"Is that a problem for you?" he asked, throwing a look over his shoulder at her before resuming his cooking.
"You can do whatever you want," she told him. "It makes no difference to me."
The two fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence. As the eggs fried, he poured them both two glasses of orange juice and set them down on the table. Annie reached for hers, murmuring a gentle thanks before taking a long sip. She didn't have to leave for work for another hour and she liked the solitudes her mornings used to give her.
When he finished cooking, he placed a plate in front of her. The eggs and sausage looked cooked to perfection and even though she wanted to refuse it, her stomach rumbled in response, giving her away.
Traitor, she thought to herself.
She picked up the silverware and started eating. She didn't care. Her hunger had gotten the better of her and she had no choice but to give into the temptation. How could she not, when he sprinkled cheddar on the eggs? Cheese was probably her favorite thing and he used it to win her over. She didn't like that it was working. She didn't like that something like cheese could make her weak.
It was fucking delicious. She didn't like to swear that much; she didn't see the point, really, but goddamn, the food was amazing and the addition of juice just added to it perfectly.
They ate in silence and when she finished, she placed her fork on the plate and downed the rest of her juice.
"Thank you," she said in a quiet voice.
"You're welcome," he told her.
She shouldn't want to make conversation. She shouldn't care about him at all but there was something inside of her that wanted to know.
"Did your mom teach you how to cook?" she murmured. She slowly picked her eyes up the surface of the table in order to lock eyes with him. His eyes were already looking at her, which was no surprise. He seemed surprised she asked about him and that made her feel only slightly guilty. What did he expect, honestly? He was living in her home. Her entire world was turned upside down because of him.
Well, him and Bruce.
"Would it be snobby of me if I told you my maid taught me?" Jericho asked with a smile. "Helena was a Polish woman who knew how to cook everything and who put up with my parents and their ridiculous demands. She was the closest thing I had to a mother-figure since my mom buried herself so deeply in her work and my father ran his business. She told me I might not always be so blessed and it’s skill, rather than money, that will guarantee my success. She was right." He paused to take a bite of his food. Once he swallowed it, he continued. "Helena taught me how to cook. She taught me that cleanliness was next to godliness but that everything had its proper place, as in organization mattered. She said that it was important to be kind to others, especially those less fortunate. And the secret to being a good boss was having respect for my employees." He wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. "When people ask me how I came to be so successful, I tell them it wasn't my father or my upbringing and it definitely wasn't my wealth. Helena shaped my business mentality. I would have no idea where I'd be without her guidance."
"You're an only child?" Annie asked, perking her brow.
Jericho nodded once. "There wasn't a lot of love between my parents," he said. "They produced their male heir, so to speak, and after that, there was no need to force physical contact if they didn't have to. My father got that from a string of mistresses, my mother got that from a bottle of pills and the pool boy. The minute I could get away from them, I did. I went to college and then got my Masters at Cambridge because I couldn't stomach the thought of going home. I only returned after I found out my father was sick. And my mother died a short time after he did. I was never really close to them and they were never really close to me. For the longest time, Helena was my only friend." His voice sounded far away, his eyes not staring at Annie, but off into the distance. "How sad is that?"
"It sounds lonely," she murmured without thinking. Immediately, she looked up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "You're right. It was lonely. Even at school, people hated me because of who my father was or loved me because of my legacy. No one really knew who I was. No one really cared about me. So I embraced the solitude." He shrugged. "It's why I don't like the city. If I'm going to be alone, I'd rather be alone. Not surrounded by a group of people only there to kiss my ass."
Annie nodded but didn't say anything. There was too much there, too much that wanted to settle under her skin but she couldn't let it. She was starting to feel sympathy for Jericho, for the man behind the mogul, and that was the last thing she wanted to feel. He was a criminal, she had to remind herself, a criminal that partook in acts of violence without hesitation. Yet, as he stared at her across the dining table, he looked like nothing more than a man. A beautiful one with a tragic past but a man nonetheless.
"What about you?" he asked, scrunching his brow slightly, making him look adorably pensive.
No. Adorable was the last word that should come up when discussing Jericho. And yet... somehow, it fit. There was no other word that accurately described him so she decided to go with it. Because she didn't really have a choice not to.
"What about me?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.
"You look nice," he said, his eyes dropping to her attire but not in a solicitous way. Almost immediately, he picked them back up and held onto hers. "Your brother said you're an accountant in the city?"
She wore a white pencil skirt that clung to her body and a flattering lace black sleeveless shirt that scooped just below her collarbone. Her hair was pulled into a high, tight ponytail so no stray strands were allowed to frame her face. Her makeup was light and she wore black high heels.
A flare of anger sparked up at the reminder that Bruce had a big mouth but she tried not to let it show. It wasn't Jericho's fault that Bruce told him anything. Jericho might not have helped the situation but Bruce was a grown man who could make his own choices. As far as she knew, Jericho hadn't forced the situation.
"I am," she said.
He paused, crossing his arms over his chest and peering at her. "You don't like talking about yourself very much, do you?" he asked.
Annie shrugged. "I don't see the point," she said. "I'm not very interesting."
"I beg to differ," Jericho said. "The fact that you aren't like other women who won't shut up about themselves makes you more intriguing. It makes me want to ask you more about yourself."
Annie didn't know what to say. She wished she hadn't finished her food as fast as she did so she could pick at it or shove some in her mouth so she would have a reason not to answer. Instead, she stared at him like an idiot.
"You're guarded," he stated. "I suppose I can understand. I'm a stranger living in your home."
"So you are living with me," she said. "And you admit that it's my home."
"I wouldn't presume to make you leave," he told her. "I like it here. The mansion is too big, it’s overwhelming. This is quaint and comforting. So yeah, I'm living here. If that's okay with you."
"It really doesn't matter what I want," Annie pointed out. "I could tell you to leave but you won't. This is your place thanks to my idiot brother. What I say, my opinion, doesn't matter."
"That isn't true," Jericho told her, his eyes a grass-green color, the kind that was both intense and serious, as though he wanted her to understand that what she was saying was the truth. "Your opinion does matter. I like to hear what your thoughts are on everything, really."
"And why is that?" Annie asked, raising a skeptical brow. She leaned back in her chair, waiting for his response. "You and I are strangers. We don't know anything about each other."
"That's exactly my point," he said. "I would love to hear what you have to say, even if you and I won't agree. Which we won't about a lot of things. But that's what makes things interesting, right? Respectful discord." He smiled at her. "You aren't like anyone I've ever met before. It's why I'd like to know more about you."
"Okay,"
Annie said. "I don't understand you. I don't understand your decision-making process at all. I don't understand your choices. So it doesn't matter what I say because you'll make your choices and I won't understand them and I don't want to be exhausted by trying to understand your logic."
"I think you're just writing me off," he said, "and that isn't fair."
"Fair?" Annie asked, furrowing her brows. "You want to talk about fair? How about Bruce not giving you any consideration when he offers up a home his sister still lives in? It's the only home I've ever known. Even when I went to college, I still lived at home so it would be more cost effective for me and my parents. And now that's taken away from me because my brother thinks he's some kind of entrepreneur and invests forty-six grand in some kind of cabin in the woods he thinks is going to retire him. On some kind of whim, he decides to borrow money because you go around asking your employees how they're doing and how they can help."
"I'm sorry?" he guessed, perking his brow. As though she was looking for some kind of answer from him when the truth of the matter was she would prefer it if he didn't talk at all.
"That isn't fair," she continued. "And instead of just letting me live here like some kind of tenant and letting me buy my parents' home, you decide you want to move in and be here."
"I won't be here all the time," he told her. "I'm not charging you rent. I took over the mortgage when your brother transferred the deed to me, which I will pay off today, when I go into the city. You will retain the same rights you've always had - your privacy. I will take responsibility for all the bills relating to the house including the energy bill, the cable and internet bill, the water bill, the trash bill. All you have to worry about is your cell phone bill, though if it would appease you, I would pay for that as well."
“You already told me this last night,” Annie pointed out.
“I know,” he said. “I just want to reiterate it because I think it’s important.” He rubbed his lips together. “What time do you leave for work?”
Annie glanced at her cell phone. “I’ll probably go up and brush my teeth in a few minutes,” she told him.
He nodded. “Did this help you at all?” he asked, gesturing to the empty plates of food. “I know my presence here isn’t exactly something you would want. I get that. But I’m trying to help in any way I can.”
“You want to help?” Annie asked doubtfully. She stood up and took her plate and cup so she could put it in the sink. She would do the dishes when she got home. “Then let me be. Let me live in my house alone.”
Jericho clenched his teeth together. She didn’t want to admit it but he looked like he was genuinely sorry. And, she had to admit, he hadn’t asked for the house, Bruce had offered it to him. The problem was, it was worth way more than fifty grand, which made Bruce look like an even more inexperienced dumbass. But maybe it didn’t matter because interest mattered. And Jericho could do whatever he wanted. No one could fight him on it.
“Maybe there’s some sort of compromise that we can work out that would benefit both of us,” he said slowly, standing as well. “I’m open to hearing your thoughts but you should know I have no intention of leaving, even though I can see that’s what you really want. And I’m sorry for that. But maybe we can talk about it later.”
Annie clenched her teeth together. She wanted to argue. She wanted to tell him besides leaving, there was nothing he could do that would benefit the both of them. There was no compromise she could think of that would work for her besides him leaving and giving her ownership of the house. She didn’t even care if he required her to pay him back. She would do it, just as long as she had this house.
“I’m not entirely opposed to that,” he said slowly. “It would be selfish of me to keep something you want, something that belonged to you in everything but name. But I would require a week or two to consider it. And even then, I can’t guarantee that I’d agree. But I’m open to it.”
Annie nodded once, a short jab of her chin. That was the best she could hope for, if she was being honest. There was nothing more she could do or say, so she proceeded to head out the kitchen entranceway. At the last minute, however, she stopped.
“Thank you for breakfast,” she murmured. Without waiting for him to respond, she exited the room, ready to brush her teeth and get to work.
--
Her small accounting firm was a twenty-minute drive into the city. There were only four other people who worked there, so the environment was intimate and small. Annie actually preferred it this way. Unlike most small businesses, this firm was run by a singular owner rather than a family, so no one was actually related. On top of that, everyone kept a respectful distance. Things were professional, rather than personal. There was no gossip, no drama. All in all, it might not be the highest paying position she was offered and the benefits weren’t the best, but it was a nice place to work.
She parked her car in an Employees-Only section of the parking structure located behind the building her firm was located in, which was on the second-to-last floor of the structure. This forced Annie to walk in her heels to the elevator, taking the elevator down all the way to the first floor, walk into her building, take the building’s elevator up to the second floor, and walk down a long, twisty hallway until she got to suite H. Typically, she didn’t mind it. The events from the past twenty-four hours, however, caused most tasks to sour quickly.
When she saw down at her small cubicle, she leaned her head against the chair, staring up at the ceiling and wondering how the hell she ended up where she was in this moment. It wasn’t all her, of course. If she had known the deed didn’t have her name on it, she would have demanded Bruce put her on there as half-owner. She didn’t like to be responsible for things that weren’t actually hers. More than that, she was furious that Bruce had let her believe the house was partially hers, something she shared with her brother. She still didn’t understand why her parents wouldn’t put her name on the deed, just to protect her. Especially since Bruce wasn’t reliable – and they knew that!
She needed coffee. Now.
After grabbing a cup of Kona with a large amount of cream and sugar, she was finally able to log in and start working.
Her phone chirped at just after eleven.
Her brows furrowed together. No one really texted her during the day. Her friends all had demanding jobs, just like hers was.
Who could be texting me now? she wondered.
She unlocked the screen and it went to her texts.
Bruce, she thought. What could he want?
Hey, I know you’re mad. But will you meet me at The Red Door next week? I need your help with something.
No apology. No acknowledgment of fault. Nothing.
She nearly threw her phone at the wall.
Chapter 4
This was the last place Annie wanted to be. The Red Door was a nightclub with a strict dress code – dresses for females, business casual for men – which meant no jeans. Annie didn’t care. If her brother wanted her to meet him here last minute about something important, she was not about to go out of her way in order to dress up.
One thing Annie had to respect about Jericho is he always invested in parking. Even though she had to validate her parking ticket or pay some obscene fine, at least she didn’t have to worry about parking. She parked relatively close to the two-story nightclub and pulled her trench coat over her plaid shirt and jeans, grabbed her umbrella, and proceeded to head to the club entrance attached to the structure.
There was already a long line, even at nine thirty. Annie didn’t care. She wasn’t about to wait. She walked up to the bouncer, ignoring the occupants of said line groaning and other derogatory sounds.
“My brother, Bruce Brennan, wanted to meet with me about something?” she asked, tossing her head to the side. She tried to make her voice come out polite but it was getting harder and harder to do so.
“You have to wait in line, just like everyone else,” the bouncer told her, his arms crossed over his
chest, causing big bulges of muscle to pop up.
Jesus, they’re bigger than my boobs, Annie thought to herself.
Despite their complete size difference, Annie narrowed her eyes. “There is no way I’m waiting to go into a club just to meet my brother who’s an employee,” she told him. “Considering it’s going to rain any second, can’t I just go in to meet him?”
“You ain’t even dressed correctly,” he said, nodding his bald head to Annie’s jeans and high tops. “You can’t come in.”
Annie clenched her jaw and reached into her pocket to pull out her cell phone. Fucking Bruce. Couldn’t he have given these bouncers a head’s up that she was coming to meet with him? She really didn’t want to meet out in the rain, even though she had her umbrella in her other hand and her jacket was waterproof. She just didn’t like when her shoes got wet and her hair constantly frizzed when exposed to moisture. She clicked on his contact, deciding she would have to take care of this herself.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll call him and he’ll bring me in himself.”
“You ain’t coming in,” the bouncer responded. “I don’t care who brings you in.”
“I don’t think you mean that,” a voice said behind Annie.
She whipped around and nearly ran smack into Jericho’s broad chest. His penetrating gaze was fixed on the bouncer and while there was no tension in his face, that gaze was angry, an emerald green. The bouncer tensed, meeting his boss’s eye without flinching but looking reprimanded even though Jericho hadn’t even raised his voice.
Jericho perked his brow. “Do you?” he pushed, waiting for a response.
“No, sir,” the man said, his voice less aggressive and more quiet.
“Good.” He turned to look at Annie and gave her a smile. “Ms. Brennan. So good to see you. I would never question your presence here, but is there anything I can assist you with? Besides entrance, of course.”
A Corruption Dark & Deadly (A Dark & Deadly Series Book 3) Page 5
