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“I said no!” Arthur pounded his fist on the table making Aya jump. “Don’t even mention that filth around me.”

“Then what would you have me do?”

“Let me handle this. I’ll figure something out.”

“But—”

“I said let me handle this. I didn’t fight hard enough for your mother, but I’ll be damned if I don’t fight for you. Promise me you’ll let me take care of this.”

She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. It didn’t feel right to not at least do what she could to make sure they didn’t end up starving on the streets.

“Promise me,” he demanded again.

It took everything in her not to argue back but if it took her consent to calm him down, she would give it to him. Biting the inside of her lip, she nodded.

“Good.” Arthur slid off of his chair and walked over to her. He placed an arm around Aya’s shoulders and pressed a kiss on her temple. “Everything is going to work out. You’ll see.”

She wished she could share his confidence because Aya had a sinking feeling things were about to get worse for them. Much worse.

The buzzer on his holophone went off interrupting Dare as he went over the profit reports for one of the entities his conglomerate owned. He frowned, annoyed by the interruption. He pressed the button to bring the holographic image of his executive assistant, Ronald Briggs, on display. “I hope this is a matter of life and death considering, I asked not to be disturbed.”

Ronald remained expressionless. “I understand, sir, but I received a call from downstairs that a Mr. Arthur Lane is demanding entrance into the building and he insists he sees you. He said you’re expecting him. I don’t see his name listed in the appointment data base but I noticed his name in your notes regarding that project you’re personally heading in the downtown green district. Should I have the guards send him away, sir?”

“No. I’ll see him. But when he gets to your desk, tell him to have a seat and make him wait exactly one full hour before he’s allowed into my office.”

“Okay, I’ll tell him you’re on an important phone call.”

“No. Don’t tell him anything. He’ll wait.”

“I’m concerned he may cause trouble if he’s made to wait around with no explanation. The guards mentioned he was highly agitated, sweating, and edgy. Perhaps, I could arrange to have him meet with you at another time when he’s calmed down.”

In his situation, Dare highly doubted the man would be any less edgy. There was only so much the old man could do considering the guards would pat him down thoroughly before allowing him entrance into the building. Besides, Dare might have spent the bulk of his day behind a desk but he was more than capable of taking care of himself. “Remind me, when did I ask for your opinion?”

Ronald’s face turned a bright shade of pink before he nodded in compliance. “My apologies, sir. I’ll have him wait in the lobby until you’re ready.”

“Good.” Without waiting for the other man to speak again, Dare, clicked the end button to terminate the signal. A smile curled the corners of his lips and he steepled his fingers under his chin as he leaned back into his leather chair.

The fact that the old man had sought him out wasn’t a surprise. Arthur Lane was here to beg. And Dare planned on letting him. Of course, those pleas would fall on deaf ears but that couldn’t be helped. The old man and his spitfire niece had been warned. Now, they had to pay the price for committing the ultimate sin in his eyes. Saying no. Nothing pissed him off more than that word. Which is why he set out to punish them. First he had his company buy up several of the buildings on their street and set about opening up a rival establishment. He then called in favors with a couple of bureaucrats from the gaming and licensing commission to pay special attention to Lane’s business. Dare could have ended it there, but that wasn’t enough. He was sure by now they would start noticing a drop off in customers, or at least the customers who were in any way connected to any of O Corps many businesses. Any day now they’d be visited by a building inspector who would most likely find the entire building uninhabitable unless they paid a hefty fee to bring it up to code.

Dare wasn’t simply looking to punish, he wanted to destroy them, not because his ego was bruised but because he could. And to show them that no one fucking said “no” to him. And once he was certain they’d learned their lesson, he’d claim his prize.

Aya.

He intended to have her under him, bent over, and on her knees. He would fuck her every which way her body could contort and even ways she couldn’t. Then, he’d make her beg for more. And when he finally sated himself of her, he’d discard her and forget about her as he had with the other countless whores who’d come in and out of his life.

The rational part of his brain told him he was going overboard by wasting so much of his time and resources for the sake of one woman when he could have another one with the snap of his fingers. But Aya had become somewhat of an obsession to him. He found himself consumed with images of her full lips wrapped around his cock and legs spread wide for him, showing off her pussy. The very thought of him inside of her was enough to make him hard. He was hard this very second and he fucking hated it. Hated that this woman could so thoroughly invade his mind so easily.

Had she just given in to him when he’d made his more than generous offer, he would have had his fill and by now, would have forgotten her. Instead, this.

Dare clicked the button to access his computerized assistant. “Bring up the minutes from the last board meeting and highlight the areas when we discussed the Mason Rebuilding Project.” A holographic image appeared before him with his requested highlighted areas.

He went through several more images of documents before they were replaced with Ronald’s face. “Sir, it’s been an hour. Should I continue to make Mr. Lane wait or would you like me to send him up?”

Dare was tempted to have the man sent away to teach him a lesson but his perverse need to see the man grovel wouldn’t allow him to. “Yes, I’ll see him.”

“I’ll see that he’s escorted up.”

Dare nodded before returning his attention back to the documents in front of him before he was once again interrupted with a knock. “Come in,” he barked without tearing his attention away from his work.

Ronald poked his head inside Dare’s office. “Mr. Lane is here to see you.”

Dare waved him in still not giving his attention to the doorway. He continued to study the many holographic charts and graphs in front of him for several minutes before acknowledging the older man’s presence.

Lane cleared his throat loudly and only then did Dare bother to swipe the images away and click his device into sleep mode. Leaning back in his chair, he studied his visitor who wasn’t doing a good job of hiding the contempt on his face.

Without bothering to offer his visitor a seat, Dare gave him the once over before speaking. “As you’ve probably deduced, I’m a busy man. So you have minutes to state your business.”

The old man practically snarled at him, his fists clenched at his sides. “You know why the hell I’m here.”

“I know a lot of things, Mr. Lane, but I’m hardly a mind reader so if you plan on wasting my time with veiled accusations, save your breath and leave.”

Arthur Lane took a step forward and then stopped before taking several deep breaths. “Okay. I’m here to apologize for the way you were treated when you visited my bar and to humbly ask that you call off this vendetta you seem to have against me.”

“That’s an interesting choice of words, Mr. Lane. A vendetta implies I’m going after you because you’ve done me grave harm and this is payback. No, this isn’t payback. This is a life lesson. One I hope you’ve taken note of. Now if that’s all you’ve come to say, you may leave now.”

Lane’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. It was obvious the man thought this pathetic apology would resolve everything. He seemed to recover from his shock quickly because he advanced toward the desk and placed his palms on the solid oak. “I said I’m sorry. My behavior was unacceptable.”

“You’re under the impression that I require an apology which I do not. As I’ve already stated, I’m a busy man. See yourself out.”

“Do you want me to get on my knees and beg? I will. Just leave us alone. I know a man like you doesn’t like hearing the word ‘no’, but my niece is a good girl. I’m all the family she has and it’s my job to protect her. I made a promise to her mother that I’d look out for her. You don’t seem like an unreasonable man. Please, just let us be.”

Dare stared at the man, growing annoyed by this pathetic display. There was only one way to get his message across. “Okay.”

“What?”

“Get on your knees and beg.”

“Huh?”

“You just said, you’d get down on your knees and beg if you have to. Well, I say you have to. Do it. Now.”

For a second, the old man raised his fist as if he were about to take a swing at him. Dare almost wished he would. At least then he’d respect the guy more. But instead, Lane moved away slightly and slowly lowered himself until his knees hit the floor.

“Please,” he muttered.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.”

The old man glared and visibly shook. “I said, ‘please’. I beg you to leave us alone. I’m sorry for any offense I’ve caused you. Just please stop messing with our livelihood. Leave Aya alone.  Someone like you could find another woman. Just forget about her. She’s not that kind of girl.”

If Dare was a lesser man, he might actually feel sorry for the old bastard but he didn’t suffer fools gladly nor did he accept apologies. He’d learned valuable lessons about apologies at a young age. They weren’t worth shit. “Thank you. You may leave now.”

“Mr. O’Shaughnessy?”

“You’ve said what you needed and I’ve heard everything I needed to.”

“Does this mean—?”

“That because you’ve thrown yourself on my mercy all is forgotten? The only thing you’ve done is waste my time. Do you honestly think this bullshit apology will keep me from getting what I want? I’m going to make this very clear for you. I want Aya. I will have her. And neither you nor she will stop me. Now get out of my office.”

“You son of a bitch! I will kill you!” Though it had taken him longer to get down on his knees, Arthur Lane was off of them in a flash and made his way around the large oak desk. The man’s calloused hands were around Dare’s neck before he could react. He was much stronger than Dare had anticipated but he gripped the older man’s hands and managed to free himself. Dare thrust his head forward, connecting his skull to his attacker’s nose resulting in a loud crunch. He pulled back to see blood gushing from Lane’s nose. The injury, however, didn’t stop him.

Lane advanced, swinging his fists wildly. “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you,” he screamed over and over again.

Dare managed to dodge every punch the old man threw but when the door burst open, he turned to see who had entered his office without announcing themselves. The brief distraction cost him as Lane’s fist connected with his jaw. Dare stumbled backward but managed to stay on his feet.

The guards grabbed the crazed man who struggled to break free, presumably to get in another shot. “I thought it would be wise to have the guards wait outside your office for this meeting and when they buzzed me about the commotion, I thought it best to check in,” Ronald explained.

Dare rubbed his jaw with a chuckle, amused by the crazed look in the man’s eyes. “He’s nothing I couldn’t have handled myself, but since you’re here, you may take him away.”

“I’ll send for the enforcers to take him away.”

Dare nodded. With her uncle out of the way, Aya would be all alone and ripe for the picking. “Good idea.”

“You can’t do this!” Lane screamed.

Dare marched over to the old man. “You did this to yourself when you crossed me. Enjoy prison.”