ENRIQUE
"You went and did it," Tomas muttered excitedly over the phone.
I knew he was talking about the interview and my marriage to Olivia, which would absolutely infuriate my father—and infuriating him was exactly what I lived for these days.
"Is the old man foaming at the mouth yet?" I asked.
"He is livid, and it is beautiful to watch," my brother joked.
I had missed my father's call that morning, so no doubt Tomas was calling to update me now.
"Is this real?" he asked.
"Of course not. What do you take me for? This is for the greater good. She is his only heir, and she is my gateway to acquiring his construction firm. Right now, she is pissed at him, which is good, and I can cultivate that anger, turn it into something worthwhile for me."
"Ouuu, you fucking scare me, brother. Who would have thought you had such tricks up your sleeve."
I grunted at this.
I had not expected it to happen. I was telling the truth when I said our meeting had been coincidental. I had been at the club, and she walked in. I remember watching her wedding dress trail behind her as she sauntered to the bar and ordered a drink. It was a beautiful sight, and when she turned to me in the dimness of that bar, something shifted between us.
That was when I realized who she was—the daughter of the one man in the country who was proving to be a difficult ass.
The reason I came to New York was simple; to acquire construction companies and find a way to make clean money. My family's connection with the Galician mafia in Spain was something we wanted to shed, and the only way to do that was to clean our money, hence the urgent need to get the construction firms in New York under our control. It would have all been done if her father, Robert Baker, wasn't proving to be such a hard-headed bastard. He had been offered a fortune, but for some strange reason, he rejected all our offers.
It hadn't occurred to me that the solution to my problem would be a marriage to his only child, Olivia.
I guess I had her asshole of a fiancé to thank for this opportunity.
"When does it end?" Tomas asked.
"In a year," I told him.
She wanted to get back at her ex-boyfriend, and I wanted her father's company. To me, it was a win-win, even if she was blissfully unaware of it.
"Then we are free to leave?" Tomas asked, sounding hopeful.
"Yes, we will be free to leave." I smiled to myself.
We had a pact…to leave this life before it consumed us like it had our mother. My father cared very little about us, so after her death, it fell on me to take care of Tomas, which I had done with everything in me.
Freedom was so close I could taste it.
I was about to say something to Tomas when the door to my office burst open, and a man waltzed in, followed by my panicked secretary, Rachael.
"Give me a minute, Tomas. I will call you right back."
I hung up, placing the phone gently in front of me.
"You may leave, Rachael. Thank you."
She cast the man a glare and walked off, closing the door behind her.
"Take a seat, Liam," I breathed.
"You know who I am?" he grunted, grabbing the chair in front of me.
Of course, I knew who he was. What sort of businessman would I be if I didn't scout the competition, especially the ex-boyfriend of my wife, Olivia?
"You could have called for a meeting instead of barging into my office, but I will excuse the behavior."
He stared at me, clearly doubting my sanity.
"Olivia is mine," he muttered.
I arched an eyebrow at this declaration.
"Yours?" I kept my voice steady. "You will have to forgive me and kindly remind me how she is yours again?"
"Don't act dumb. I know the reason you are married to her is to get to the company." He scoffed, then chuckled. "Hell, it is the only reason I agreed to marry that uptight bitch. I'm not about to let you take my chance out of my hands."
I congratulated myself for staying seated and resisting the urge to relieve him of his tongue for such blasphemy.
"I will allow this to be the first and last time you speak that way about my wife."
"You expect me to believe you married her out of love?" He continued, oblivious to the fury building in my veins. "I have known her way longer than you have, and man to man, Olivia is not what you want."
I rose to my feet, my fists clenched at my sides.
"Get out," I snapped.
He rose too.
"The only thing she has to offer is her body, and even that is as cold as she is."
I moved quickly, slamming my fist into the side of his face.
His head snapped back, and I grabbed him by the collar, punching him again and again. I only stopped when a tooth flew out of his mouth.
"Care to say something about my wife again?" I snarled, tightening my grip on his collar.
He clutched his mouth, blood dripping as he shook his head vigorously.
I released him, flexing my fingers.
"Lovely to finally meet you in person, Liam. Now get the hell out of my office."
I watched him back away, spin around, and flee.
It took me a few minutes to get myself under control. I stared at my knuckles, bloodied from the assault, and then chuckled.
Asshole, I thought.
The door opened, and Olivia's beautiful face poked in.
She took in the state of my office, concern etched on her face.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" she asked.
I folded my arms and smiled.
"Come on in, wife."
Her eyes flashed as she closed the door.
"Please, don't call me wife," she corrected for the hundredth time.
"Now, what kind of husband would I be if I obeyed you all the time?" I winked at her
She glanced around again, her brow furrowing.
"You look like you had a fight in here. Tough day at work?" she asked.
"Something like that."
I tried to round the table, but her gasp stopped me.
She was staring at the tooth on the ground.
"What the hell happened here?"
I groaned.
"Nothing seri—"
"Don't tell me that." She turned to me, eyeing my knuckles.
She rushed over, grabbing my arm.
"Do you have a first aid kit?" she asked.
I nodded, gesturing to the restroom.
"Stay here," she commanded, leaving me.
She returned with the kit, poured iodine on my knuckles, and began dabbing at the wounds, murmuring sympathetic words as she worked, even though I didn't show any sign of pain.
I watched her, her lashes framing her eyes and her rosy cheeks soft in the dim light of my office. Her forehead creased slightly, and she bit her lower lip as she worked.
Uptight bitch, my ass, I thought. I would punch him all over again if I could.
"There," she sighed.
I looked at my knuckles, now neatly bandaged.
"Thank you," I smiled, touching her face.
"You want to tell me how that happened?" she asked.
I shook my head.
"Just some asshole learning his place in the most productive way," I told her.
"Well, I'm sorry for that asshole," she laughed, her eyes twinkling.
She was beautiful, with her hair tied back and a glow that hinted at how much love she had to give.
"What is it?" she asked softly.
I stood, my body brushing lightly against hers.
"Te quiero besar, Olivia," I murmured.
"I do not understand," she said softly.
"I know," I chuckled, pulling my hand away from her face.
I cleared my throat, walking away to put distance between us. I wanted to kiss her…all of a sudden, that impulse was overwhelming.
And that was bad. It did not fit into my plans, this silly feeling of pity toward her.
"What do you need?" I asked, my tone gruff, my back to her.
"I was just checking on you… and wondering if you would like to have dinner with me," she murmured.
"I can't right now. I'm tied up with work, so rain check?"
She was silent, but I didn't need to turn around to know she was hurt by my coldness.
"Of course," she said.
I kept my back to her as she left, and only when the doors closed did I turn around.
I stared at my knuckles…a cursed reminder of how gentle her touch had been.
A reminder of what I was about to take from her.
It had to be done, I thought.
I grabbed my phone and shot a text to Tomas.
He would know exactly what it meant and what to do to get our plan in motion.