My events provided the opportunity for people who could never meet in public to conduct business or engage in other ventures.
If caught, every one of us could land in hot water, but not a single soul would utter a word. Too much was at stake for all of us. Reputations, political futures, inheritances, and the biggest one of all—federal and international prosecution.
“Once everyone settles at the end of the night”—Stevie handed me a cocktail—“I suggest we close shop for at least a month or so. Things are too hot right now, especially with your fiancé intent on getting in your pants.”
Taking the martini, I sipped the potent concoction and hummed.
Akari sat at a table across the room with a cold glint in her dark eyes.
She’d wait until the stakes rose a few hundred thousand higher before she went in for the kill. After all the times she’d attended one of my events, the men at her table couldn’t get past her looks and her family connections, always underestimating her cunning. That was until she cleaned them out.
More power to her.
I waited until Akari won the hand to say, “Simon can go to hell, for all I care. He thought he could trick me into sleeping with him. Fuck him. I’m not worried. He wants that port, then he’ll leave me the hell alone.”
I still couldn’t believe the nerve of him, trying to trick me.
Fucker.
And then not having anything better to say in the text than to tell me he planned to sleep with me the next time he saw me.
Asshole.
“Tony agrees with me. It’s better for you to play the feisty horticulturist who loves knives for the time being. Silent Night needs to take a break. This double life of yours is going to get you in trouble.”
“I won’t live in fear. Simon Christopher Drakos has no power over me.”
“You can lie to yourself all you want, but we all know the truth. If he catches one whiff of this, it doesn’t matter what deal he set with your family. He has all the ammunition he needs to enact the morality clause for the contract.”
“Archaic, double-standard bullshit is what it is.” I folded my arms across my body, feeling the urge to punch Simon just for existing.
“I’m the last person to disagree with that sentiment. However, it doesn’t change the fact the clause is part of the contract between the families. You cannot engage in anything questionable. And this is not only questionable but as illegal as it gets.”
“Outside of sleeping with him, do you have any suggestions on handling this issue?”
“Nothing comes to mind. Let’s hope your secret stays safe for at least one more night.”
“From your lips to God’s ears.”
At that moment, my phone buzzed with an incoming text.
Glancing down, I growled.
SIMON:I discovered a secret, Goddess. Want to know it?
“Who is it?” Stevie asked.
“Apparently God isn’t listening to my prayers tonight.”
“Meaning?”
I showed Stevie the message, and she laughed. “Are you going to bite? For someone with his reputation, he seems to have a playful side. Well with you, anyway.”
Ignoring her, I typed in my response.
ME:I couldn’t care less. As long as you stay in New York, you can do as you please.
Almost immediately, he replied.