A Million Tiny Pieces

by Nicole Edwards

  Pulling into the parking garage, Tarik parked in the designated parking spot and wasted no time climbing out and following Phoenix into the building. A few minutes later, they stepped out of the elevator on the fifth floor, passing the empty conference room where the meeting would take place in about half an hour. Without saying a word, Tarik headed into his office while Phoenix disappeared into his own.

  He hadn’t been at his desk for more than five minutes when his cell phone rang. He snapped it off his hip and glanced at the screen, only a little concerned when he saw Mia’s phone number.

  “Hey, love,” he greeted her, trying not to reflect his worry in his tone.

  “Do you have a minute?” she asked.

  “Sure. What’s up?” Tarik glanced up at his open office door and considered closing it but didn’t want Phoenix to question him.

  “I did some thinking last night. After y’all left. So I called a guy who used to work for Damien. His name’s Harrison Abbott. He’s an accountant. He and Damien had a falling out less than a year ago, right about the time everything seemed to start.”

  An accountant? Interesting.

  “Was he willing to talk?” Tarik asked.

  “He wouldn’t say much over the phone, so I didn’t push it last night. Well, I couldn’t let it go, so I called him a few minutes ago to see if he’d be willing to go to lunch. I’m meeting him at eleven thirty.”

  “Today?” Tarik sat up straight.

  “Yeah.”

  “Mia, do you know this guy?”

  “Yes,” she said, but he heard the uncertainty in her tone. “We’re not exactly friends, but I have spoken to him a number of times. I’ll meet him at a public place, I promise. I just want to ask him a few questions about Damien’s company finances. It seems logical that money is at the root of this.”

  Tarik hated for Mia to do this, but after the information he’d pulled yesterday, he had to believe he might know just where she needed to look. “Okay, Mia, but here’s what I need you to ask him.”

  Twenty minutes later, without a minute to spare, Tarik hung up the phone with Mia, got Phoenix a cup of coffee, and met him in the conference room. Phil was already there, but Landry and his lawyer had yet to show up.

  “We good?” Phoenix asked Phil.

  Phil nodded. “This is just to get a better understanding of what Landry is really after. To bring you both up to speed, he hasn’t produced documentation yet, probably because it doesn’t exist. But once he can tell us what he wants, we can decide where to go from there.”

  “I really need to give the press an update,” Tarik informed them. “Hoping we can agree on something when we’re finished here.”

  Phoenix nodded as Tarik watched him. Phoenix was acting strange. As though he’d withdrawn into himself, not ready to deal with all the shit that was going on. It bothered him, but not as his bodyguard or as his assistant or anything else business-related. It bothered him as Phoenix’s lover, as the man who cared about him, the man who…

  God, he wasn’t even sure he knew how it all worked, but Tarik had a feeling that he loved him.

  Tarik wanted to beat Landry to a bloody pulp just to relieve some of the stress Phoenix was having to deal with. He knew that the pain of losing his father was still fresh, still raw. It pissed him off that Landry was using that as his bargaining chip.

  A sudden knock on the door had Tarik glancing up. He pushed off the wall where he’d been standing and opened the door, allowing Landry inside. He was with three other men. None of them looked familiar to Tarik.

  Phil stood, his eyes slowly assessing the three men.

  Landry introduced them. “This is Bill, Ed, and Steve, my legal team.”

  The whole team had to join him today? Landry certainly couldn’t do things the easy way.

  Phoenix didn’t bother looking up as the four men took their seats around the table. Tarik moved to stand behind Phoenix once more, off to the right side enough that he could see Phoenix’s face, Phil sitting to Phoenix’s left.

  “Phoenix,” Landry prompted.

  Phoenix’s head barely lifted. “You can address Phil about anything you need.”

  Without hesitation, Phoenix returned his gaze to the phone in his hand.

  “This is bullshit,” Landry declared. “We need to get this settled. I’m tired of the reporters camping out in front of my office looking for a statement. I’m sick of them bringing to my attention the fact that my wife is currently in bed with you.”

  The last statement had Phoenix’s head snapping up, his body going rigid. “First of all, she’s your ex-wife. Second, you shouldn’t have sicced them on us if you didn’t want to deal with the fucking reporters.”

  “Look,” Phil began, his tone calm as he addressed Landry. “I don’t think we’re going to get anywhere until we understand what it is that you’re looking for. You originally claimed that Sid verbally agreed to sell, and now you’ve stated that Sid Pierce agreed to sell the Austin Arrows to you on paper and then backed out of the deal, yet you haven’t produced any documentation substantiating your claim. On top of that, even if you had, the sale didn’t finalize; therefore, Phoenix has made it clear he has no intention of selling.”

  “I think it’s in the best interest of both parties to come to a final decision on how to handle this. Mr. Landry isn’t looking to purchase the team anymore. He’s interested in a settlement for his time, along with pain and suffering,” Bill-Ed-Steve said.

  Tarik had no idea who was who, but the one in the middle spoke kindly, yet he didn’t make eye contact with Phil or Phoenix. “Sid Pierce obviously was interested in selling at some point. We feel that honoring his wishes would be beneficial to both parties, and settling with Mr. Landry is pertinent.”

  Tarik didn’t have to be looking at Phoenix to see the fury that resonated in his eyes. He could sense it in the way his breathing changed, in the way his muscles tensed. Phoenix pushed to his feet slowly, a deadly calm coming over him. “If you know what’s best for you, or your client, you’ll stand up, turn around, and walk out of my office right now. Don’t think on it too long, because I assure you that you won’t like what happens next.”

  Not surprisingly, Bill-Ed-Steve all three got to their feet instantly. The only jackass who didn’t move was Landry. Tarik moved to stand closer to Phoenix, directly behind Phil, making sure Landry knew he was there.

  Bill-Ed-Steve disappeared out the door as Landry was getting to his feet. The man obviously had balls of steel, because he leaned forward and lowered his voice as he said, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Pierce. Your choice.”

  “Humor me,” Phoenix said, his voice hard as steel. “What’s your version of the easy way?”

  “First, you agree to my settlement request. I’ll even return to my original requested amount of five million. Second, you leave Mia alone.”

  Phoenix leaned in slowly. “Looks like you’re gonna get the hard way then, doesn’t it? Now get the fuck out of my office.”

  Landry had the good sense to back up as Phoenix’s voice rose, the anger in his tone echoing off the walls.

  Once Landry was out the door, Tarik urged Phil to follow, asking him to close the door behind him. Tarik moved across the room and flipped the lock, ensuring they had a few minutes of privacy. Only then did he take a seat and give Phoenix a minute to burn off some of the pressure that was weighing down on him.

  »»»»»♥«««««

  “WHERE’S MIA?” PHOENIX asked Tarik when the rage that boiled inside him managed to cool to a simmer. It was a testament to his sheer determination that Landry wasn’t dead on the floor in the conference room.

  “She’s meeting with an accountant for lunch,” Tarik said.

  It wasn’t what he said but how he said it that had Phoenix looking at him, trying to read between the lines.

  “Care to elaborate?” Phoenix encouraged when he couldn’t figure out the riddle.

  “Harrison Abbott,” Tarik explained. “Used
to work for Landry. According to Mia, Abbott and Landry had a falling out about ten months ago, when all this started. She’s going to see if she can get any information from him that might be beneficial to us.”

  Phoenix knew that look on Tarik’s face. He wasn’t telling him something. Taking a deep breath, Phoenix lowered himself into the chair opposite Tarik and glared at him. “What the hell’s going on?”

  Tarik didn’t bother trying to pretend he didn’t know what Phoenix was talking about. Instead, he rested his forearms on the table and stared back at Phoenix. “Yesterday, when I left you and Mia alone, I did some digging. I started looking at all the business deals Landry’s been involved in for the past year. Something had to spur Landry to make this claim, for whatever reason. I think he’s hurting for money, so I figured that was a good start. I found something interesting.”

  Phoenix cocked an eyebrow, waiting.

  “Landry invested in a casino opportunity in Vegas,” Tarik said, watching Phoenix.

  Clearly the other man wanted Phoenix to put two and two together, but he was having a hard time. He had no idea what he was talking about. Phoenix’s real estate investments were limited to Texas by his own choice, not to mention, he had no desire to invest in the gambling industry, so of course, he wasn’t up to speed on any Vegas opportunities. “And? Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

  “It made the news about ten months ago. The group behind the investment went bankrupt before the casino even broke ground,” Tarik informed him. “My guess is that Landry got caught up in that. Probably lost a pretty penny.”

  “And Mia’s talking to the accountant about this?”

  “I explained my suspicions to her and told her to bring it up. See if Abbott knows anything.”

  “Fuck.” Phoenix thrust his hands through his hair. “And why the fuck did you think that was a good idea?”

  “This was her idea. I don’t control what she does,” Tarik said, defensively. “She at least called to let me know.”

  There was that. Although it didn’t make Phoenix feel any better. At all.

  Leaning closer to Tarik, Phoenix met his unwavering gaze. “I want this shit buried. Got it? And I don’t want Mia dragged into it anymore.”

  Tarik nodded affirmatively, his eyes hard, his expression harder. Phoenix knew he didn’t have to tell Phoenix that Mia was the most important thing here. Whatever Landry wanted, he wasn’t above using Mia to get it. Unfortunately for Landry, he was going to have to come up with another plan, because that was the last damn thing Phoenix was going to allow to happen.

  This shit had gone on long enough.

  “Find out where she is,” Phoenix said, getting to his feet. “And let’s go talk to Abbott ourselves.”

  Phoenix made it to the door, his hand on the knob when Tarik met him, crowding him. Before he knew what was happening, Tarik’s entire hand was gripping his chin firmly and his mouth was claiming his. Not caring where they were, Phoenix gave in, pressing his mouth to Tarik’s, kissing him back, thrusting his tongue into his mouth. Calm washed over him, as it always did when Tarik took the reins.

  “We’ll figure this out,” Tarik said softly when he pulled back, releasing Phoenix. “One way or the other.”

  Phoenix nodded and adjusted his suit jacket before turning the knob and leaving Tarik behind.

  »»»»»♥«««««

  “THANKS FOR MEETING me,” Mia told Harrison when they were seated at a small table at the back of the café. The place was busy with the lunch crowd descending, but they’d managed to get a table.

  “Sure,” Harrison said, looking around as though someone might be watching him.

  That was quite possible, although Mia doubted they were watching Harrison. She’d felt eyes on her ever since she’d left campus to meet Harrison. She wasn’t sure the reporters were lurking, either. However, she had brushed off the notion that someone would be following her and made her way to the café where Harrison had agreed to meet.

  “What can I get you to drink?” the harried waitress asked as she came to an abrupt stop beside their table, a pad and pencil in her hand.

  “I’ll take iced tea,” Mia said, glancing over at Harrison.

  “Water’s fine,” he mumbled.

  “Be right back,” the woman declared as she headed off as fast as she’d come.

  “So what did you want to talk about?” Harrison questioned when they were once again alone.

  Mia could tell he was nervous. She wanted to assure him that everything would be fine, but she didn’t have a clue what she was getting herself into. “How are you?” she asked, hoping to ease into it.

  Harrison looked around once before his weary brown eyes met hers. “Mia, I know you didn’t just come to check on my well-being.”

  “Why would you think that?” she asked.

  His eyebrow quirked.

  “Okay, fine,” she muttered, looking down at the table. “Do you know who Phoenix Pierce is?”

  Harrison’s eyes widened, but he didn’t answer her.

  “I take that as a yes. Well, it seems that Damien has an issue with him.”

  “The lawsuit,” Harrison muttered.

  “Yeah,” Mia stated, watching Harrison closely. Clearly he was familiar with what was going on. At least from a news perspective. “I don’t know exactly what Damien’s after, or why, but … well … let’s just say he’s been stirring up shit, and he’s dragged me into the middle of it. I don’t know if it’s relevant or not, but I thought maybe you could enlighten me on what happened between you and Damien.”

  Harrison immediately shook his head. “Nothing happened. We just had a disagreement, and I decided to go my own way.”

  “Right,” she said, not believing him for a second. “Look. You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to, Harrison, but I’d appreciate if you didn’t lie to me. We can sit right here and have a nice lunch just like friends. Or you can help me out, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get some closure on whatever happened between you and Damien.”

  The waitress came by with their drinks and then asked for their order. Mia rattled off hers and Harrison followed. When she walked away, they sat staring at one another once again, neither of them saying anything. The normal busy sounds of the café rang loudly around them, the clank of silverware against glass and the drone of voices as everyone spoke at once. Every now and then, a loud voice would call out an order from the kitchen, causing the racket to dim slightly before it resumed once again.

  Mia took a sip of her tea, wondering if Harrison really was going to avoid her question. But then, with his hands wrapped around his water glass, he met her gaze.

  “About a year ago, Damien came to me to talk about an investment opportunity. A casino in Vegas. He was excited, wanted to pursue it sight unseen.”

  Looked like Tarik was on the right track. Mia nodded, encouraging him to continue.

  “He asked me to go with him to Vegas. Invited my wife, as well. We made a weekend of it just to check it out. We met with a group who claimed to be leading the charge. Damien’s excitement intensified.”

  Mia tried to remember when Damien had gone to Las Vegas. He’d gone on plenty of trips, but never had he mentioned he was going to Vegas. “He was interested?” Mia asked.

  “Highly. I told him to give me a little time. I wanted to have someone look into the company’s background, check out their financials. All normal stuff. He insisted that he’d already done that and this was a gold mine. He wanted to get in on the ground floor, aiming to take a larger share. He even mentioned moving to Vegas, resuming his business there.”

  Mia wondered if Damien had gotten caught up in the glitz and glamor associated with Sin City.

  “I got very little research done. While we were still in Vegas, I reached out to a couple of people on my staff, had them do some number crunching to see if this was even a possibility for Damien. At the time, Damien’s company was showing a continued profit, but when I was reviewing some of
the reports, I noticed something strange. What we thought was continued growth actually wasn’t correct. There was a glaring error in the numbers that I looked at. Turned out, DL Properties had a trending loss for a few months.”

  “Damien was losing money?”

  “Yeah,” Harrison confirmed, taking a sip of his water. Mia noticed that he didn’t meet her eyes when he continued.

  “The falling out happened while we were in Vegas…” Harrison glanced up toward the door, his eyes widening. Mia turned to see what he was looking at, and that was when she noticed two incredibly attractive, albeit extremely determined-looking, men stalking toward them.

  Good grief. If Harrison hadn’t been on edge before, he certainly would be now. Hell, just looking at Phoenix made her nervous. He did not appear happy that she was having lunch with Harrison.

  Neither man bothered to introduce himself as they took seats at the table, their attention fully directed toward her.

  “Hi,” she said hesitantly, glancing back and forth between Tarik and Phoenix.

  “You forgot to invite us to lunch,” Phoenix said sternly. Only then did his eyes move to Harrison. “Phoenix Pierce. You must be Harrison.”

  Harrison nodded.

  “Please continue; we didn’t mean to interrupt.”

  Mia laughed. “You didn’t mean to interrupt, huh? Then why are you sitting here?” she asked, trying to keep her voice down. She’d just been getting somewhere with Harrison. She doubted he would continue with Tarik and Phoenix now glaring at him.

  “Harrison, I’d like you to meet Phoenix and Tarik. They’re…” She didn’t know how to finish that sentence.

  “Her boyfriends,” Phoenix inserted, surprising Mia to the roots of her hair. Had he really just said that?

  Harrison’s eyes widened, proof that she hadn’t been hearing things.