Grim, p.16
Grim, page 16
“Maybe it was a test?”
“And if it was?” I shook my head, frustrated. “I know how people view the Devil’s Reach or the Capri family or whatever crime family we deal with, but they aren’t like the Contis. They’re a whole different breed.”
“I know.” She placed the picture down and ran a finger across the frame. “I’ll admit these people were never someone we thought we’d bring in. But they have a lot of money and are willing to spend it here.”
“So?”
“Grimson,” she lowered her head and took a deep breath, “I need you to let your dad have this one.”
“Why?”
“Your dad needs this win.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning,” she sat down next to me and threaded her hand through mine, “I’m asking you to let this one go.”
“Is there something I should know?” I held her gaze, then I glanced at Simon again, who seemed to be reading something on his phone.
“No, son, I just think your dad needs a win right now, and this is it.”
A million thoughts ran through my mind before I gave her a small nod.
“Good boy.” She squeezed my arm. “Now, will you ease up a little on Kenna?”
“No. That’s asking too much. Speaking of which,” I shook my head, “how are you guys still doing business with Cameron?”
“I know,” she shrugged, obviously exasperated, “but you know your father. Loyalty runs deep with him.”
“I get that, but he’s getting progressively worse as the years go on.”
“Why do you think I skip most of the meetings?” She chuckled lightly. “I’ve learned to tune him out. He means well and is good for the hotel, but I agree he oversteps a lot.”
“Understatement.”
“Imagine how poor Kenna feels.” She gave me a look. “She’s got such a good head on her shoulders and has proved she can bring a lot of business to the hotel. So, if dealing with Cameron’s little outbursts is what it takes to keep Kenna around, we can deal.”
“I won’t.”
“I know you will.” She laughed. “You’ll do it for your father because we all love him.”
“Yeah.” I gave her a smile. I’d do it as long as I could, but I was back for good, and things were going to change. I knew there’d be a lot of people who wouldn’t like it. Kenna’s face flickered.
I got up and offered my arm as Simon retreated to Cameron’s office. Mom and I walked together back into the conference room. I sat down, crossed my ankle over my knee, and took a moment before I looked at them.
“If Sonny and Victor are staying, then you need to find a different host, because Kenna isn’t going to be theirs.” I glanced at Mom, and she gave me a nod of approval. I wasn’t a total monster; I didn’t trust Sonny not to pull something else on her.
“The hell she’s not.” Cameron laughed like I was crazy. “She signed them, and that’s the agreement. That makes her their host.”
“Have you been in this meeting at all, old man?” I licked my dry mouth. “Do you have any awareness of your daughter?”
“This is a business meeting, not a family dinner.” Cameron pressed a finger into the table.
“And if it was up to me, you wouldn’t be at either one.” A bullet wedged in his skull would look mighty fine right now.
“Maybe it should be up to Kenna?” Mom’s smooth voice took command of the room, and I backed down. He was like fighting with a five-year-old. “What are your thoughts, Kenna?”
“Yes,” I gritted my teeth as I dared her to defy me on this too, “what are your thoughts?”
“Truth,” she folded her arms at my tone, “I’m not interested in wasting my energy on them. Sonny has other intentions for me. He’s made that clear. I’d be fine stepping aside for someone else to play dodge the creep.” I felt a sense of relief that she didn’t fight me on this, because I would have won this battle whether she liked it or not. “I like the clients I have right now. I love the chase to land the clients. It’s a challenge. But if there’s an option to give the Contis to someone else, I’m all for that.”
“And what if Sonny disagrees?” Cameron countered, and my blood pressure went up.
“Then Sonny can fuck right off. It’s not his decision,” I grunted.
“Then we cross the bridge when we need to.” Kenna sighed. It must be exhausting to have a father like hers.
“Good,” Dad hit the table with his fist like a judge, “that’s settled. Sonny and Victor Conti will stay on, but with a new host. Now, it’s time for lunch.”
“Actually,” Kenna glanced at my mother, who gave her a nod to go on, “I have one more thing to discuss.”
Here we go. I rolled my eyes.
“Mr. Tame?” Zara, Cameron’s secretary, popped her head in the door. “Forgive the interruption, but Mr. Griple is here to see you.”
“Shit.” He glared at her, and she blushed and disappeared. “Go on without me.” He pushed to his feet and marched out like the cocky son of bitch he was.
“I’m going to kill him,” I growled at Dad and pointed at the door Cameron had just closed behind him.
“Kenna?” Mom prompted her to go on.
“I believe I’ve proven myself to all of you here at Indulge. I think I’ve shown I’ve got what it takes to land a magnitude of clients.”
“Agreed.” Dad nodded.
“I think I’ve earned the right to have more of a say on who we bring on, and if I represent them or not.”
“A say would mean you’d need to be able to compromise.” I stepped in. “I sure haven’t seen much of that from you so far. Is it something you think you can strive for?”
“Given it’s handled the right way, yes.” She glared at me.
“I think that’s fair.” Mom looked at Dad. “She has a knack when it comes to reading people. She’s proved that. She should have a say, especially if someone makes her feel uncomfortable.”
“Fine.” I had to agree if we looked at it from that angle. I’d just gone to bat for her not being the Contis’ host, and this went hand in hand with that. Mom’s face showed surprise. Probably she was shocked, as I had a reputation for not being easy to compromise with either. But I felt this made sense.
“Thank you.” Kenna managed a small smile. I thought maybe she’d fight me less now that I’d agreed to her request. I doubted it, but one could dream. Her smile immediately returned to a scowl, and I glared at her. The moment was certainly over. I made a mental note to try to find a way to work with her better so I wouldn’t be constantly planning her death.
“I think that’s a smart request, Kenna.” Dad stood. “I’ll get your contract revised this afternoon.”
“Thank you.” She smiled at my mother and shook Dad’s hand. I was awarded a nod.
“Mom and Dad, I’ll meet you at the restaurant. I need a moment alone with Kenna.”
“I have to meet Mr. Hong,” she complained.
“He can wait.”
“Of course, dear.” Mom kissed my cheek. “Remember we’re witnesses, so return her in one piece.”
No promises.
Once they left, I swung around to face her. She stood with her arms folded and her knees locked. She looked ready for battle. I sighed and huffed out a breath. Her white sleeveless blouse that crisscrossed in the front was tucked into her tight red skirt. I knew if she was about to go meet Yen Hong, she’d want to change into something more casual. Yen loved the pool.
“I don’t have the energy to go head-to-head with you, Grim. My father wears me out.”
“Out of respect to my parents, I didn’t slam my fist into his head. He certainly deserved it.”
“I’m glad you didn’t.” She always let her father off the hook. I couldn’t figure out why.
“One day it’ll happen. I’ve been known to have a temper.”
“Never guessed.” She dripped with sarcasm.
I walked over to the folder on the table and flipped open the file on Sonny. “You and my mother seem close.”
“Does that threaten you?” She pulled her hair to one side, and it drew my attention to her throat. My hand twitched to wrap around it.
“Not much threatens me.”
“Sonny seems to.”
I swung my gaze over to hers, and she matched my glare.
“Be careful, Kenna. Just because you’re close with my mother doesn’t mean you can speak so freely to me.”
“I really get under your skin, don’t I?”
“You’re like a parasite that’s crawled your way into my brain, pissing me off at every thought.”
“Wow,” she looked away, “I had no idea I pissed you off that much.”
“Well, you do now.” Between her and the fact that I was once again being screwed up with my hotel being built, I wanted to snap something in two, and it wasn’t a pen. Something popped into my head. “What was going on last night?”
“Well, since I have you alone, and apparently extremely pissed off at me,” she huffed, “I might as well say this now.” I hated that my temper sent my blood in all directions, but mostly to my erection. “We will not discuss why I left Minnie’s club the way I did. Not now, not ever.”
“Oh, really? Well, we will discuss what the hell rattled you because something did. Do I need to go ask Minnie?”
“Grim,” she looked me square in the eye, “it was something personal and something I very much wish to keep private. Let it go.” I smirked at that. She really didn’t know me very well. I wanted to know everything that happened in my city.
“Why were you and Calli fighting at fight club last night?” I asked, and her brows pitched.
“Dad sent her to do his errands, and I sent her away.”
“How close are you and Morgan?”
“Why would you ask that?”
“Why was your hair wet?”
“Now, that’s really none of your business.”
“You dodge a lot of my questions.”
“You ask a lot of questions.” She flipped her hair off her face. “Also, you’ll never set your watch dog, Jesse, on me again. It wasn’t right, and it put him in an uncomfortable situation.”
That will happen again.
“And three.”
“Oh, there’s more?”
“Us.”
“What about us?” I closed the file and gave her my full attention.
“You’re my boss.”
“Nice that you finally accept that fact.”
“One who thinks he can control me.”
“I know I can control you.”
“We already crossed a line in the limo.”
“You didn’t seem to mind.”
“In that moment, I didn’t.” She raised a hand to stop any comeback. “Problem is the scoreboard is uneven.”
“Is that so?”
She leaned against the table, then, to my surprise and total delight, lowered to her knees. I reached back and removed my gun and set it on the table next to her head. She eyed it for a second, and though I was curious to know what went through her mind, I wasn’t about to break the moment.
“Always good to even the scoreboard.” I groaned when she tugged on my belt and popped the button on my pants. Everything inside me coiled. I fought hard not to wind my hands in her hair and make her take me to the base the moment she touched me with her tongue. She was going to be the reason I’d get a good night’s sleep tonight. I could already feel the tension ebb. She slid her hand over my pants, and the heat from her palm made me twitch with need. “That’s it,” I purred, savoring the moment. “Wrap that pretty little mouth around it.”
“Grim!” Knox burst through the door with the three girls who had left my bedroom earlier. I grabbed my gun out of instinct. “I found your three-course meal from last night.” He had been day drinking and didn’t notice Kenna right away. “What ya say? Wanna do round two, or would it be round three?”
“Are you replacing me, baby?” The horny blonde from earlier pouted at Kenna. “Maybe we can have a competition on who’s better?”
Kenna had stayed still up to his point and dropped her hands away as she stood. “That wouldn’t be much of a competition.” She casually wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
“Kenna! You want to play, too?” Knox grinned, and I pointed at the door.
“Leave!” I said through gritted teeth.
“No, I’m the one leaving.” Kenna stopped as she passed the girls. “He’s in a foul mood, but maybe you can help him out,” she turned to look at me, “again.”
She left the room. I cocked my gun, and Knox’s eyes widened.
“Shit, let’s go find someone else to play with.” The blonde girl pouted, and I ran a frustrated hand over the back of my neck as I tucked my gun away. I sank into a chair and felt the uncontrollable ache between my stomach and legs that was impossible to shake. Never had I had a woman do this to my head. I fucking hated it. I needed to do something, or I was going to lose my mind completely. I grabbed my phone.
Grim: I need one of Tess’s best.
I stood, fixed my belt, and popped my button back in place.
Minnie: Setting something up for you now. I’ll be in touch.
Good.
I pushed the chair back against the table and left. I slowed my pace as I heard someone yelling down the other hall.
“Who’s in there?” I asked one of the guards.
“Mr. Tame has a client meeting.” He paused and grabbed a tablet that had a record of who was where and when. “Mr. Griple.”
I knew it wouldn’t be wise to be around Cameron at that point. I couldn’t be trusted with how pent-up I was. But I needed to channel my rage somewhere and could use a good fight. As I got close to the door, I could hear his client’s anger. Nice to hear Cameron was getting it from somewhere else. Lord knew the asshole deserved it.
“You promised you had this handled, Cameron! I trusted you.”
“I can fix this.”
“Fix this how? He’s dead, and last I checked, you can’t bring people back from the dead.”
“I can find someone to take his place.”
“We go to trial soon!” the man screamed louder. “So help me God, you have no idea what kind of shit I have coming your way if we don’t win this. If we don’t win—”
He stopped when I opened the door, and I stared down at the man in the high-priced Italian suit.
“Can I help you?” he snapped but did a double take when he looked at me.
“Yeah, by getting the hell out of my hotel.”
He swallowed and reined himself in. “Mr. Grim Gates,” he nodded tightly, “I didn’t recognize you.” That, I doubted. Not many were tattooed from head to foot. “I was just leaving.”
“Good idea.”
“Mr. Tame,” he turned to Cameron, “watch your back.” He stormed out, and I crossed my arms at Cameron.
“Mind your business, Grim. I have it covered.”
“The fuck you say to me, old man?”
“I can’t do this right now.” He waved for me to leave, and I felt my need to kill someone course through my body. I slammed the door shut and turned to him.
“I think you need a reminder of who the hell I am and that one day I’ll own the hotel you work for.”
Kenna
I slid my purse farther up my arm as I hurried through the back hallways and opened the door to where Dale was putting the final touches on a lunch plate.
“Hey,” I sidestepped a girl with a tray, “here’s Yen’s request for his meal.”
“You could’ve sent it to me like always.” He ground some fresh pepper over a salad then wiped the side of the plate clean to ensure it looked perfect. “What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
He looked over his shoulder. “Out with it.”
“You know that blonde who’s always hanging out with that Ron look-alike from Jersey Shore, down by the cabanas?”
“Blonde? Oh, you mean Starbi.”
“I guess, yeah. Did her mother purposely pick a stripper name, or did she change it?” I rolled my eyes and hated her even more.
“Didn’t care to ask.” He winked. “What about her?”
“How far did you get with her?” He glanced at me again, and I got it. “She any good?”
He chuckled. “Solid six, I guess.”
“Why a six?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“A client spotted her in the pool yesterday, and before I recommend her, I figured I’d do my homework.” That was a lie, but it was a white one.
“Smart.” He shrugged. “She’s cute and all, but she’s a talker, doesn’t have much suction, but biggest complaint, one that might actually work in your favor, is she’s also a stage six clinger. So, if you’re looking to get some free time away from a client, she’s your chick.”
“Good to know.”
“Yeah, it took me a while to point her in Danny’s direction.”
“Yeah, thanks a lot, man.” His line chef grimaced.
“Anything else?”
“She’s looking for someone to take care of her,” Danny snickered as he flipped a piece of salmon over on the grill, “so flash some money around and she’ll come running.”
“Appreciate the insight.” I waved and headed out of the kitchen.
“Just the chick I wanted to find.” Minnie snagged my arm and pulled me away from the kitchen. “You want to tell me about last night?”
“I’m not following.”
“I mean about how you said Grim was going to be upset with you. What happened?”
“It was a misunderstanding with a client being an asshole. Grim doesn’t want me working on his contract anymore We got it cleared up.” I felt like an ass giving her the CliffsNotes version, but I was just too done with it to discuss the whole thing with her.
“Oh, you mean Sonny Conti.” She waved her hand.
“Minnie,” I decided to share this part, “be careful, okay? Sonny’s dangerous.”
“Girl, please.” She folded her arms over her ripped Metallica t-shirt. “Who do you think tipped Grim off that Sonny was going to try something with you?” My mouth dropped open, but then I realized who I was talking to and closed it. “Morgan had a run-in with Sonny in Arizona a way back. Then when he heard about what he was up to he told me to go to Grim or he’d do it himself. I figured you’d appreciate me telling. I mean if you weigh the options of being locked in the elevator versus what Morgan suggested Grim would do.” She shrugged. “Seemed a slam dunk.”
