Dominic’s POV
I knew I was hurting her now with my cold behavior, but it had to happen.
Her getting involved like this–with me–it was dangerous.
I wanted to let her go but I couldn’t. I was attached and not in a good way. Ever since I saw her dancing in that club. I just couldn’t get over her.
I know she wasn’t safe with me.
And yet, no matter how much distance I tried to put between us, it never stuck.
Aria was under my skin.
And that made her a target.
I exhaled sharply, shaking off the thoughts as I stepped into my office.
The glass walls overlooked the city skyline, an empire built brick by brick under my control. The place was sleek, modern, nothing like the bloodstained shadows I usually operated in.
This was the legal side of my empire.
The one people wanted to do business with.
“Morning, sir,” my assistant, Valerie, greeted as I walked in. She was already at her desk, a tablet in hand. “You have a meeting in ten with the investors from Zurich.”
I nodded. “And the contracts from the Biotech merger?”
“Reviewed and ready for signatures.” She hesitated before adding, “The CEO will be joining the meeting remotely. He requested to speak with you privately afterward.”
I smirked. “Of course he did.”
They always did.
Men with power wanted to understand me.
They wanted to know how I built an empire in half the time it took them.
What they didn’t understand was that I didn’t play by their rules.
That was why I always won.
“Send the Zurich team to the conference room,” I ordered, shrugging off my jacket.
Valerie nodded, tapping at her tablet. “And the call from Senator Calloway?”
I sighed. “Schedule him for later. Let him sweat a little.”
Her lips twitched. “Understood.”
I stepped into the conference room just as my third–in–command, my consigliere Matteo, slid into a chair.
Dressed in navy blue suit, leg crossed over the other.
“Took your time,” he drawled.
I ignored him, taking my seat at the head of the table.
Across from me, the Zurich investors–three men in tailored suits–sat stiffly, waiting.
The oldest, Grayson Wells, cleared his throat. “Mr. De Luca. Thank you for meeting with us.”
I inclined my head. “Let’s not waste time.”
Grayson’s lips pressed into a thin line.
He wasn’t used to men like me.
Too bad.
“We’re prepared to finalize the investment,” he said, sliding a folder across the table. “But there are concerns about the security risks involved.”
I flipped through the pages lazily. “You mean your concerns.”
He stiffened. “We have a responsibility to our shareholders.”
I closed the folder and leaned back. “And I have a responsibility to my business.”
His jaw tightened.
1/3
Chapter 53
I continued, “I can assure you, any risks will be handled. My security is tighter than the goddamn Pentagon.”
Matteo chuckled beside me.
Grayson hesitated. “And if things don’t go as planned?”
I held his gaze. “Then you’ll be compensated in full. With interest.”
A pause.
Then, slowly, Grayson nodded. “Very well.”
I smirked.
Good choice.
We spent the next thirty minutes finalizing details.
By the time the meeting wrapped up, the Zurich team was satisfied–if not slightly intimidated.
Just how I liked it.
As they left, Matteo clapped me on the shoulder. “I’ll never get tired of watching these rich bastards fold under you.”
I snorted. “They’re cowards.”
He grinned. “They’re smart.”
I didn’t respond.
Because my phone buzzed.
An incoming call.
From an unknown number.
My gaze darkened.
Matteo noticed. “Problem?”
I answered the call.
Silence.
Then-
A voice, low and distorted.
“We need to meet.”
I didn’t flinch. “Who is this?”
“You know who.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
The line went dead.
Matteo raised an eyebrow. “That sounded ominous.”
I exhaled. “It was.”
Before he could respond, Valerie appeared at the door.
“Sir.” Her expression was unreadable. “Someone’s here to see you.”
I frowned. “Who?”
She hesitated.
Then, finally-
“It’s Victoria.”
I exhaled sharply, irritation flickering to life. I should’ve sent her away. Should’ve told Valerie to turn her back at the door. But Victoria was nothing if not persistent. She would find a way in eventually.
I leaned back in my chair, fingers tapping against the desk. “Let her in.”
A moment later, the doors swung open, and there she was.
Victoria.
Dressed in red, of course. Always red. A dress that clung to her body like a second skin, slit high enough to remind me of exactly what kind of woman she was. The sharp click of her heels echoed through the office as she stepped inside, her lips already curved into a knowing smirk.
“Hello, Dominic.”
She leaned forward slightly, just enough to give me a glimpse of her cleavage.
Chapter 53
I didn’t flinch. Didn’t let my gaze drop for even a second.
Instead, I frowned. “Victoria.”
Her smirk faltered for a split second before she recovered. She took a seat across from me, crossing her legs deliberately slow.
“No warm welcome?” she teased. “I traveled all this way to see you.”
I arched a brow. “You traveled all this way to bother me.”
She laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Isn’t it the same thing?”
I sighed. “What do you want?”
She pouted. “Straight to business? No small talk? No reminiscing?”
I stared at her, unimpressed.
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. If you must know, I came to deliver a message.”
I already didn’t like where this was going.
She reached into her clutch and pulled out a sleek black phone, setting it on my desk with a casualness that didn’t match the situation.
I didn’t pick it up.
Instead, I met her gaze. “Who?”
She smiled.
And that’s when I knew.
“Mikael.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Don’t look so surprised,” she drawled. “You did have him beaten to hell, after all.”
“He deserved it.”
Victoria’s smirk widened. “He disagrees.”
I scoffed, picking up the phone.
Before I could say a word, a voice slithered through the speaker.
“Well, well, well.”
I leaned back in my chair. “Mikael.”
A low chuckle. “You sound so displeased to hear my voice.”
“I am.”
“Now, now,” he chided. “Is that any way to speak to an old friend?”
I smirked. “You’re not my friend.”
Another chuckle, this one darker. “No, I suppose I’m not. But you are going to listen to me.”
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