CHAPTER 5: The Reckoning
“Mr. Steele! Your flight must have been exhausting. We’ve prepared refreshments
“Mr. Steele, I’m from Apex Industries. We’d be honored to work with-” “Mr. Steele, this is a small gift for Mrs. Steele from our jewelers—”
The same men who’d just watched me get beaten were now falling over
themselves to kiss Jett’s ass.
He barely acknowledged them with a grunt, his eyes scanning the room like a predator hunting prey.
Finally, Raven approached, practically bowing.
“Mr. Steele, I’m Raven Morrison, CEO of Morrison Tech. We’re dying to partner with Steele Holdings.”
“I pulled an all–nighter on this proposal. Please, take a look.”
I tried to stand, to call out to him.
But Senna shoved me down hard, clamping a filthy bar rag over my mouth. It reeked of stale beer and vomit.
Her lips brushed my ear. “My husband is closing the deal of his life. You want money now? You shameless whore.”
“If you ruin this for him, I’ll fucking end you.”
Raven held out his proposal with both hands, like an offering to a god.
Jett didn’t even glance at it.
“Not today. I’m not in the mood for business.”
Raven’s face went red, but he forced a smile through the humiliation.
Jett wasn’t paying attention anyway. He was on his phone, barking at his assistant.
“Where the hell is Ivy? This woman drives me insane!”
The assistant was sweating bullets. “Sir, I’ve tried fifteen different numbers.
Everything goes to voicemail.”
“Then track her phone! For fuck’s sake, she’s always late for pickup, but going completely dark? This is a new level.”
His commanding voice cracked slightly at the end–a vulnerability only I would catch.
1/2
Raven’s eyes lit up at hearing my name. Time to score points.
“Mr. Steele, you’re looking for Ivy?”
Jett’s head snapped toward him, eyes narrowing. “You’ve seen her?”
Raven mistook Jett’s intensity for anger. “Oh, I’ve done more than see her. I beat the shit out of that gold–digging bitch.”
“Mr. Steele, I don’t know what she did to piss you off, but clearly she pushed you too far.”
“Don’t worry. Next time she bothers you, I’ll handle it personally.”
The temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees.
“What did you say?”
Jett grabbed Raven by the throat. At six–foot–four, he lifted him clean off the ground.
“WHERE IS SHE? WHERE’S IVY?”
Raven’s face turned purple. “M–Mr. Steele, I—”
