AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I smiled. “I hate to break it to you, darlin’, but you’ll be dealin’ with me from now on. So if you wanna get paid”—I held her money between us—“you better learn how to say please.”
“Okay, darlin’.” She snatched the cash out of my hand. “I’ll try to remember that the next time I give a shit.” She mirrored my smile. “Can I be excused now, boss? Or do you need to flex your dick some more?”
I laughed.
Not because she was funny.
Not because I was obviously amused.
Not because of anything other than…
Her.
CHAPTER
THREE
LUKE
I sat at the head of the rectangular table at the far end of the room, fucking exhausted. Yet there I was, with a new associate from Panama that I was about to use for the first time, sitting across from me. I spent the past week in his territory, making sure they knew I meant business and they were aware of how I handled things.
I didn’t acknowledge him.
Something about this prick instantly rubbed me the wrong way. The last thing I needed was to babysit another incompetent asshole who thought with his cock and not his head. My plate was already full. I didn't need any more shit piling up.
However, I had to give credit where credit was due. The man had some brass balls for sitting parallel to me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to shake his hand for it.
A power struggle at its fucking finest.
I wasn’t a take-charge kind of man.
I was in charge.
End of story.
I unbuttoned my suit jacket, making myself comfortable before leaning back into my chair. “I paid off everyone who needed to keep their mouths shut, and the remaining were silenced… permanently,” I declared.
He fell forward on the table with his hands placed in front of him. “Your reputation precedes you, Luke. Quite the Jameson, huh?”
I tapped my fingers on the table, one right after the other. He narrowed his eyes at me, cocking his head to the side.
Waiting.
I knew what he was trying to do. I learned at a very early age how to read people.
Who was lying.
Who was pretending.
Who was bluffing.
And who was just full of fucking shit.
A person’s body language always told me their story.
Some of it was instinctual.
Some of it was inbred.
