I wonder if I were to say the words out loud, if it would somehow slam the bucket of reality down on my head.
Not that any of these heavy thoughts matter. In truth, all that does matter is that I get Zoe away from that life and into mine. After that, I can fix whatever financial issue there is. There’s nothing in this world that will keep me from being the one does that. For the next month, I own her because I paid for her.
The month after that, I’ll own her because her heart will want nothing else.
Just the words—owning her—has my cock stiffening in my dress pants. Damn, dress pants do not hide erections.
One month and she will never want to leave my side again.
She’s mine. No one else’s. The thought of her with anyone else has me flexing my hands in anger. No one will ever touch her again. She’s too pure for that, despite her nighttime occupation.
Sighing loudly, I rake my fingers through my hair. My poor dick doesn’t know what to do with the wave of emotions that course through my body.
Rage, sorrow, lust, possession.
“Bryce,” Ariel says through the intercom. “Are you ready for your next interview?”
“Yeah, send them in,” I say as I continue to look out at the city.
Is this the city I could settle down in with a woman? Have a couple of kids and a life beyond running around the world? Maybe. It’d have to be the right woman, a woman who pushes me past all reason.
Someone who could quench the undying thirst for something more.
The door opens behind me and I sense someone standing there, waiting for me, as I stare out the window.
Turning around, I see the red-faced man from earlier. The perverted prick. He’s holding a couple of folders in his hands. No doubt he’s trying to look like he’s prepared… or maybe he wants me to think I’m interrupting him from his important work.
It’s no matter. His time is my dime now.
Pointing to the chair in front of the desk, I say, “Have a seat… Mr…”
And I’ve already forgotten his name, that’s a new one for me.
“It’s Chad Pennington,” he says with a huff.
Eh, it could be ‘bag of dicks’ or ‘Bozo the Clown’ for all I care. His limp handshake, and the way he annoyed Ariel, already has him on my short list of people who will be let go soon enough.
“Right,” I say. “Mr. Pennington.”
Glancing at his folder on the desk before me, I would sigh out in boredom if I could. Not bothering to sit down, I turn back to the window and look out at the ground below the building.
People of all walks of life move around down there, going about their daily lives. What, I wonder, are they going to do tonight when they get home? Will they be relieved after working all day and want nothing more than to be near their loved ones?
“Bryce?” Pennington says, and for some reason I feel extreme annoyance with him using my first name.
“Mr. Ericsson,” I say, turning back to him and moving over to take the seat across from him.
“I’m sorry?” he says, and I can see in his eyes that he knows he shouldn’t have been so informal.
“Mr. Ericsson, not Bryce, Chad,” I say, then look down at his file.
Flipping it open, I start to thumb through the information about him.
“Oh… Right.”
“What would you say is your most critical role here at SpinToLove.com?” I ask as I keep flipping through the file.
Whatever answer he gives goes through one ear and out the other as I nod my head at him. I could care less. He pissed off Ariel, that’s enough for me to not give two shits about him. He might provide a bit of stability for the transition of the new staff I’ll be bringing in, but he won’t last long after that.
He’s the typical middle management worker who believes they’re irreplaceable. He’s a dime a dozen. More than likely, I can just promote from within if I find someone better fitting.
“Okay, and your salary is at one hundred and five thousand,” I say after he finally winds down.
“Yes, sir. A low income for my valuable skills. I’ve been…”
“Since it’s come out that SpinToLove.com was rigged, what have you been doing for the company, marketing wise, to put out the flames?” I interrupt him as I close his file and look up at him.
Eyes wide, he looks at me like I just kicked his favorite puppy. Fuck him, though. The marketing department has been spending less and less since the shit hit the fan. Now’s the time he needs to be strategizing a new way to get customers back.
“What about customer retention, Chad? What has your department, and most importantly you, been doing to keep this company from going under?” I ask.