumbled.
“Well, if you two ladies will excuse me,” Damion breathed, “I’ll be on my way. I have a full load of afternoon meetings.”
“Not at all,” Nixon agreed. “We have the same busy schedules and it looks like my evening just filled up too.”
“Wait—I thought we were having dinner,” Ella said to Nixon.
“Sorry, but you know how it is—business calls. Looks like I will be having a dinner meeting with Mr. Envy and Mr. Pride here,” she said. “That was my assistant. Your partner’s office set up a meeting for this evening, so I guess you and I will be seeing each other later, neighbor,” she said. Nixon didn’t wait for him to give a response which was good because he didn’t have one that wouldn’t involve him cursing out his partner.
“Good to meet you, Mr. Pride,” Ella said, She turned to catch up with Nixon who was already a quarter turn around the path.
“I’m going to fucking kill Finn,” he breathed. Oak didn’t seem to care that Damion wanted to murder his business partner. All his rambunctious puppy seemed to want to do was catch up with the pretty ladies who had taken off in the opposite direction than they were going. “No Oak,” he said. “We have to go home so I can get back to the office and strangle Uncle Finn.” Oak jumped around him, happy that he was talking to her, not understanding a word he was saying to her.
Damion tugged her leash and she followed him back across the park to his town home. “Sorry, girl,” he breathed. “I’ll take you for a longer run in the morning,” he promised. Right now, he had to grab a shower and if he hurried, he’d be able to kill his business partner before their first afternoon meeting.
Damion stormed into Finn’s office, not caring that his door was closed or that he was on the phone with someone. “What the fuck were you thinking? How could you plan a meeting with that she-devil for tonight?” A woman’s laughter filled Finn’s office and his friend shot him an apologetic look.
“Well, I’m looking forward to our dinner meeting too, Mr. Pride,” Nixon Ryker’s voice filled the office over the speaker phone.
“I will let you go, Nixon,” Finn said. “See you tonight at seven.”
“Can’t wait,” she dryly said, ending the call.
“Fuck,” Damion swore. “You could have warned me, Finn.”
“How did you expect me to do that?” Finn asked. “You came barging in here, griping about having dinner with Nixon, calling her a—what was it again?” he asked.
“She-devil,” Damion said. “I called her a she-devil and that was being generous. I want to call her so much worse, but I’m trying to be a gentleman.”
Finn threw back his head and laughed, “Since when have you ever played the gentleman, Damion?” he asked. Damion rolled his eyes and sunk into the sofa that sat in front of Finn’s desk.
“I told you that I don’t want to meet with her again. If you want to, that’s on you. Have dinner with her, hell—fuck her if you’d like. Just leave me out of it,” Damion insisted. “I won’t entertain the offer from my uncle. I can’t—not with the way that he treated my father, Finn.” His best friend knew all about how badly Rock Greed treated Damion’s dad. He used him to clean up his messes and do the jobs that no one else wanted. Hell, he treated him worse than he did the hired help, and that was saying a lot. His father was Dominick Pride—head of the Pride Syndicate but when the Greeds gave a Pride an order, they expected it to be followed. There was a pecking order to the Deadly Sins Syndicate and the Pride family was the low man out. That all ended when his father had finally had enough and threw in the towel. He gave up his place in the Syndicate, ultimately ending the Pride’s involvement with the group—until now. Since Damion and Finn joined forces, the Pride Syndicate was back with force. They had not only the Pride name but also the Envy name behind their venture. Sure, it pissed the other families off that they were going legit. It especially rubbed Rock Greed the wrong way. He hated that their little business was making legitimate money while his Syndicate was struggling by doing everything under the table. He hated that Damion and Finn were on the up and up and were making good for themselves, and if given the chance, Rock would tear it all down around them and strike the match to watch it burn.
“See, that’s where you are wrong, my friend,” Finn challenged. “You will entertain what your uncle is offering our company because turning him down flat, without hearing out his sexy little business protégé, will only piss him off. We both know what a family does when they feel slighted in some way. How offended do you think Rock will be if we say no thank you before hearing his proposal?” Finn asked. Shit. Damion hated it when his friend was right about stuff. He wasn’t up for an argument, especially one that he’d
lose before he’d even open his mouth to speak.
“Fine,” Damion barked. “Where are we meeting at seven?” he asked.
“La Fuentes,” Finn said. “I did a little research and Nix loves Mexican. We need to pretend to be interested in Rock’s proposal. Then, we’ll tell her that we need to give it some thought and in a few days, we turn her down. She’ll have to go back and deal with her boss, but that’s not our problem.” Finn looked across the desk at him, a smug smirk on his face. “God, I’d hate to be in her shoes and have to deliver our refusal to Rock. I’m betting he doesn’t take it well. I just hope that he doesn’t literally shoot the messenger. I mean, Ms. Ryker is sexy as fuck and her murder would be quite a shame,” Finn said.
Finn was always more accepting of the world that they had both grown up in. Damion hated the violence and double-crossing that went on in the Syndicate. He remembered his father telling him not to ever trust anyone in the Deadly Sins Syndicate—not even someone he considered a friend. Damion sometimes wondered if that warning should extend to his best friend, the man he considered to be his brother, his business partner—Finn. He had no choice and besides that, Finn had never given him a reason not to trust him.
They had known each other their whole lives. Damion was only two years older than Finn, so they were always thrown together when the families got together. He and Finn hit it off right away and soon, they became inseparable. When he went away to college, Finn followed him two years later, choosing the same university. He even took extra classes and made up a year, graduating only a year behind Damion. Finn was the smartest person he knew and when he suggested that they go into business together and join their two families, Damion knew that he’d be a fool to tell Finn no. Their partnership just felt right from the start.
