“You ready for our little appointment today?”
I laugh.
“See you at twelve. Wear your hottest lingerie. If you don’t have any, buy the best you can find. I’ll get you back. My treat.”
I close my phone and leave the office for a few hours. I can’t deal with these meetings anymore. We’re losing money each year and now we’re scrambling for ways to make it better.
All things point to one thing: we’re going to have to merge with someone, and everyone in the company wants to buy out the Napolitano Hotel chain.
This puts me in a bind.
I’m fucking the daughter of the company. And now Byron is the head of all operations.
This isn’t good.
Word in the sector is that he’s growing paranoid and angry. After all, he’s basically still Syndicate. It was going to come out sooner or later.
I head to the park down the way. A little greenery to clear my mind.
When I head down to the lake, I stop and watch the ducks float and dive for food. It’s calming. There’s not very many people out and the weather is perfect. Everything seems to be going fairly well this morning. At least, it does for a little bit.
Until…
A groggy voice interrupts my moment of Zen. “Mr. Morelli. What a pleasant surprise. Do you come here often?”
I turn. To my surprise and dismay, it’s Byron.
He walks toward the lake, gold chains glittering in the sunlight.
“Byron, right?” I ask. “Good to finally meet you. I’m a big fan of your company’s work.”
“Thank you.” He smiles, revealing a gold tooth. He takes a deep breath and looks around the park. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? The things humans can make.”
“Nature is beautiful,” I reply, unable to see what he’s getting at.
“Don’t kid yourself, Mr. Morelli. This was all made by man. Nature isn’t so kind. Look at the chaos in the Amazon. Imagine if we were all still living in that jungle. You might wake up torn to bits by a jaguar.”
“I guess you’re right,” I say.
All I want is to get back into my office. I didn’t expect to run into this asshole.
He continues, despite my lack of attention. “Lucky for me, I get to go home every night. I don’t have to live in a hut in the jungle.”
What is this guy getting at? What’s with all the fucking riddles?
“Right,” I say.
He sighs, throwing his arm around my shoulder, bringing me in tight. “Don’t worry. I won’t waste your time much longer.”
To this day, I still carry a knife on me. I think about my options. He’s trying to get under my skin. If I just stay calm, everything will be all right. If he does try to do something I can always reach inside my coat pocket and grab my blade.
“I know what you’re up to,” he says. “I know why you’ve been hanging around Madison lately.”
“Excuse me?” I mutter.
“Don’t kid around,” he says.
“I don’t see how it’s any of your business,” I say.