“Iven, you have a great opportunity here.” I said sitting on the desk with my knees crossed.
“You get to make a business arrangement with me, you will take your father’s place.” He wouldn’t look at me. He was in pain. “Make a deal with me and I will have you taken to the hospital to get your shoulder fixed.” He still ignored me. I nodded to James who grabbed Iven’s shoulder and applied pressure. Iven yelled. “Let’s make an arrangement.”
He finally looked up at me. “What do you want with me, whore?” he said coolly. James squeezed his shoulder again. Iven yelled again.
“I want you to honor your father and my original deal. You all provide protection to my club and sell my drugs and I allow you to run your girls through here and use my club as your wash.” He looked up at me. “And Sarah gets her job back, running the club since your father was incapable of doing that.” Iven sat silently for a moment.
“Whatever, bitch.” James squeezed his shoulder again. I laughed when he yelled this time.
I pulled a contract out of my clutch. James pulled Iven to the desk and handed him a pen. Iven signed the paper and looked up at me. “You killed my father, you will pay for that.”
James slammed his head on the desk. “I will not pay for that, Iven. Your father got what he deserved. You are in charge now, make the most of that, and respect business deals when you agree on it.” James pulled him out of the room, Miles began to follow. “Miles.” He turned around and looked at me. “Come to Mexico with us.” His lips formed a hard line.
“I work for your mother, Fallon.”
“And she leaves you behind. She uses my father’s security detail more than she uses you. Come with me.” I hopped off the desk and walked over to him, grabbing his hand. He smiled. “Come with me.” I caught his eye.
“Fine.” He said smiling. I hugged him, he held me close before walking out of the office. I called Sarah and confirmed her job and that she no longer had to worry about the Russians. She was relieved.
I called my best friend, Amber, and updated her of what all had happened over this past month. I told her of my wedding in 5 days. She was upset. “You cannot marry that monster!” She yelled.
“I don’t have a choice. Will you at least help me find a dress?” I begged her. She finally gave in. “Pick me up at the Cortez hotel in the morning?” She agreed but reminded me that I had a driver, and they were going to drive us. We laughed. I missed her. I had not been away from her for this long in my life.
James came back to the office to get me. He assured me the body would be disposed of by morning and we headed back towards the hotel. When we got to the hotel, James did not get out of the car. “Are you coming?” I asked weakly.
“I will be back in the morning to accompany you and Amber shopping.” He said without looking at me. The car pulled away and Miles grabbed my waist.
“Let’s get you to bed.” Miles said pulling me in the lobby. I saw Hermie’s door open and popped my head in. He was sitting at his desk with his face in some paperwork.
“Hello, handsome.” I said with a smile. Hermie looked up and his eyes softened when he saw me. He stood up and walked over to me, pulling me in for a big hug.
“I missed you, shorty!” He said. “Sorry, I have been so busy, I haven’t had a chance to text or call you back.” He frowned. It had been a month since he left Mexico.
“It’s okay.” I said with a soft smile.
“Hungry?” He asked. I nodded. I had not eaten in so long. “Okay, I can cook something for us.” He was so happy. He closed his office and headed towards the elevator.
“I will see you in the room.” I said to Miles. He opened his mouth to argue but I pressed the button for the 4th floor, and he remained quiet. He got off and told me to call him if he needs anything. Miles put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him.
“I really missed you.” He said into my ear. I blushed. He walked into his kitchen and pulled some chicken and veggies out of the fridge. He started to cut things up but stopped to look at me. He smiled. “Drink?” He asked pulling out a bottle of whiskey.
“Yes, please.” He handed me a whiskey sour and kept cutting up the eat and veggies. I finished my drink quickly and walked into the kitchen to make another one. The food smelt so good. “Another?” I asked him and he smiled. He turned back to the stove and kept cooking. He pulled the food off once it was done and put a plate in front of me at the island. We ate in silence because the food was so good. “I didn’t know you could cook.” I said looking up to him. He smiled.
“There is a lot you don’t know about me, shorty.” He said again. “I know you like to swim; I have a private pool if you’d like to go for a swim.” I had not swum in a while.
“Yes, please!” He smiled and put the dishes in the sink.
“There are extra swim suits in the 3rd drawer on the right side in the guest room.” He pointed to a dark door in the hallway. The room was beautiful. The floors were the same white marble as in the kitchen. The furniture was dark in color and the linens were white. The room smelt of sandalwood and vanilla. My favorite. I smiled and looked in the drawer. I pulled out a back bikini and pulled it on. It was skimpy. I suddenly wondered why Hermie had woman’s clothes. The drawers and closet were full of them. Not to mention, they were in my size.
I walked back into the kitchen, but Hermie must have been changing. I made another whiskey sour and walked into the living room, turning on the TV. A sex channel was on. I spit out my drink a little bit when the sound hit my ears. A woman was screaming in pleasure. Hermie popped his head over the railing of the loft. “Oh, I am so sorry about that!” He yelled. I blushed.
“What the hell?” I laughed. It was kind of funny. He was so handsome; he could have any girl he wanted. He walked over to me taking the remote and turning off the TV. He was so muscular. He had a 6-pack and thick arms and legs. He looked like a boxer. He wore blue trunks and had a towel with him. He walked over to a stairwell in the corner of the room and smiled.
“Let’s go.” I followed him. The stairwell was 4 flights to a single door at the bottom. The door opened revealing a hallway with a ton of doors. He walked to the door that had “Spa” written in paint with a keycard entry. He swiped his keycard and the door opened to a huge pool with a sauna and hot tub in the corner. “Wow.” I said without realizing. This was wonderful. I smiled and turned to Hermie. He returned my smile. I walked over to the deep end of the pool and climbed onto the diving board. I dived in and swam for as long as I could on my breath of air. I came up and saw Hermie smiling at me.
“How’s the water?” He flirted.
“It feels so nice.” I smiled. He jumped in the water close to me, splashing water in my face. I laughed. I felt like a kid again. He swam over to me and put his hands on my hips. He smiled and pulled me into his chest.
“I bet you feel nice too.” He joked. Was he doing what I thought he was? I backed up but he pulled me back in.
“Hermie.” I warned. “I have to tell you something.”
“I know you and James have a thing, but you need to be with someone comparable to your status.” He ran his hand up my back and pulled the string holding my top on.
“It’s not about James. I’m getting married.” I held my top on. He backed up.
“To who?” he almost yelled.
“Maximo.” I answered, ashamed. He looked confused, then narrowed his eyes at me.
“The Hernandez boss’s son?” I nodded. “Why? Haven’t you only known him for a month?” I nodded again. “Is he forcing you?” He was getting more angry as he asked questions.
“I don’t have a choice. If I don’t they won’t make a deal with me to sell Wink. They told me I betrayed their trust going behind their backs making and distributing a new drug. Since my family works for them, I was supposed to go through them, but I didn’t know that.” I was starting to studder. “There is no way out of this. They will kill me and everyone I care about if I don’t.”
“We can get you out of this.” He said before getting out of the pool and leaving the room.