I shoved the disturbing memories back down and reached for the Devil Springs Vodka I kept for times like this. ‘Emergencies’. Potent as fuck, it always did what I needed it to—sever the memories and wipe the invisible blood from my hands.
Justified anger surfaced, only beginning to recede after the three swigs that practically took the lining off my esophagus. Burnt like a bitch, though worth it to rid him.
All I needed now was open thighs. Stevie and Tequila almost never turned me down, and I checked the stock of alcohol in my fridge as I called each of them in turn.
Thirty minutes. That was how much time I had to endure before two sets of long legs arrived. One tanned like my own, the other paler and milky. Both giving me exactly what I needed. And thirty minutes couldn’t tick by fast enough.
Chapter 10
-Greer-
I drummed my fingers on the edge of my laptop, wracking my brain for the missing piece of the Ortiz puzzle. I’d categorically sifted through the information gathered from interviewing Rafael and there seemed to be something that didn’t add up.
All he gave me from his teenage years was that he lived with his grandparents from the age of fifteen, and his mom before that, up until the point she could no longer look after him and his younger sister.
No further explanation as to why or exactly when, but the shadows passing behind his dark-brown irises had indicated there was more than what he willingly divulged.
A light tap against the glass outer wall of my office made me glance up. Christian strolled in and perched his ass on the corner of my desk.
“How’d it go with the Colton account?”
“Good, I think.”
“The guy didn’t give you a hard time, did he?”
I snorted. “Not at all. Just sifting through the interview and doing more background searches. You know how I like to be prepared.”
He hummed his agreement. “Saves being made to look like a fool.”
“Exactly.How’s the Yeldon account progressing?”
“They seem ready to sign. If they do, it’s going to be a massive year for us, Gree.”
I smiled up at him with pride. We’d both worked our asses off to get to where we were today. It was too early to declare that we’d made it in the dog-eat-dog corporate world, but damn, we were paving a successful path.
He held out a fist, and I bit my lower lip while bumping mine against it. Right now, I felt like we could take on the world and own it.
Affection lit Christian’s smiling eyes. He stared at me for a beat too long before breaking the mini trance.
“I’m about to grab some food. Want anything?”
I shook my head as my attention wandered back to the laptop screen. “I’m good at the moment. I’m in the zone.”
He rapped his knuckles on my desk and stood. “I’ll leave you to it. Keep me updated.”
“You’ll be the first to know,” I murmured.
I wouldn’t divulge that the vague information was bothering me—not until I’d figured out why.
I searched up Rafael Ortiz again and clicked on his business website. It all looked above-board and professional. Scrolling through the many pictures of cars of varying makes and eras, all apparently sourced for wealthy clients, it was obvious that cars weren’t just business—they were a deep-seated passion.
The contrast between ‘business owner Ortiz’ and ‘street-racer Ortiz’ seemed vast, yet the same man smiled at me from the images.
I wanted to dig deeper to see if I could uncover exactly which alter ego was his true self. Bad boy, or businessman.
I snapped my laptop screen shut with haste, which coincided with Roxiee entering my office with the mail. She arched a brow and gave me awhat have you been looking at?look.
“Doing something you shouldn’t have, hmm?”