Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 61290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
After I clean myself up, I find I’ve missed a text from him. I nearly choke on my tongue when I see the picture he sent. It’s him, in his bed, shirtless and eyelids heavy with fatigue. His usual perfect hair is messy, and his smile is genuine—not one of his predator grins.
Before I think twice, I send him five hundred back.
Winston: What was that for?
Me: It’s a good pic.
He doesn’t respond after that. I feel like maybe I messed up by sending him money. Or maybe crossed a line I wasn’t supposed to cross. At the end of the day, though, it’s probably for the best. It was a good couple of days, and I made more money than some people make in half a year.
Tomorrow I’ll look for a real job.
9
Winston
After my usual morning greetings, I stop at Deborah’s desk. Her lips are pursed, and her eyes gleam with frustration. A typical Monday at Halcyon. She flutters her fingers toward the all-glass enclosed conference room. I follow her movement, biting back a groan to see my baby brother sitting at the head of the table, spinning in the chair like a child.
Fucking wonderful.
“This won’t take long,” I growl. “Push back my eight-fifteen to nine.”
“I’m sorry, sir. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“I’ll deal with him.”
Bypassing my office, I stalk over to the conference room and push open the door. It closes silently behind me. I walk over to the seat next to Perry and set my bag on top of the table.
“You know you need to schedule your meetings,” I bite out, hoping to sting him with my icy words. “Some of us are busy bringing in the money for those who work feverishly to spend it.”
His jaw clenches, and he crosses his arms over his chest. Outwardly, he’s a man. Hell, he can probably bench more than me these days, but inside he’s a brat. Perry might be twenty, but he’s still the oops baby who stole too much of Dad’s time when he had an empire to run.
“I can contribute,” Perry argues. “When you start treating me like a part of this family.”
“We’re not doing this here.” I crack my neck and stare at him with disdain. “What is the investment?”
“It shouldn’t matter. It’s my money.” He scowls at me. “It doesn’t have to be this difficult every time, Winston.”
“If it weren’t, you’d have bled your fund dry by the age of sixteen. There’s a reason Dad made me the executor of your trust fund. Because I can keep a leash on you.”
“Fuck off,” he snaps. “Forget it. I’ll get a loan then.”
At this, I laugh, cruel and mocking. “That’ll piss Mother off. Her sweet, golden child taking handouts. You know that’s a shitty idea.”
“It’s not a handout. It’s a loan. Or, better yet, I’ll find investors.”
“No one is going into business with a Constantine. We own them all already.”
His eyes narrow. “Not all of them.”
Sitting up in my chair, I thread my fingers together on the table and shoot him a murderous glare. “Who?”
“You know who.”
“Indulge me, brother. Tell me who you’d get into bed with for a few hundred grand.”
“Lucian Morelli.”
My teeth grind together. It’s one thing to taunt me, but it’s a whole other thing to throw out that fucking family name.
“I’m sorry, but I think you’ve misspoken,” I growl, giving him an opportunity to backtrack. This is the one bridge no Constantine can ever cross, and him even bringing it up is a slap in the face.
“Morelli has money, and if you won’t give me mine, I’ll borrow his until I turn of age.” Perry flashes me a triumphant grin that reminds me of Dad whenever he’d financially end an opponent in a brutal way.
“You take one phone call with Lucian Morelli, and I will destroy you, Perry. Blood or not, you’ll be gone. I’ll ruin you in ways you’ll never recover from. Mother will hate you. Our siblings will hate you. You might as well marry that bastard, because you’ll be dead to the Constantine name.” I slam my fist down on the table, making him flinch. “Have you forgotten his father killed ours?”
He lets out a huff. “Allegedly. There’s no proof. It was an accident. For all we know, it was one of Dad’s other enemies. Not every bad thing that comes our way comes from the . . .” He pauses, thinking twice about uttering their name again. “Them.”
“You’ll get your five hundred grand by lunchtime.”
He relaxes some. “I wasn’t really going to call him. I would never do that to Mother or to you. I know what they are. Really, Winston.” He gives me an earnest look. “I wouldn’t.”
“I should hope not.” I rub at the tension on the back of my neck. “I work tirelessly like Dad did to keep this machine well-oiled and gushing money into our coffers. It’s insulting for you to run to the enemy at the first sign of distress. Loyalty is absolutely important in our world. You have much to learn.”