Ruthless Monarch

“Well, we did get married after basically a second. That doesn’t bode well for getting to know someone.”

Her sass is there. Present in every sarcastic quip that leaves her mouth. I like the fire.

“Very true, but I’d like to change that.”

Her eyebrows arch. “You do? Why?”

“Why do I want to know my wife?” I ask, to show her that the idea is not so farfetched.

“Yes, that is exactly what I want to find out.”

Leaning forward in my chair, I place my forearms on the table. “Believe it or not, I did not enter into this marriage without thinking of what it meant. I have no plans to divorce you. In my world, that doesn’t happen. If we are to be together, if eventually you will be the mother of my children, I'd like to get to know you. I know I didn’t start that way, but I want to now—”

“And this was all changed because of my father?” Her delicate features are natural, but her voice is lower, trying to determine if I’m telling the truth or feeding her a story.

The latter is the answer, but I’ll sell it like a traveling salesman selling snake oil as a miracle cure.

“Yes. Seeing you with him made me realize there is no love lost between you, and because of that, because of the way he treated you, I want to protect you.”

For a moment, I wonder if I’ve come on too strong and she will see through my lies, but the rigid line of her jaw softens.

“Okay,” she answers.

“Good. Let’s start with you telling me a little about yourself.”

Her eyes go wide at my statement. “That's a long answer.” She laughs. “Let’s narrow it down. What exactly do you want to know?”

“From what I gathered, it seems you went to NYU. What were you studying?”

“You are already know this.” She rolls her eyes. She’s right I do, but I still want to hear it. “I’m studying, or I mean I studied English literature.”

“Hence the reading?”

“Yes, hence the reading.”

“You know, I have a library.”

“Why does that not surprise me?”

“And you just graduated?” I ask. Leaning back in my chair, I lift my elbows off the table.

“I did, actually. However, with everything that happened, I didn’t walk.”

“What does that mean?”

“Honestly? Absolutely nothing. I still have a diploma. I still graduated from college. I just didn’t have one of those moments when I stood on a podium and smiled at my parents.”

“Do you wish you did?”

“You’ve met my parents. What do you think?” she deadpans, and I can’t help but laugh. She cocks her head to the side. “I don’t think I've ever heard you laugh.”

“Don’t get used to it. I rarely do it.”

“You should do it more often. You have a nice laugh.”

“In my line of work . . . well, let’s just say, no one laughs in my line of work. Not often at least.”

“That’s sad.”

“Life can be sad.” We both fall silent, and just as I’m about to open my mouth and ask her more, one of the members of my staff walks into the dining room.

She has a bottle of wine in her hand and then starts to pour us both a glass.

“I hope you drink red.”

“I’ll drink anything.” She laughs. “I’ve gotten used to getting drunk in order to make it through dinner with the parents.”

“I hope you don’t feel that way now.”

She looks taken aback. Maybe I’m coming off too strong. But I don’t have all the time in the world to make her trust me, and she is not stupid.

I need to convince her I’m the real deal, and then I need to take her, her family, and my cousin down.

There is no way she would believe right now that I would be reckless enough to drop confidential information in front of her. However, if I play the game right, if I lead her into a false comfort and then I drop the information, she will play right into my hands.

I’ll be able not to just take down her father but also to find my cousin. It is surprising how elusive he has been. I own New York, I should be able to find him, but seeing as he tried to get into bed with New Jersey, I have to assume that’s where he’s hiding. Although most of Jersey is mine, there are certain jurisdictions where my power is limited.

“So . . . NYU? I know you lived in an apartment, was that where you lived throughout college?”

“No. Actually, I always lived in an apartment, but the one I lived in before was like Fort Knox. My father had so much security detail on me, it was pathetic.”

I find it interesting that she says that because one of the things I was shocked about was the lack of security she had.