I set down the document I was reading. “Realized I could put her to better use.”
“Really?” She cocked her head, her beautiful face looking ice-cold. “You found a better revenge than handing her over to one of the cruelest men in the world? If so, I’d like to hear what it is.”
Ariel had known me for a long time, so it was difficult to avoid her detection. Her gaze was sharper than a microscope. She could see things far below the surface. She could spot my emotions before I even expressed them.
It was fucking annoying.
“If I keep her on my arm, everyone will know I stole her from Joseph. And I have no problem parading that in front of the goddamn world. He’ll be forced to do nothing—like the coward that he is.”
“Really?” She rested her arms on the armrests. “What about the four million dollars you’re missing?”
“I’ll get it back.”
“How?” she demanded.
I didn’t like being challenged, not even by her. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“Yes, a lot of it.” She straightened in the chair. “But I’m not going to let my boss, the man in charge of everything I’ve worked so hard to grow, go soft on that little fucking whore. Don’t insult me with your excuses. I know exactly what you did, Crewe. So don’t pretend I’m some kind of idiot.”
Her fire always impressed me. Somehow, she intimidated even the most frightening men. In a lot of ways, she reminded me of my new prisoner with her zero tolerance for bullshit. Ariel got work done on a time crunch, never letting anything stand in her way. The fact that she could play a man’s game and succeed always got my attention. When I saw her hold her own against five brutal men, I offered her a job on the spot.
“What the hell were you thinking, Crewe? Joseph spat in our faces when he tried to undercut us, and this is your retaliation? This is how we handle our problems now?”
“Enough.” I raised my hand, effectively silencing her. Ariel was one of the few people who could call me out on my bullshit. But she couldn’t insult me beyond that. “When Bones walked in with that chain and collar, I changed my mind. I knew what he was going to do to her, and I couldn’t go through with it. I’m not going soft, alright? Keeping her as my prisoner will be punishment enough. Joseph will know exactly what I’m doing with her every night. That’ll definitely give him nightmares.”
Ariel pressed her lips tightly together in annoyance, but she didn’t insult me again. “Are you fond of her or something?”
“Absolutely not.” I found her intelligence and wit entertaining, but that was it. She was an entitled brat who thought she could always get her way. She was such an idiot she actually thought she could outsmart me. She was just a pretty face with a curvy body—nothing more.
Ariel narrowed her eyes like she saw something in my expression. “Did you fuck her?”
Lying wasn’t in my nature. I could bend the truth sometimes, but when asked a question outright like that, there was no wiggle room. So I didn’t say anything at all, which was good as an admission of guilt.
She hid her displeasure at the news. “If you wanna screw your prisoner, I couldn’t care less. But don’t let it be anything more than that.”
“It’s not.”
“It obviously is if you changed your mind about Bones. You’re one of the harshest men I’ve ever met. I’ve never seen you reconsider a punishment, no matter how cruel it was. Don’t change. I admire your coldness and don’t want it to disappear.”
“It won’t. You don’t need to worry.”
Ariel finally let it go. “What are you going to do with her, then?”
“I already told you.”
“When she’s not making appearances as your slave.”
“She’ll service me in my free time.” Discussing my sex life with Ariel didn’t bother me. I felt like I was talking to one of the guys, someone who understood my sexual appetite without judgment. She rarely discussed hers, but that was because she didn’t have much time for dating in her line of work. “That’ll be punishment enough.”
“I thought you already slept with her?”
“She seduced me so she could manipulate me into not handing her over to Bones.”
Ariel glared at me.
“And it didn’t work. I changed my mind for my own reasons. The sex had nothing to do with it.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes, if you want to keep your job.”
She rolled her eyes and stood up. “This place would fall apart without me, and you know it.” She walked to the door, carrying herself with grace. She was a beautiful woman, but she blended in with the boys at the same time.
I smiled when her back was turned. “No, it wouldn’t fall apart. Finley would replace you.”