Page 100 of Unruly

It was calmer than she expected.

You know, barring the men with guns.

“Don’t ask where you are,” José told her.

Catherine waved a hand. “No worries. I was actually thinking it’s quite beautiful and quiet here. I like that.”

“Associates and buyers usually do.” Then, he pointed to the house. “You will have your meet in the kitchen. The boss will be waiting.”

“I just go in?”

“Go in.”

Okay, then.

Catherine climbed the three stairs leading up to the wraparound porch. One of the guards opened the front door for her, and then closed it once she was inside the home. For the most part, the home was very … homey.

Family pictures. Children’s toys in the corner of the living room. Artwork hung on the walls, and decorations making the place feel warm.

Again, not what she had expected …

But to be honest, she hadn’t known what to expect to begin with. Who was she to say this wasn’t normal? If she had a client come into her home, or one of her girls for that matter, they would find the same thing.

“Catherine Donati, right?”

Catherine turned to face a man standing in the entryway of a large kitchen. Something cooking smelled like spices and meat—heavenly, really.

“That would be me.”

Turning, the tall, older man waved a hand for her to enter. “Come, have a seat.”

Her gaze narrowed momentarily at the man.

He had not offered his hand to shake.

He had been standing, and waiting, for her.

“Could I ask your name?” Catherine asked as she took a seat at the table.

The man smiled, and lines etched around his mouth and eyes. It was an easy smile, she thought. Not the smile of a man she assumed would be running a major cartel controlling most of South America.

“Samuel.”

Samuel had already taken his seat before Catherine had even sat down in hers.

Everything about the scene just felt … off.

She couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was that was putting her on edge, but it was something. Catherine was not one to ignore her instincts.

“So I finally meet the boss,” Catherine said with a false smile.

Samuel offered a raised brow, and said, “Business, yes?”

That’s when she knew.

This man was not the boss.

He was too easy-going, too beta to a boss’s alpha. No boss would be standing and waiting for someone in their own home. No boss would not at least offer their hand to test the waters of respect between an associate or buyer at their first meeting. Bosses had an aura about them—a certain attitude, behavior, and way.