Thrust: Bad Boy Racing Romance (Fastlane Series Book 2) (13 page)

“No. No. Don’t start, Serena,” I began, walking towards her and gesturing for her to get out of my way. “Now, let’s get this conversation over with.”

I blew past her, headed towards my bed when all of a sudden the booze hit me,
hard.
Maybe it was the stress I’d been under recently, or maybe I was just tired. Either way, within a few minutes of finishing my first glass of wine I felt buzzed, almost drunk.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, shaking my head. Serena noticed and looked towards me.

“Marco?” she began, sitting down next to me. “What’s wrong?”

I reached up and touched my forehead.

“Hmm?” I grumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose between my fingers. “What?”

The room spun. I began to lie back in the bed. Serena took the wine glass from my hand. A second later, I fell back into the mattress, covering my eyes with the palms of my hands. The next thing I remembered was Serena straddling me.  She bent forward at the waist, dropping her face over mine.

“It’s okay, Marco,” she began, leaning in towards my cheek. “It's fine, You’re just tired, my love.”

Listless, I rocked my head back and forth on the mattress. Serena started to kiss me on the cheek. I felt stiff, almost like I couldn’t move. Her affection, soft at first, soon began to escalate. She slipped my ear into her mouth, swallowing it with wet heat. I grunted, trying to push her off of me. She stopped and dropped her mouth to the side of my head.

“Shhh, Marco, just relax.”

I shook my head.

“No,” I grunted. “I don’t…”

I began to lose larger chunks of time - seconds at first, then minutes.

All the while, Serena plied me with affection, licking and kissing my exposed skin wherever she could find it. And then, in one of my last lucid moments, I felt her fingers slip beneath my shirt. She dragged her fingers, scratching, clawing and digging the entire way. I groaned, wincing and trying to push her away. My strength left me. I reached up, using the last of my effort to wrap my fingers around her forearms. Through half-blurred vision, I looked up to see Serena staring down at me.

She shook her head.

“This is what was meant to be, Marco.”

What?

Before I could say another word, Serena reached down between my legs and cupped my crotch in her hand. I felt the final remnants of my strength leave my body. It was the last thing I remembered…

MARCO

When I next woke up, I felt the sharp thump of a
brutal
headache. It hurt so bad I could barely breathe, let alone move.  I reached towards my forehead and began rubbing it. Disoriented, I glanced around my bed. Sheets were everywhere, I was naked from the waist down.

“Uhhhnnn…” I groaned.

Just then, I heard a noise across the bedroom - the sound of a lock snapping shut. With one eye open and the other half-squinting, I propped myself up on one elbow. Serena spun in place, looking at me. She stood in front of the strong box with one arm haphazardly draped across it.

I reached down for a handful of sheets, twisted between my lower legs. I grabbed hold of them, yanking them away and sliding out of the bed. No sooner did my feet hit the floor than I felt my knees go out from under me. I tumbled to my left, collapsing in a heap.

“Marco!” Serena shrieked.

I turned and looked up at her, snapping my arm straight at the elbow and pointing at her.

“What are you doing?” I began, shaking my head. “Get away from that.”

Serena shrugged, drawing her shoulders up towards her ears. “What? I didn’t do anything. Let me help you up.”

“No,” I warned, moving to my knee and then standing. “Did you open it, Serena?”

She backed away. “I-I…”

“Did you open it!!!” I yelled, wincing at the same instant. “Ah! Fuck!’

I groaned and wrapped my fingers around my skull. “My fucking head…”

I did my best to focus on her.

“Marco, why are you so upset?” she said, opening her arms and inviting me to hug her. “You need to calm down.”

“No, don’t tell me to calm down. Answer the question. Did you open the strong box?”

“No, Marco, no,” she began, pointing a finger at me. “I’m not going to tell you anything. Not until you and I talk - just like you promised me we would last night.”

Every word she spoke echoed like thunder in my head. My temples pounded. Even so, I gathered my wits enough to stand and begin walking in her direction.

“I’ve changed my mind,” I grumbled. “This isn't something I want to talk about with you. None of it. We’re through, Serena.”

I finished speaking and for the first time since I woke up, I had enough presence of mind to focus on her. Naked except for a thong, she returned my focused stare with a blank one of her own.

Serena cleared her throat and with a quick flick of her hair she replied, “Yes, I know we are, Marco.”

The cobwebs of my strange sleep still hung heavy. Her behavior seemed curious, if not completely bizarre. I couldn’t be sure if I was just imagining it. After all, for months and months, she’d been after me. And now, in the span of less than twelve hours, she was content to drop everything so that we could both get on with our lives?

Something about it didn’t make sense. Not in the slightest. Frustrated, and wanting nothing more than to be rid of her, I extended my arm and shoved her out of the way.

“Hey! What the hell is wrong with you, Marco?”

“Shut up.”

I examined the strongbox, grabbing it and spinning it in place. I tugged on each of the locks, yanking hard just to be sure.

“I told you already, Marco,” she began, her voice dripping with contempt. “I didn’t open it.”

I turned back towards her and scoffed.

“Don’t give me that, Serena,” I said, pointing at the box. “It's not like you’ve never done something like this before. Your insecurity, that’s what broke us up. You understand that don’t you?”

Serena scoffed. I kept my eyes focused on her.

“It’s your crazy, jealous behavior. It was that and only that.”

I noticed the beginnings of tears in Serena’s eyes. She sucked in a deep inhale and shoved me to one side.

“That’s enough,” she began, passing by me and heading towards her clothes which were piled up in the corner. “I’m not going to stand here and be insulted by you.”

I looked away from her for a second and turned my attention back to the strongbox. From behind, I could hear her getting dressed, swishing her clothes on. Less than a minute later, she tried to pass by me on the way out of the bedroom. I grabbed her arm, squeezing it and stopping her in her tracks.

“This is your last chance, Serena,” I said, gesturing with my chin towards the strongbox. “If you looked in there, you need to tell me.”

Serena yanked her arm. I resisted at first but eventually let her go.

“I already told you, Marco, I didn’t look in the box.”

The pounding in my head had relented a bit since I first woke up but not by much. Even so, I felt the need to calm myself down. I was sick of fighting with her.

“Look, Serena, I’m sorry that things ended in the way they did. But, it is what it is. You need to get on with your life and it’s a life that doesn't involve me.”

Serena’s jaw muscles flexed.

“I already know that, Marco. You don’t have to worry. I won’t be bothering you.”

I nodded and gestured towards the front door. I’d heard similar things from her in the past, but somehow we always wound up in the same place.

Her begging and me pushing her away.

“I’ll walk you out.”

DANI

It was the day after my dinner with Chloe. I sat in my office catching up on client work when the intercom on my phone crackled to life.

“Dani,” I heard Bernard say. “Leopold and I need to speak with you right away. Please bring us everything you have regarding Mr. Rhys.”

I swallowed hard before responding.

“Y-Yes, okay, give me a few minutes. Where do you want to meet?”

“How about the conference room?”

“All right, I’ll see you there.”

I’d been dreading this moment since I returned home from Monte Carlo. Against my better judgment, I’d decided to let Marco take all the time he needed with the agreement. Whether he was just stalling for time or had no intention of signing with us, I didn’t know. Either way, one thing was for certain. It looked to be time for me to give Bernard and Leopold an answer, whether I was ready or not.

Between the heated discussion I’d had with my mother about my dad, Chloe’s finger-pointing and warnings about what I was doing wrong, I’d gotten off track. I just needed a little more time. I had to clear out all the distractions and focus. I only hoped they would give me that chance. Gathering up the paperwork they wanted, I left my office and headed towards the conference room.

By the time I arrived, Bernard and Leopold were already there waiting. I walked inside. They both sat at the far end of the conference room table.

“Dani!” Leopold said, his voice bubbling with enthusiasm. “You’ve made yourself scarce since returning from Monaco. Please, come sit.”

Approaching the table, I smiled at them.

“Yes,” Bernard began, agreeing with his partner. “We’re both eager to hear about the progress you’ve made with Mr. Rhys.”

Easing into the chair, I placed my notes regarding Marco on the table in front of me.

“Well,” I began, clearing my throat. “What would you like to know?”

Leopold frowned at me.

“I’m not sure what you mean. Do you have the signature page or not?”

The insides of my palms went slick with moisture. Summoning what little courage I had, I tossed my hair away from my face with a gentle snap of my head.

“Not at this moment, no. I do not.”

Bernard leaned back in his chair. A lengthy exhale followed.

“Dani, do you recall the discussion that the three of us had in Monte Carlo?”

I nodded.

“Yes, of course I do. I also seem to remember you agreeing with my assertion that closing a deal like this is going to take some time.”

The two of them exchanged glances but remained silent.

“What?” I asked.

“Dani,” Leopold began, gesturing towards Bernard. “We’ve been talking.”

“About?”

“Well, frankly, Dani while we agree that bringing in an account the size of Mr. Rhys’s is challenging, we both feel you’ve not been aggressive enough in trying to sign him.”

The nervousness I felt when I entered the room minutes earlier began to give way to frustration. I held it in check for the time being, straightening my posture in my chair.

“I can assure the both of you that I’m doing everything I can to sign him.”

“Dani,” Bernard said, folding his hands together and placing them on the table. “Are you aware he’s been approached by Bergman and Schuster as well as Markowitz, Ellis and Feynman?”

Fierce competition for a client like Marco wasn’t unusual among all the big investment banks in Manhattan. Of course I heard the rumors that were going around, but at the same time, I felt confident I had an edge over all of them. Not only because of what happened between Marco and me, but also because of what I had to gain by signing him.