“I’m sure you’re aware my brother, Alejandro, sent me a gift last night. The issue with that is, she wasn’t contracted for what was supposed to happen, and after I read the contract, it almost seems like you were trafficking an unsuspecting woman. Now, I wouldn’t want an issue like this to get out to the press if it were my place of business. I’m not sure about yourself.” I make it known that I’m unhappy with the situation, a threat without making it blatantly obvious.
“I’m unsure what you’re talking about. Let me pull up the contract you’re speaking about. Would you mind if I put you on hold for a moment?” The smooth and sophisticated voice that answered the phone is nowhere to be found.
“Of course.” I put my phone on speaker and hear the rustle of the sheets behind me, wanting to see Cadence’s eyes when she wakes up. Even if it’s not the way I’d like to be waking her up, she deserves to know what’s going on.
I turn around, planting one foot on the ground, the other on top of my knee, watching as Cadence comes awake, confused at first until she sees I’m in the room with her. “Santiago, what’s wrong?” She sits up in bed, hair a wavy mess, lips bee stung from a mix of us kissing and her wrapping those pretty lips around my cock.
“Come here, cariño. You’re going to want to hear this for yourself. There’s a shirt on your nightstand. Slide it on for me.” While I was in the bathroom grabbing my phone, I made sure to place it there in case I didn’t make it back in here in time when she woke from her nap.
“Okay.” She drops the sheet, eyes staying locked on mine as she reaches for the shirt. My eyes go from her beautiful face to the full globe of her tits, my mouth watering with the thought of tasting them once again, feeling her pussy ripple and suck around my cock with every pull from my mouth. I groan when the shirt drops over her head, obscuring my view of her body. “Tell me what’s going on now?”
“I went through your contract after talking to my brother. Something wasn’t adding up with what you said. I’m now on the phone with Rachel.” I don’t make it any further before we hear, “Mr. Martinez, are you there?”
“Cadence and myself both are,” I respond. Cadence moves closer until she’s sitting cross-legged at the end of the bed, wringing her hands together in nervousness.
“It seems our wires have been crossed—”
I interrupt her. “You think. What I want to know is how you’re going to rectify this and make sure this doesn’t happen to another person in the future.”
“I’m sure we can come to a mutual understanding. I see the other Mr. Martinez released the funds. I’ll transfer the same amount for this little snafu.” Rachel thinks a measly twenty thousand will smooth things over.
“No, that won’t do. I’ll have my lawyers be in touch if you think so little of selling someone’s body, unwillingly.” Cadence hand goes to mine, squeezing it tightly. My eyes are on her. She’s nodding a yes, but I’m not on board with that. It’s too measly of a number, especially if she was hoping to get more than that to start her own business.
“I see. Well, I’d rather this not get out. So, I’ll agree to a hundred thousand, final offer. NDAs will need to be involved for all three of us. If you’ll give me your email address, we’ll get this taken care of today.” Just as I suspected—a prominent name, not backing down from her piddly little offer, and staying firm lead the way.
“That will do. I expect the money will be transferred as soon as the NDAs are signed and for you to make good on your promise to make sure this never happens again, because if I catch wind of it, I’ll shut you down, for good.” I make the threat, we say our goodbyes, and I hit the end button, somehow managing not to crush my phone.
TWENTY-TWO
Cadence
“Santiago,you really didn’t have to do all of this for me,” I tell him once the phone call is over, feeling like another pinch-me moment is on the horizon. Never in my life has someone gone to bat for me. I mean besides my parents, but that’s a given, and while yes, I have Hendrix as the best cousin ever, she lives in another state, which doesn’t help.
“Yes, I did. You’re not pissed enough for yourself, so I’ll be pissed for the both of us. I would have pushed for more money. Starting a business costs money. And shit, if you need more than what Rachel is willing to give, I’ll help you.” Did he just say what I think he said?
“No way. You’ve helped enough. Honestly, you took care of that, and while I should be pissed as hell you went through my phone, I’m not. I know you did this out of the goodness of your heart, being in my corner. That’s a lot of money, more than I was even going to need to get started. Add that to my nest egg, and I can afford to quit my job at the medical office.” Santiago is about to say something, and since he’s made it a point to help me in this aspect, I need to make something clear as well. “And you don’t need to say a word to anyone or do anything regarding that. I’m going to put my two weeks in. Hopefully, they fire me on the spot. Which they’ll probably do, judging by what I’ve seen in the past, and that’s okay. I’m ready to grab my future, look ahead instead of behind.”
“I admire your tenacity. I’ve got more money than I know what to do with. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have help. You know my last name; it comes with its benefits, and one of those is asking for help even when you don’t think you’ll need it. I’ll be a silent investor. You can borrow money and pay it back with interest. Don’t kill yourself in the process of trying to do it all on your own, okay?” His hand cups my cheek. I can’t hold back, launching myself over the rest of the bed and landing right in his lap, where I somehow always manage to be. Sue me, I love the way he seems to always be ready for me. How he holds me tightly to him, relishing in the moment of it being just the two of us locked in his penthouse.
“Okay, I’ll ask, but seriously, Santiago, with the money fromDates for Hireand my nest egg, I should be pretty well set. It was more of me wanting to be financially stable in case my business plummets to a fiery ball and I’d need to go back to work at a dead-end job,” I tell him. I’m mentally calculating the money I have in my bank account. It’s in a high yield savings account, which still isn’t giving me enough interest, but I didn’t want to lock it into anything for years in case I took the plunge earlier. It’s currently working in my favor, seeing as how now I’ll be hiring the web designer, buying the necessary camera I’ll need, backdrops, scales for shipping, and an overall brand for my company.
“The offer is there. Now, we slept through lunch. It’s nearly dinner. What do you say we go to your place, you grab a change of clothes or three? We’ll go out to dinner and then end our night in bed.” He drives a hard bargain. A part of me wants to fight this, the what-ifs of being together non-stop, the worry that this is too much, too soon. I’m worried I won’t be the social butterfly he’ll need me to be at the charity events and galas he’s invited to.
“I see you’re in your fucking head again. Quit thinking. Let it go.” I don’t get to respond. His lips attach to mine, sucking at my upper lip until I’m moaning, then his tongue slides inside, robbing me of any and all thoughts. It’s the only time I seem to settle down. There are no cares or worries. My sole focus is on Santiago, much like his is on me. The two of us get carried away, my hands fisting in his hair, him pushing my shirt up until he can’t get it up any further, one hand cupping my breast, the other on my hip, sliding me closer, and now I’m annoyed because if he had stayed naked, I could be sliding down his thick cock right about now. Instead, I’m hindered by a pair of gray cotton sweatpants, and I’m ruining them with the way he makes me feel, wetness coating the lips of my pussy and running down the insides of my thighs.
“Fuck, I get carried away. You’re probably sore.” His hands move to the top of mine. Both of us are watching as his thumbs sweep along my inner thighs, getting dangerously close to where I’m aching.
“Not that sore.” My stomach takes that moment to grumble, annoying me further because Santiago is up on his feet, helping me slide down, and now I’ll have a version of blue balls, only it’s for women.
“Clothes and food first, cariño.” He’s dropped that endearment a lot, calling me sweetheart. I’ve learned a few things working at the medical office, and this is definitely a plus.
“Fine, if you insist.” I roll my eyes, secretly loving he’s this grumpy man to the outside world but around me he’s loving, caring, and really freaking sweet.
“I do. I’ll grab you a pair of my boxers. See how your ankle feels and go from there.”
“Hey, Santiago?” He’s already on his way into the bathroom, moving as quickly as possible. He stops, back to me but eyes focused on mine. “Can we eat here tonight?” I point at my face, knowing the bruising is only going to appear worse, along with the puffiness.
“Cadence, we can do whatever you want.” The man may not be perfect, but he’s pretty perfect to me.