Karma Page 18

  His mouth formed a sour grin, not arguing with me over my insult, and I tensed up, waiting to see what I was about to get smacked in the face with. My dad didn't grin for no reason. He wasn't one of those people who grinned when they were happy. No, Wilson Douglas only grinned when he was about to mutilate somebody. My stomach twisted in knots, curious on whether the victim was going to be Gabby or me. Or both. He snatched a file folder sitting on the side of his desk and tossed it my way. I stretched forward, swiping the folder with my hand. His eyes fixed on me as I opened it and scanned the contents inside. My heart pitched to my throat as I reread the words a few times written on the papers inside. His grin was a fuck you- I always get my way- grin. That grin was going to hurt both of us.

  “Your mother worked on this all weekend,” he said, blindsiding me. “Eva’s already approved everything. The invitations will be sent out this week. The ceremony has been booked, but they’re still deciding between a few locations for the rehearsal dinner. I’m guessing you’re not filled with any great ideas?” he asked. My hands balled into fists, crinkling the ends of the folder. Fuck no. I didn’t have any ideas for the wedding of doom I was supposed to be a part of. The only idea I had in that moment was how satisfying it would’ve felt punching him in his face.

  I slammed the folder shut. “I would appreciate it if you’d consult with me before you make plans for my wedding,” I snarled, working my jaw.

  He lifted a glass to his mouth and took a giant swig. I internally cringed with disgust; it was barely past eight in the morning and he was already drinking. Someone get this asshole to an AA meeting pronto. “I’m not ready to get married yet, and you have no damn right to push it. I agreed to marry Eva but give me time, damn.” I tossed the folder back onto his desk and ran my hands through my hair roughly. I’d intended on coming into his office to inform him I wanted to cancel the wedding. Now everything had been shot to hell since they went behind my back. He knew it was coming, and he figured out a way to prevent it. There was no way I could stop it if the invitations were already being sent out.

  He reclined back into his chair, crossed his legs and held his hands behind his head. “Whatever you’ve got going on with that girl, end it now. I won’t tell you again.” I didn’t need to ask who ‘that girl’ he was referring to was. He knew about Gabby; he wasn’t an idiot. I was sure anyone could’ve watched me around Gabby and seen how much of a lovesick puppy I was becoming.

  I bit back a laugh. “So, wait,” I said, my voice grim as I raised one finger. “You’re allowed to have a mistress but I’m not?”

  His eyes narrowed and he shifted in his chair. “Oh, son, you can have as many mistresses as you’d like after your wedding. Have yourself a whole damn harem for all I care. But until you tie the knot, you need to keep your dick in your pants and straighten your ass up. I won’t have you ruining this for me. You need to think about your family and the business, not about sticking your cock into some whore.”

  My face burned at his attempt to toy with me. That bastard was pushing my buttons. He wanted me to snap so he could teach me another lesson. “What if I choose not to marry her?” I asked, not playing into his games. Every muscle in my body locked up waiting for his response.

  He choked on the drink he was taking and slammed the glass back down onto his desk. I watched cognac liquid splatter all over a large stack of papers. “What if you don’t marry Eva?” he sneered, mocking me. “He wants to know what if he doesn’t marry Eva.” He looked up at the ceiling as though he was talking to God. His gaze shot back down to me and fury lined his features. “If your dumb ass chooses not to marry Eva, your life will be over as you know it. You’ll be unemployed and broke. I will take everything you have. Say goodbye to your inheritance, your car and your new shiny condo you just bought. With my connections, I’ll be sure you never get another job in this city again. I know you’re not willing to give all of that up for some silly fuck-fling. Keep her on the side, I don’t give a shit, but you will be marrying Eva if it’s the last thing you do.”

  I swallowed the giant lump forming in my throat and a twisted smile crossed his face. He knew he was winning. “In my opinion, you can find a much better side piece than that girl anyways. Don’t take after your uncle and screw trash,” he added.

  I sprang out of my chair, turning around to the exit before looking back at him. “You’re a fucking asshole,” I snapped, bitterly.

  “I’m sorry, what was that?” he yelled from behind me. He’d heard my words; he was just waiting to see if I’d challenge him. I stomped the few steps I was away from his desk. My fist slammed onto his desk as I leaned my body across it to look him dead in the eyes.

  “I said you’re a fucking asshole.” His mouth dropped open at my bravery. “You sit behind this big fucking desk and judge people when you’re ten times worse than they are. You’re a fucking hypocrite.” I knew my ass was about to get fired but he’d end up re-hiring me later; if he fired his own kid it would look bad on him.

  He threw back his head in laughter. “It’s about time you grew some big-boy balls. But you’re still marrying Eva. Now sit your ass down. We have more matters that are far more important than your love life.”

  My lips pressed together in a thin line and I took a step back. “What could be more important than my love life to you? You seem to want to control it like I’m your own personal puppet you can pimp out for business deals.”

  “We need to talk about Gentry,” he said, ignoring my insult.

  I sat back down, resting my elbows on the armrest, still trying to cool off. “Have you heard from him?” I asked. I hadn’t heard anything from John since we told him about his wife. I was hoping they figured it out personally and wouldn’t need our help anymore.

  “He called me last night. His wife admitted to being the one who paid off Ivy. You were right.” I snorted and he shook his head. “She wants a divorce. We’re in the works of attempting to convince her to change her mind, but it’s failing. Right now, our main goal is to get Ivy to go back on her word to the media. We also need to make sure news of her wanting a divorce doesn’t leak. That will do nothing but tarnish his image more.”

  “Wow, what a shocker. You didn’t hire me because you thought I’d be wrong,” I fired back.

  “You can’t go off leads. I wasn’t sure, and I had to have the hard facts before I can justify accusing someone of that.” My dad was a meticulous thinker. He never opened his mouth unless he’d replayed it through his mind a few times.

  “So, what does Gentry want us to do?”

  “You need to get to that little whore he was sleeping with and talk her into going back on her word.”

  “She’s gone,” I replied. “She moved out all her shit from the place Gentry was paying for. We don’t know where she went.” I didn’t want to admit I’d been slacking on my job of looking for her.

  “Find her,” he demanded.

  I adjusted the cuffs on my shirt. “His wife paid her six million dollars. I’m guessing she was smart enough to make her sign an agreement that she wouldn’t go back on her words. Even if we find her, trying to talk to her is pointless.”

  He pursed his lips. “Nothing I tell you to do is pointless. Find the damn girl. Get her to change her mind. Fuck her. Kill her. I don’t give a shit, just fucking fix it!”

  I didn’t even bother asking him whether he was serious about killing her. I wasn’t sure if my dad was capable of being a homicidal maniac, but there were rumors that he’d had people killed before. ‘There’s a price for everything,’ he’d say.

  “On it,” I growled, getting up from my chair for the second time with a headache emerging.

  “Great. Now get the hell out of my office,” he said, letting me know our great father-son bonding time was finished. I turned on my heels and left his office. Heading in the direction of the person I knew could help me out, I stormed into the room and headed his way.

  "What's up?" I asked, patting Asher on the shoulder. He wa
s sitting in front of a computer screen, concentrating hard and punching buttons on the keyboard. I was probably the last person he wanted to talk to, but he was one of the few IT guys who knew about Gentry's case. My dad would've flipped shit if I had anyone else work on it.

  He glanced over his shoulder, eyeing me suspiciously. "What the hell do you want?" he snarled, clearly still pissed off at me. It wasn't my fault Gabby had chosen me over him. He needed to get over that shit.

  "You going to act like this every time you see me now?" I questioned. "Because it's starting to get old, baby cousin," I said, trying to lighten the mood.

  "You trying to play Gabby is beginning to get old, too," he fired back. One of the biggest things I admired about Asher was his loyalty. When he gave you that, he was on your side all the way. He'd done the same thing with his mom through his parent's divorce. He stood by her side the entire time, not letting the family waver his options to stay and live with his dad. I knew he'd do the same for Gabby. He didn't live to impress the Douglas name, so he had nothing to lose with siding with her. His mom had money and would never cut him off.

  I patted him on the back. "I'm going to do it, man. I'm just figuring out the best way to not fuck it up."

  He shrugged my hand off of him. "You're lying," he accused. "There is no best way to tell her you're playing her."

  “I'm not lying and I'm not playing her. I just don't think it's a good idea to do it at work." I was lying. I was planning on telling her, I just didn't know when. I was waiting to see if I could figure out a way to change my marriage with Eva.

  He twisted around in his chair, his gaze leveling up at me. "Do it by the weekend or I'm doing it for you," he threatened, his eyebrows scrunching together.

  I held out my hands in defeat, letting him think he'd won. "Fine. She'll know by this weekend, all right?"

  "Come Hell or high water, she'll know from one of us. Now, what the hell do you want?" he snapped, his jaw set. Damn, he needed to get laid.

  "We need to find Ivy," I answered, pointing to the computer.

  "Why? We know who paid her."

  "I guess we need to get her to go back on her statement."

  He snorted. "Good luck with that."

  I ruffled my hands over my face. "Tell me about it. I'm fucked."

  "I'll get it," he said, waving me off. Damn, maybe he wasn't the most forgiving person in our family.

  I walked to my office to find Gabby sitting behind my desk in my chair. Her high-heel-covered feet were propped up on my desk, and she was talking animatedly to someone on her phone. I leaned against the doorframe, my arm above my head, watching her laughing at the person on the other line. I swallowed, terrified she was slipping out of my grasp, that our time was going to be over too soon. I didn’t want to, but I knew deep down it was going to happen if I didn't stop being so chicken-shit and stand up to my parents. I was a grown man who was scared of Mommy and Daddy not being happy with his choices. God, I was so fucking pathetic.

  A grin spread over her red lips when she glanced up and her eyes fell on me watching her. She bit the side of her lip. "Girl, I have to go. I'll call you when I get off," she said, sending me a tiny wave and I threw my chin up at her. She hung up the call and tossed her phone down onto my desk. "How long have you been standing there and eavesdropping?" she asked.

  I smirked, crossing my arms across my chest. "Why do you ask that?”

  She shrugged, fiddling with a small necklace around her neck. "Just wondering."

  I smirked. "Were you talking about me?"

  She rolled her eyes and snorted. "A little full of yourself, Douglas."

  I pulled my arm around my back to grab the door handle, taking a step forward, and the office door clicked shut behind me. "I think you were." Her skinny hand reached forward, grabbing a pen, and she flung it my way. I laughed, not even bothering to move away because the pen smacked into the wall inches away from my stationary body. "Baby, you've got terrible aim," I said, chuckling and pointing to the fallen pen. She flipped her middle finger up. "I hope it was good things you were saying about me."

  She leaned back in the chair. "Eh, not really." I raised a brow. "My friends think I'm totally crazy," she added.

  "They're not too far from the truth, babe."

  She hopped out of my chair and moved around to the front of my desk. She was wearing a knee-length, red skirt with a denim shirt tucked into it. A few of the top buttons were unbuttoned, giving me a mesmerizing view of her cleavage. I darted my tongue out, licking my lips while savoring the sexy image of her pulling herself up with her arms to sit on the edge of my desk.

  "Not about me, idiot," she said, and my eyes darted down to her bare legs. "They think this," she motioned between the two of us, breaking away my stare, "is going to end up a massacre." She paused, the tip of her finger moving to the side of her mouth. "Well, Cora does; Daisy thinks you're hot." Her head tilted to the side. "I think she's right, too."

  I grabbed my tie with my knuckles, loosening the hold around my neck. "I think you should keep listening to Daisy," I suggested.

  "No, I think Cora's right."

  I took a few long strides, closing the small distance separating us. I halted at the corner of my desk she was parked on, dividing her legs and putting them to each side of my waist. "Gabby," I muttered, grabbing her chin and bringing her lips to mine. "I'd never intentionally hurt you."

  She pulled away from me, her eyebrows drawing together. "Intentionally? That sure gives me a lot of hope." She paused and rubbed the back of her neck. "Are we going to tell our parents about us or continue to keep hiding it?"

  I closed my eyes, my head falling back in torture. I'd been avoiding that conversation with her as much as I'd been avoiding the one about me being engaged to another girl. "I'm pretty sure my dad already knows about us after our episode at lunch."

  Her head flew up, almost whacking me in the chin. "Did he say something to you?"

  I shook my head, rubbing the bottom of her chin. "No," I lied. "I'm going to talk to him about us soon. I don't want to lose you," I said, stroking it a few more times. "I don't want to lose us over them."

  She blew out a long breath, her eyes fluttering shut. She almost looked pained, like she knew our future was destined to end in heartbreak. She knew how my father was. We were both going one day at a time, dreading the impending day when we'd have to give each other up. "You know they hate me. They're not going to let you be with me."

  I pressed my lips to her cheek before moving my lips above hers, kissing them lightly. "Look at me," I said, stroking her cheek as her eyes flashed down on me. "They're not the one dating you. I am. I don't care what anyone thinks about us being together. We're the only ones in this relationship. All that matters is that I want you, only you, and I think you're fucking amazing."

  She leaned back, setting her palms down against my desk and held herself up by leaning back on her elbow. "Why is that? Why do you like me?"

  I moved closer into her. "You're unlike anyone I've ever met. You're beautiful, kind and a complete pain in my ass." She gave me a look and I chuckled. "Which I completely adore," I quickly added. "You make me laugh at times when I thought I'd never laugh. You make me feel better about myself, even when I do shitty things. You've made this shitty job I have here actually enjoyable with your presence. You've made me defy my parents, which is something that no one has ever brought out in me. You bring me to my damn knees, baby, and I'm not letting that go. You're mine and only mine for the keeping."

  She rose up, her soft and moist lips meeting mine. "I'm all yours if you're all mine," she whispered against them, sliding her tongue against the opening between my lips. I opened my mouth, allowing our tongues to move slowly against each other's.

  "I think we can make that happen," I said, breaking away from her. She gave me a bright smile before I leaned back in to explore her mouth, this one more heated. She tasted like coffee beans and vanilla as I swirled my tongue with hers and pulled her forward. Half
her ass was off the desk while I gripped it in my hold, cupping it firmly. I grinded my cock against her thighs and rubbed it directly on her core. Her head dipped back, and she groaned out in pleasure. My hand went to her mouth to block the noise. God, I loved how just feeling my arousal got her so worked up. My free hand reached down to the hem of her skirt, pulling it up her waist swiftly before pulling her ass up higher. I squeezed a supple ass cheek in my hand before slapping it gently.

  “Holy shit,” she yelped, biting her lower lip to keep from being loud and raking her nails down my chest. I spread my fingers out, inching my hands up higher onto her thighs, and traced the edge of her panties as she shuddered underneath me. I breathed in harshly at the feel of her using both hands to squeeze my nipples. Our bodies were a tangled mess.

  “Would you like it if I slid your panties over like this?" I asked, staring up at her and kicking my leg out to open her wider for me. I pulled the tiny fabric over so her clit was exposed. I could tell just looking at her she was soaked. She licked her lips as my thumb went to her clit, rubbing her tender spot in circles over and over. She moved into my touch, her hips rotating as I increased my speed. "Would you like it if I fucked you against the edge of this desk? My dick pounding into you as I gripped your ass and masked your screams with my mouth?"

  "God, yes," she moaned, freeing her hands from under my shirt to unbuckle my pants and pull them down. My throbbing cock fell out with need, and I fought back the desire to immediately bury myself inside her. I sunk a finger into her entrance, and her body bucked against my hand as I finger-fucked her hard. She bit the side of her lip, her face scrunching up as she tried to control her whimpers from growing too loud. She grinded against my hand, her breathing growing more ragged with each thrust of my finger until her body grew limp and fell back against the desk.

  "How are you so damn good at that?" she moaned, her chest moving in and out as her breathing heightened.

  "I love making you feel good," I groaned, and her hand reached down to stroke my cock a few times before rubbing it around her wet entrance. I let out a few expletives under my breath as she brought a finger to my mouth.