Part 4 (1/2)
”I'll give you some credit for the plans I unveil so we can both make a fortune. I already have a buyer,” Bradford continued.
”Haven't you ever heard it isn't good to bite the hand that feeds you?”
Bradford sighed. ”d.a.m.n it. I need money. I couldn't wait until your plans were implemented in hopes that my company begins to turn a profit again-”
”Then you forged your company's financials.”
”No, I didn't!” Bradford huffed out a breath. ”I tweaked my personal a.s.sets, so I made Livvie-”
”Leave your sister out of this.” Dominic's guilt grew as he remembered the disapproval of the audience at the auction. Bradford had been using Olivia to get an easy ride. ”Her involvement in your dealings ends now.”
”I beg your pardon?”
”You heard me. I don't understand why you used Olivia but she doesn't need to be involved in your schemes.”
”She involved herself!” Bradford flared. ”She's so determined to get a college degree. How the f.u.c.k was I supposed to pay for it without money?”
That explained a lot. Such as how someone as strong-willed as Olivia could be talked into navigating society on behalf of her brother. She wanted an education.
”I need Livvie back, Luca,” Bradford cut in. ”She has to deal with her boyfriend Garth, and Karen is threatening to go to the police and the media if she doesn't hear from her. They were going on some vacation. So I need the little b.i.t.c.h back here to get her f.u.c.king friend out of my hair. I don't need the police or the media snooping around.”
Dominic just bet the a.s.shole didn't. Who knew what skeletons would surface. The rest of Bradford's words settled in and he gripped the small phone. ”Olivia has a boyfriend?”
”Olivia had a boyfriend,” Bradford corrected. ”She's a social-climbing gold digger just like her mother was. She was our family maid, you know?”
”If he cared about her, he wouldn't give a f.u.c.k if she was as poor as a t.i.tmouse.” He snapped the words before he thought better. But, so far, he liked Olivia, and he hated to think she'd be looked down upon because of circ.u.mstances out of her control. Namely, her birth and whether she'd been born the daughter of a maid or not.
”Livvie is a reckless little fool. Garth Walters wanted a few f.u.c.ks from her. Who could blame him? Not many red-blooded men would pa.s.s up the opportunity to have a twenty-one-year-old beauty like my half sister.”
Dominic choked. ”What did you just say?”
”Not many men-”
”Not that, Bradford. You said she's twenty-one.”
”She is.”
”That...Olivia told me she's twenty-five.”
Bradford snickered, grating on Dominic's temper. ”No. I a.s.sure you she's twenty-one. I'll never forget the day my mother held a cleaver to my father's b.a.l.l.s when she discovered one of our maids was pregnant by him. He's lucky he got away intact. That auspicious occasion took place almost twenty-two years ago. Olivia is twenty-one and she just turned twenty-one.”
What difference did her age make? It was only four years. But f.u.c.k...she'd just turned the legal age to drink.
”Again, Luca, how much do I have to fork over to get the inept wench back?”
He needed to throw out a number the weasel would be willing to fork over from Dominic's money and send Olivia back. His conscience warred with how he'd annihilated his enemies his entire life. If he sent her away, she'd be the f.u.c.k out of his life and he would've recouped some of his losses. It would be a compromise.
No. Absolutely not. Compromises were for weaklings. He'd stick with his original plans.
”You have three days to get the entire f.u.c.king amount you stole from me.”
Not waiting for Bradford's answer, Dominic hung up.
The sound of a clearing throat broke through the contemplation of his morals and his sanity. Olivia stood before him, wearing one of his white dress s.h.i.+rts, which hung on her slender frame. Her hair fell around her in a wild tangle and her lips were swollen and red from his lovemaking. Now that he'd satisfied his animal urges and used her body to work out his rage toward her brother, he saw how young she looked.
He marveled at her strength of character under the circ.u.mstances. Other, more mature women would have crumbled by now. Kidnapped. Tethered naked to a bed, then losing her virginity to a total stranger. Who was this young woman and from where did she learn to deal with whatever came her way?
He rubbed his eyes and leaned forward, elbows on knees, and studied her. A true enigma.
”Where are we going?”
The huskiness of her voice sent desire pulsing through him. He supposed he owed her an answer. Somehow he had to find a way to rectify the wrong he had done and disregard how his father would've disapproved of his sudden conscience over a business rival. Following his father's lead in the company had never failed him. He remained on top of the business world and brought in more money than he knew what to do with. Problems arose when tried and true methods were disregarded. Dominic didn't like problems and he didn't like change.
”Dominic?” Olivia called softly and he realized he had yet to respond.
”Charleston,” he said. ”To my home.”
She chewed on her lower lip and the image of her wrapping her lips around his erection rose in his head. She looked at her toes and s.h.i.+fted her weight. ”Are you into BDSM?” she said, raising her gaze to meet his.
He lifted a brow, staring at her swollen mouth, at the softness of her eyes. Her black hair formed a curtain around her, a stark contrast to her ivory complexion and his white s.h.i.+rt she wore. The memory of being inside her made it difficult for him to remain where he sat. He wanted to reach over and touch her. Caress her. Take her.
”No,” he answered, recalling her question when her dark brows furrowed. ”I'm not into that lifestyle. I am, however, into doing whatever the situation calls for.”
”And the situation called for me being tied up while we made love?”
Dominic looked away, unable to meet the confusion in her steady gaze. Guilt gnawed at him but he shoved it aside. He wanted what Bradford stole back. He didn't want a pair of stunning green eyes, a headful of midnight hair and a flawless complexion to sway him. He nodded, a brusque movement meant to deter her questions.
As if.
”Tell me a little about yourself,” he ordered, the perfect way to put an end to her queries.
She eyed him with suspicion. ”What do you want to know?”
Dominic shrugged, not caring to explore his need to know everything about her and not willing to admit it to her, either.
She wrinkled her nose, glanced at him, at her toes, and then at the window next to him. ”I...my mother...Blaine's father...he was my father, too.”
”Your mother was a maid,” he blurted to make her explanation easier.
She bristled, her nipples pressing against the fine material of the s.h.i.+rt she wore. ”I see you and Blaine discussed more than the terms of my return while you spoke just now.”
”A little more,” Dominic agreed.
”Why did he call back? I heard the phone and his special ring.”
Ah, so that's what had brought her out. ”Your friend is concerned about you.”
”Karen?”
He hated the way she hooded her eyes, shutting him out.