I took the container with the microchip at the bottom, our fingers brushing for the barest of seconds. A charge sparked between us as it always did when we touched.
“Sam, this won’t happen again.”
“You’re the last person to lie to yourself. You know as well as I do that if we are alone in a room, there isn’t a chance in hell it won’t happen again.”
I lifted my chin. “We are with different people.”
“And yet, we cheated on them without a second thought.” He stared into my eyes. “Now think on this. How long will it take for the Joshi prince to figure out the Queen of Diamonds likes to slum it raw and dirty with a New York City street rat over a prince with a palace?”
Before I could respond, he pushed me back and shut the door between us.
4
Sam
I enteredmy penthouse in the King Holdings building a little after one in the morning, wanting nothing more than a stiff drink. But I’d already had my two-drink max for any night. It was my hard-and-fast rule.
Maintain control at all times. A level head won every battle.
Alcohol, drugs, and addictive substances of any kind resulted in poor judgment.
Then what the fuck was I doing with Devani Patel? She had her hooks in me, and no matter how much I wanted to break free, I couldn’t move on.
Throwing my jacket on an armchair, I entered the kitchen, filled a large glass of water, and chugged the contents.
Loosening my tie and unbuttoning my shirt, I moved to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room. The bright lights below hummed with the energy of life in New York City at night. Some were living an adventure, while others sat in a pit of despair.
Sometimes, it still surprised me how I’d ended up in this life. I’d gone from an orphan kid who’d fallen through the cracks of the foster care system to one of the wealthiest men in NYC.
I owed it all to Arin King. His no-bullshit methods taught me everything I needed to know and gave me the tools to play in a world that those born without a silver spoon could never join.
Bracing a hand against the glass, I rubbed the back of my neck, where I bore the marks of Devani’s nails.
Devani Maya Patel.
The Queen of Diamonds, as the press and society had dubbed her. No one would find a silver spoon in her box. Instead, she’d eat with cutlery made of priceless jewels, diamonds, sapphires, and rubies.
She acted the part of cool, collected, bitchy-to-the-core socialite. Still, the real Devani cared and loved harder than anyone I’d ever known. Though she’d go to her grave denying it.
I couldn’t help but shake my head. The woman was vicious when riled, especially when set on a cause or target.
She’d never hidden the fact she wanted to destroy the family who took her parents from her, but I’d never expected her to sell herself to Joshi and, in turn, to that fucker Shah.
Because it was well known, any place Arun Joshi moved, Ashok Shah was next to him. They’d created the image of perfect friends in their personal and business lives. Though I knew most of it was bullshit. They played up the happy bromance for public consumption.
Joshi had never gotten over losing his oldest son and beloved heir, Lukesh Joshi. The asshole Shah had tried to force Jayna to marry not once, but twice. As far as the world believed, Luke was very much alive and taking a leave of absence from the family business. However, he’d passed into the afterlife over a year ago and hopefully sat in a special place in hell for helping Shah plan and orchestrate the car crash that nearly killed Kir and then the mugging that had resulted in Jayna never being able to carry her own children.
The thought of anything happening to Devani at Joshi’s or Shah’s hands had a rage like nothing I could understand burning in the pit of my stomach.
Sooner or later, I’d have to accept she’d picked a different road.
I’d offered to give her the revenge she sought, and she’d laughed. The thought of depending on anyone else or letting them help her was a foreign concept for her. All the years of leading teams in Solon made her believe she was the one who solved all the problems. Sometimes things weren’t so black and white.
Hell, she was Solon. All of those fuckers worked in the gray. They broke every rule, bending them to fit a situation to reach their end goal.
Fuck. I sounded like a wimp with a broken heart. I had to get it together.
My reputation was at stake.