the way to work. Somehow I manage to drive there safely in my foggy state, eyes barely staying open. I didn’t get much sleep last night. Slipping into the executive entrance, I climb up the stairs to my dark office and flip on the light.
A man sitting on the chair in front of my desk turns his head and blinks at me. I jerk violently, tossing my purse aside. It lands with a loud thump and my back flattens against the wall.
“Jesus!”
His lips thin. “It’s Joe, actually.”
Fuck’s sake . “What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you in my office?”
He raises a beautifully carved eyebrow. “To make sure you fulfill your end of the deal.”
Irritated and heart still racing, I bend down and snatch the purse off the ground. “Did you have to scare the bejesus out of me?”
He lifts one of his shoulders in a shrug. “You scare easily. Thanks for dropping the charges against me, by the way.”
I glower at him as I walk around my desk and sit down shakily. It strikes me as strange how I remember his lips on my face more than I remember his hand wrapped around my mouth to shut me up. Joe looks slightly more at ease, but he still wears that scowl he carries around everywhere. Haunted eyes stare at me from across the desk until I shiver and look away.
“I brought you some coffee.”
It sits in front of me in a cup. Starbucks. Seized by a sudden rush of indignation, I take the hot cup of coffee and immediately dump it in the trash.
His face darkens. “What the hell is your problem?”
The anger in his voice makes my rage falter for a moment. “Let’s get one thing straight, Joe . You are not here to tell me what to do. You’re here to help, and what happened last night will not happen again .”
A small smirk pulls at the edge of his mouth. “You kissed me back.”
My teeth grind together so loudly that I’m sure he can hear it. “It will not happen again.”
“Whatever you say, hon . ” He grins at me again to let me know that he doesn’t take anything I say seriously.
This is going to be a fucking problem. I don’t know what he sees in me and why, but I’m definitely not interested in him. He’s just a thug. A mobster. I don’t associate with fucking mobsters.
It doesn’t help that he keeps staring at me with that blank face. He’s a fucking robot. No emotion whatsoever.
Then I notice two duffel bags sitting on either side of his feet. They’re huge, black bags.
“Do I even want to know what’s inside those?”
He kicks one with his foot. “Cash. Jack needs to put this money through the casino.” Suddenly, his voice rises in volume. “Which is why we need those fucking accounts opened as soon as possible.”
Money laundering.
I can’t speak. There’s a noise outside my office, the sound of someone laughing, and I flinch horribly.
“This is why you have to listen to what I say.”
“I don’t have to do anything you say,” I explode.
He’s on me in a flash. Joe gets up and two strides later, he stands over my chair and I’m fighting to get out. A terrifying look is on his face before he bends slightly and takes hold of my hair. His fingers dig inside painfully and wrench hard. I yelp as pain smarts over my skull, and then he bends my neck over the head of my chair as if he’s about to slit my throat. His breath hisses over my throat like a knife.
“Let’s face it, sweetheart. I am here to tell you what to do, so I’d appreciate it if you toned down the rudeness. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.”
My vision clouds over with tears that I’m too powerless to wipe away. They streak down my face instead. Why did you do this to me, Dad? Frustration from my job and grief over Dad’s death mix together in a confusing blur. I can’t tell what’s what anymore, and Joe looks into my eyes without a shred of sympathy.
“I fucking hate all of you.”
“Do your fucking job. All I’m trying to do is mine.”
He lets go of my hair, his fingers
A man sitting on the chair in front of my desk turns his head and blinks at me. I jerk violently, tossing my purse aside. It lands with a loud thump and my back flattens against the wall.
“Jesus!”
His lips thin. “It’s Joe, actually.”
Fuck’s sake . “What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you in my office?”
He raises a beautifully carved eyebrow. “To make sure you fulfill your end of the deal.”
Irritated and heart still racing, I bend down and snatch the purse off the ground. “Did you have to scare the bejesus out of me?”
He lifts one of his shoulders in a shrug. “You scare easily. Thanks for dropping the charges against me, by the way.”
I glower at him as I walk around my desk and sit down shakily. It strikes me as strange how I remember his lips on my face more than I remember his hand wrapped around my mouth to shut me up. Joe looks slightly more at ease, but he still wears that scowl he carries around everywhere. Haunted eyes stare at me from across the desk until I shiver and look away.
“I brought you some coffee.”
It sits in front of me in a cup. Starbucks. Seized by a sudden rush of indignation, I take the hot cup of coffee and immediately dump it in the trash.
His face darkens. “What the hell is your problem?”
The anger in his voice makes my rage falter for a moment. “Let’s get one thing straight, Joe . You are not here to tell me what to do. You’re here to help, and what happened last night will not happen again .”
A small smirk pulls at the edge of his mouth. “You kissed me back.”
My teeth grind together so loudly that I’m sure he can hear it. “It will not happen again.”
“Whatever you say, hon . ” He grins at me again to let me know that he doesn’t take anything I say seriously.
This is going to be a fucking problem. I don’t know what he sees in me and why, but I’m definitely not interested in him. He’s just a thug. A mobster. I don’t associate with fucking mobsters.
It doesn’t help that he keeps staring at me with that blank face. He’s a fucking robot. No emotion whatsoever.
Then I notice two duffel bags sitting on either side of his feet. They’re huge, black bags.
“Do I even want to know what’s inside those?”
He kicks one with his foot. “Cash. Jack needs to put this money through the casino.” Suddenly, his voice rises in volume. “Which is why we need those fucking accounts opened as soon as possible.”
Money laundering.
I can’t speak. There’s a noise outside my office, the sound of someone laughing, and I flinch horribly.
“This is why you have to listen to what I say.”
“I don’t have to do anything you say,” I explode.
He’s on me in a flash. Joe gets up and two strides later, he stands over my chair and I’m fighting to get out. A terrifying look is on his face before he bends slightly and takes hold of my hair. His fingers dig inside painfully and wrench hard. I yelp as pain smarts over my skull, and then he bends my neck over the head of my chair as if he’s about to slit my throat. His breath hisses over my throat like a knife.
“Let’s face it, sweetheart. I am here to tell you what to do, so I’d appreciate it if you toned down the rudeness. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.”
My vision clouds over with tears that I’m too powerless to wipe away. They streak down my face instead. Why did you do this to me, Dad? Frustration from my job and grief over Dad’s death mix together in a confusing blur. I can’t tell what’s what anymore, and Joe looks into my eyes without a shred of sympathy.
“I fucking hate all of you.”
“Do your fucking job. All I’m trying to do is mine.”
He lets go of my hair, his fingers
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