by Hamel, B. B.
Still, it can be done. The right bribes… the right pockets…
“Good morning.”
I look over at Ruby, my beautiful Ruby, coming from the bedroom. She’s wearing my white shirt from last night, halfway buttoned, hanging down her body like a dress. I can’t help but smile, she’s so damn gorgeous.
“Good morning,” I say. “Come over here.”
She hesitates, almost shy, as if I didn’t taste every inch of her last night. Still, she comes over and stands next to me.
I put an arm around her shoulders.
“I’m sorry I’m not taking on a honeymoon,” I say softly.
She looks surprised. “Was that even an option?”
“It’s always an option,” I answer, laughing. “But we have important work to do for now.”
“Like what?”
“The mafia wants approvals for a casino. We have two weeks to make that happen.”
She leans her head against my shoulder. “Think we can do it?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I think so. It’s possible. There are a lot of moving pieces, but…”
She doesn’t move, she just leans against me. I can feel the tension in her, feel the worry.
But right now, it doesn’t matter.
I think this moment is our honeymoon. Standing here in front of the window, I think this is the closest we’ll get to real peace and quiet for a little while. I don’t know where we’ll be in two weeks or if we’ll even be alive…
But I can say for sure that this moment is a good one.
We’re quiet. We’re calm.
It can’t last forever, but I want it to.
Eventually though, the elevator doors chime. I have to walk over and press a button to unlock them. Two men wheel the breakfast cart into the room, accept my tips, and then leave again.
We eat together, sitting near that window.
“How did you rent out Thirtieth Street Station, by the way?” she presses.
“A lot of money,” I say. “And a couple favors.”
She sighs. “I’m going to be very expensive, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are.” I lean toward her, a spark in my eye. “But you’d better be worth it.”
She tries to smile back, fails, and takes a sip of her coffee instead.
We lapse into silence. I stare at her auburn hair glowing in the early morning light, almost like a halo of fire. She turns to me and I can see the honeymoon already starting to dwindle away. I can see the uncertainty and the fear come back to her.
I can see the distance grow between us again.
“What now?” she asks.
I sigh and stand up, finishing my coffee. I drop it down onto the tray with a clatter.
“Now we move,” I say.
“Move?” She arches an eyebrow and purses her lips.
“Into our apartment.”
She lets out a little groan. “I don’t know why but coming from you, that sounds sinister.”
“I promise you, my darling, it’s anything but.” I chuckle and head back to the bedroom. “I’m going to get ready. I suggest you do the same.”
She watches me as I head into the bedroom, my mind already racing along the list of things we’ll need to accomplish in the next two weeks.
I wish we could’ve stayed there in that moment. I wish we could’ve held onto that feeling…
But it was inevitable. It had to fade.
Reality was going to come crashing back into this room sooner or later. Now that it’s here, I’d better face it head on.
Or we’re both dead.
* * *
“How many places do you own?” she asks, astonished.
I shrug. “Just the two.”
“Oh, sure, right. Just the two. No big deal, you only own two properties in the city.”
“Some men own more. I just like to keep things simple.”
She sighs as we walk into my penthouse apartment overlooking Rittenhouse Square. This place is more lavishly decorated than my townhouse. I use this when I’m entertaining business associates.
I want it to exude power. Some of my more expensive paintings hang on the walls, though none that are truly important. Every inch of the place has been remodeled in the last year using the most stupidly expensive materials I could find, purely to make the place look as rich as possible.
This is part of being a businessman. You want to project an image of competence and power, and part of that is your living arrangements.
I stopped just short of a golden toilet. I’m rich, but not tacky.
“What do you think?” I ask her.
She laughs. “It’s the nicest place I’ve ever seen. But it looks like nobody ever lives here.” She opens a cabinet in the kitchen and finds it completely empty.
“Nobody does,” I say. “Normally I stay here for a few nights when I’m trying to settle a deal with someone. It’s just for show, mostly.”
She snorts. “Who the hell owns an expensive apartment and furnishes it like this… just for show?”
“Very rich men.” I grin at her and lean against the back of a designer couch I don’t think anyone has ever sat on before. “Do you like it?”
“I think so,” she says. “I’m afraid to touch things.”
“That’s okay. We’ll make it feels like home… at least for a couple weeks.”
“Why here? Why not your townhouse?”
I glance away toward the window. “I want to protect the paintings,” I admit. “Besides, this place has more security.”
She frowns. “You think the paintings would be safer without us there?”
“Pretty much. But like I said, this place has better security.”
She sighs and opens the refrigerator. Completely empty.
“Okay, that’s true, but it’s kind of creepy.”
“We’ll fill it up. Whatever you want, just tell me.”
“So we’re living here then?” She glances at me. “I assume there’s a spare room.”
“You can have whatever room you want. Truthfully, I don’t much care where I sleep in this place.”
“Fine then. I get the biggest room.”
“All yours.”
She grins at me and skips back to the bedrooms. I let her go, walking slowly in her wake.
“Okay, okay, I think I’ll like it here,” I hear her call out.
I follow her into the master bedroom. It’s beautiful and richly furnished… and the mattress on the bed is like sleeping on a cloud. It’s unbearably comfortable and almost impossible to get out of.
She’s lying on it and sighing like she’s in heaven.
I grin and jump onto the bed next to her. I crash down and hardly even bounce. She doesn’t move an inch.
“Heaven,” she whispers.
I laugh and stretch. “We need to get your things. Write me a list of what you want and I’ll have it brought over.”
“Okay.” She follows my lead and stretches like a cat. “Oh my god. I could get used to it.”
“Go ahead. You can stay here as long as you like. Well, as long as we’re married.”
I sit up and glance back at her. She’s frowning slightly.
“Married,” she says softly.
“Ever pictured it like this?” I ask, genuinely curious.
“No, not once. Maybe when I was a little girl, I imagined I’d marry some rich person, maybe a prince or something.” She arches an eyebrow at me. “But you’re no prince.”
“No, I’m definitely not. I’m much better than a prince.” I smirk at her and lean over her, kissing her softly on the neck.
She purrs and I laugh, pulling away. I climb out of the bed, despite every part of my body wanting to stay right there next to her.
“About my apartment,” she says as I step toward the closet. I peer inside and shake my head.
It really is weird how empty this place is. I should’ve made it seem more… lived-in.
“Hm?” I answer.
&nbs
p; “I want to keep it.”
I look back. She’s leaning up on one elbow and watching me carefully.
“Keep it?” I ask.
“I don’t want to give up the lease just because I’m living here.”
I snort. “You want to keep that little thing?”
“I mean, I need a place to go. Assuming we survive the next two weeks, at least.”
“And then another nine months,” I point out.
“Fine, another nine months. But sooner or later… I’ll go back to my old life. Right?”
I mull that over for a moment.
How is this going to look after we survive?
But it’s hard for me to plan that far. Survival isn’t guaranteed… at all.
“I’ll buy it for you,” I say.
“No,” she quickly responds. “Don’t do that.”
“Why not? I can’t imagine it’ll cost much. Drop in the bucket, all things considered.”
“I don’t want to owe you anything once this is through. I want… I want it to be simple. A clean break.”
“The end of a deal,” I say softly. “I see what you’re saying.”
“I just want to keep it. Okay?”
“Fine. We can arrange for that. I can pay the rent or I can take it from your salary. Whatever you want to do.”
“You pay.” She drops back on the bed. “I may have principles but I’m not stupid.”
I laugh but I don’t join her again.
It feels like a divide went up between us. For a second, we bridged it and were coming close together. Just before the wedding and during it and right after, things felt…
Good. Like we were more than business partners.
But now that feeling is starting to diminish. I think in part because of the apartment we’re in… but also the reality of the situation is becoming evident.
She’s picturing an after and that means she’s seeing this as something temporary.
Which it is, at least it’s supposed to be.
I just don’t know how I’m going to let her go.
Not after standing up in front of all those people with her… and feeling so fucking proud.
If I hadn’t felt that, I don’t think I’d worry. It’d be easy to fulfill this and be finished.
I’d get a baby and move on.
But see her up there, and feeling so proud to be with her…
I want to keep feeling that way.
I want to parade her around like my trophy wife.
More than that, I want a partnership. I want to share things with her… to spoil her.
“I have calls to make,” I say finally. “Make a list of what you want.”
“Okay,” she says, her voice sounding sleepy. “In a bit. I think… I think I have some work to do.”
“Don’t work too hard.”
I head to the door and glance back. She’s stretching and curling up like a cat and I can’t help but feel that pang in my gut.
I wasn’t supposed to feel this way… I wasn’t supposed to want this to last any longer and go any further.
But something changed for me.
And now I just have to survive the next two weeks.
13
Ruby
We spend that night in his apartment, separated only by walls, but I can almost feel him buzzing with nervous energy.
He spent the rest of the night on the phone. I couldn’t tell who he was talking to… but he was making plans.
We both went to bed early. I wake up to the sound of him knocking on my door. “Rise and shine, my Ruby,” he calls, laughing to himself.
I groan. “Bastard…” I check the time. It’s barely past six, but I roll out of bed anyway.
He’s sitting in the kitchen, drinking coffee and nibbling on some toast, dressed in a suit and tie. His usual work outfit, actually.
“Morning,” he says. “Better get dressed. We’re leaving for the office soon.”
I blink at him. “Excuse me?”
“Office. Where we work.”
“Work?” I bark a laugh. “But… we got married… the mafia…”
“Work never ends, my darling.” He grins at me. “Get dressed.”
“I don’t have any clothes.”
He nods at a bunch of boxes on the floor. “Your things.”
I walk over and start opening them. Sure enough, it’s everything I asked for, folded and packed meticulously.
“How?” I ask.
“Magic.” He grins.
“Seriously.”
“Money.”
“Of course.” I sigh and grab a box of my work clothes. “I guess I’ll see you soon then.”
He waves as I head into my room to get ready.
Work… of course we’re going to work. Knox isn’t the kind of man to miss a day of work for any reason.
Doesn’t matter if we just got married and the mob is going to kill us both. Doesn’t matter if the sky is raining blood and fire.
We’re going to work.
When I’m dressed, he meets me at the door. “You look gorgeous,” he says, putting an arm over my shoulders.
I just glare at him and we head into the office together.
* * *
It feels bizarre sitting at my desk again.
I honestly thought I’d never be here another day in my life. But instead, everyone’s coming up and congratulating me on my new marriage, even people I’ve never talked to in my life.
“So, seriously, how did you score him?” an older woman with graying hair asks. She leans over my desk, stinking of perfume. I don’t think I know her name… or if I’ve ever seen her before.
“Luck,” I say, forcing myself to smile.
She winks at me. “Smart girl. Marry rich. He’s not too young, either…”
“He’s not old.”
She shrugs. “Don’t get me wrong. Knox is a very handsome man. But he’s, what, twice your age? You’ll have a long time without him.”
I stare at her like she’s insane. I mean, this woman thinks I married Knox out of love or whatever, but she’s talking about living longer than him like I should be happy about it.
What a bizarre world.
“Have a good time, dear. Remember, keep him happy or take all his money.” She cackles and walks off with a wave.
I sit there in total disbelief.
More people stop by. Everyone I’m friendly with seems happy, but I do notice something.
Nobody lingers too long. Nobody talks to me about the office gossip.
Maybe it’s just my imagination, but everyone seems very… polite. Very polished.
Which I should probably expect. I’m married to the boss now. I’m part of the problem. I’m not one of them anymore.
I can’t help but feel a little disappointed.
The day wears on. I’m not busy and Knox doesn’t seem interested in doing anything but talking on the phone. I want to ask him who he keeps calling but I decide it’s better if I don’t know.
I keep looking down at the rug, at a round brown stain that trails off into nothing.
I know what that stain is. I know who it’s from.
The man holding me down on the floor… the gun that nearly killed me, nearly killed Knox.
I stare at the blood and it’s easy to forget about everything else.
These past few days of relative safety have been like a dream. I can’t remember a time when I felt like I could relax. But now that we’re back in the office, all that horror comes back…
I know I’m safe for a couple weeks at least. They’re not going to kill me and ruin the deal before even giving him a chance to try.
But still, seeing that stain, remembering how I felt, the horror of it being so close…
It gets to me. I can’t help it.
An hour after lunch, Knox calls me into his office. I almost run inside, happy to be away from that stain, at least for a few minutes.
He watches me carefully from across his desk. “How are you do
ing?” he asks.
I frown. “Sorry?”
“I’m asking how you’re doing.”
“Ah, uh… fine, I guess.” I blink quickly. “You’ve never asked me that before.”
He ignores me. “I noticed you staring at the floor out there.”
I clench my jaw. “I’m fine.”
“I’m not so sure you are.” He stands up and comes around the desk. I’m always amazed at how big he is… how muscular and handsome. “I’m worried you’re going down a bad path, my darling Ruby.”
“Bad path? We’ve only been back in the office for a day. I’m still dealing.”
“I see.” He stops in front of me, trailing a finger along my jaw. “Even still. Thinking about you out there, worrying…” His finger moves back and he grabs a fist of my hair, looking into my eyes. “I want to do something to take your mind off it.”
I groan slightly as his other hand finds the small of my back. He turns me toward the desk, pushing me over onto it. I stumble and land facing it, hands flat on the top. I look over my shoulder.
“Stay,” he says as he walks over to his office windows. He slowly closes the blinds, effectively shutting us out from the outside world.
Nobody would walk into his office without his permission.
He turns and walks back over to me. I feel my heart racing in my chest. I know that look in his eye… I know why he closed the blinds.
His hands find my hips as he leans over me, kissing my neck softly.
“Ruby, Ruby, Ruby,” he whispers. “Do you think I can take care of you?”
“Yes,” I say. “I’m betting my life on you.”
“I want to believe that’s true,” he growls. “But I’m not so sure.”
His fingers trail down the nape of my neck, down my back… down to the hem of my skirt. I gasp as he pulls it up, almost violently. I rock forward as he reveals my ass, barely covered by my underwear.
I can’t help but feel a thrill run down between my legs as he pins me there on the desk, my ass exposed for him. I love the way he groans as he cups me, feeling my firm body, before he spanks me hard.
I gasp as pain flashes. He spanks me again.
“You need to give in to me, darling Ruby. And I think I might have to find a way to make you.”
I groan and glare at him. “I’m doing the best I can.”