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“Yes, sir. That’s wonderful. I’m so excited to read your work. You inspire me so much.” Misty was practically gushing. She was someone else I’d shielded from the darkness surrounding me, preferring to keep her protected from scrutiny.
“It should be an interesting summer.”
“What would you like on the note?”
I thought about her question, grabbing another piece of paper. “This should do it.”
She smiled as only Misty could do. “I’ll take care of this right now. This is the local diner. Are you certain you want it sent to that location?”
Laughing, I nodded. “I’m absolutely certain, darling Misty. Just ensure that it arrives tomorrow, not today.” I hated that my soon to be trained submissive had been working at a greasy spoon.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“I adore you, Misty. Thank you for all you do.” I strode out of my office, heading toward the conference room. There was something about spending time with the girl that was refreshing, reminding me that darkness wasn’t always the finest aspect of life. There were truly good people in this world, men and women trying to do the right thing.
Unfortunately, it was often those who were the people gunned down or mutilated by those pretending to care about their fellow man while having no conscience at all.
As I walked in, I could see happy faces spread across the four men in the room, my two brothers included.
Even at this time of morning, there was an open bottle of Kristal champagne, both Creed and Styx’s favorite brand of bubbly. Me? I preferred darker liquor like cognac or my beloved gin, not celebratory froth. However, I would enjoy the moment, our profits up thirty-four percent over the quarter, a new record.
“To the man of the hour,” Creed said after handing me a flute. “We are likely to hit the list of the wealthiest men in the world this year.”
Did that really matter to him? Somehow, I doubted it.
“It was a joint effort,” I reminded them, although I’d suggested the investments.
“Yes, but you pushed all our buttons,” Styx said, laughing.
Both Ralph Booker and Travis Kingsley, the two non-conformist board members had already lifted their glasses. They had every reason to celebrate.
“So selfless,” Creed added. He had a look in his eyes that told me he was eager for the formal aspect of our business meeting to be over with, which meant the two non-family board members would return to their offices while we handled items for our less legitimate side of things. While those were becoming more infrequent, including weapons sales to the majority of other countries, we still continued the practice when the price was right.
“Uh-huh. You’d be surprised. Let’s get on with the presentation as we are all very busy,” I said as I sat down, grabbing the remote for the flatscreen. I slid the jump drive into the laptop placed on the table, preparing to give my usual overview. Today’s was short and sweet, my longing to prepare for my guest all that was on my mind.
“Congratulations on completing another successful semester,” Ralph said with a twinkle in his eyes. How many times had the four of them made fun of the fact I’d continued to teach a few classes for a pittance of what I made with the company? Too many.
No one understood my reason why, the ability to connect directly with some of the worst abusers in the city. What so many people didn’t realize is that monsters were typically cultivated, not born with a demon seed inside.
Even my brothers hadn’t been made aware of the extent of the evil lurking inside of me. I was perhaps the best at hiding my needs. Likely because I remained under the radar while Styx, the oldest brother, had delivered his position as head of our mafia family and the CEO position to Creed. Meanwhile, Styx had gone on to serve as a surgeon in his attempt to rid himself of the family curse. However, his hunger for bloodshed and violence had led him to being one of the most dangerous hired assassins in the country.
Much like Creed was considered a brutal crime syndicate leader. But both men had softened, although I wouldn’t dare tell them that. The powerful influence of women was fascinating to me.
“Yes, I think my brother is right. Let’s get this show on the road.” Creed sat down beside me, giving me a quick look before I began.
As often occurred with identical twins or triplets, we could easily communicate without issuing a single word.
I glanced at Styx and he seemed more agitated than usual, which was somewhat disconcerting.
As usual, there was no need to waste time, the profit and loss sheet improving every single quarter. I had to admit I did enjoy my job more than I’d thought I would.
When I was finished, I was surprised to see the bottle of champagne was empty and I’d barely touched my glass. The time for my personal celebration would be when I completed the book.
“Well, gentlemen. We have some incredible contracts that we’ll be looking at tweaking in the upcoming months, but I dare say we are doing very well.” Creed grinned, the two dimples almost no one saw more pronounced today.
“Yes, and we have more money than we know what to do with.” Travis’ smile seemed like a mile wide.
I shut down the laptop, taking my glass of champagne and moving toward the oversized window in the room. I hated to admit it but Josie’s story continued to bother me. Of course many of the details had been conjured up, a guess or a puffed-up story told by someone in her family hidden under the guise of creative writing, but there were several details presented in memories that I’d done my best to shove aside, locking them in a padlocked box.
