Princely Passions 2(121)

“It never is when you’re stealing,” Preston says with an air of finality. When Nadia doesn’t respond, he nods to the uniformed police officer who walks over to Nadia. He stays a few feet from her, but his intention is clear. She looks at him and then at Preston and then nods, grateful for the small courtesy of not being dragged away in cuffs.

The cop and Nadia leave the room and walk unobtrusively toward the elevator, where an unmarked police car is waiting to take Nadia to the Manhattan Jail.

Preston looks at me and then at Alicia. “I’ll leave you two alone,” he says. “Ms. Sullivan, consider yourself demoted back to Analyst, and think about taking the rest of the day off.”

She barely has time to nod when he turns and leaves the room as well. She seems a bit surprised by his haste.

“Don’t worry,” I tell Alicia, taking her hand and moving her face back to me. “The guy is in back-to-back meetings throughout the day and barely had time to come to this one,” I say.

She shrugs. “So, like watching a Managing Director get arrested for trying to steal $30 million is just another entry in his calendar, huh?” Alicia asks me with a bit of snark.

“It’s Wall Street, babe,” I reply back with a chuckle. “If you’re not taking money from somebody, then somebody’s taking it from you.”

Alicia sticks her tongue out at me and takes a step closer. “So I have the day off …” she says, trailing off.

I know where this is going and I pull her closer. She can feel my cock come to life against her thigh. “The Omni Hotel is right across the street, you know?” I ask her.

“What if they don’t have rooms?” Alicia asks with the wide-eyed innocence of someone who doesn’t know the full power of a billionaire.

I grab her hand and lead her out of the conference room as I say, “Then I’ll just buy the hotel and fuck you in the lobby.”

To her credit, Alicia takes it in stride. “Oh okay,” she says. “As long as you have a plan to fuck me, I think we’re good.”

I grin.

I’m going to enjoy her.

Immensely.





179





Alicia





“So, lemme get this right,” I say as I come out of the bedroom to Derek’s private jet to the main cabin. The plane just took off and I got out of my work clothes and put on something sexy.

There’s music playing through the speakers and Derek is making cocktails at the bar. It’s like a flying palace. Seriously, a girl could get used to this.

Anyways, back to what I was saying.

“You used me?” I ask him pointedly. “You realized I was digging through something and you let me keep going hoping it would get Nadia to try and take me out?”

Derek shrugs. “I mean, it’s not like you were in any real danger. Unless, you know…embarrassment.”

I feel my cheeks burn.

“So you realized that those transfers to Iran or dealings in North Korea were being used to mask the money actually going to Nadia’s accounts?” I ask.

He nods. “Offshore accounts she set up in the Bahamas and Cayman Islands,” he says. “But I couldn’t be sure until she fired you for them. Only the person that set them up would know they existed since they were fake.”

I should be upset at this man. He basically took my sleuthing and did some sort of mind fuck to get what he needed.

But I dunno…I guess I’m also glad that he’s not a terrorist. Oh my God, did you just hear me? Like have my standards fallen so low that I'm now glad if the man I’m with isn’t an international criminal?

“You could've just told me, you know,” I tell him, walking to the bar. “You could've trusted me.”

“I didn’t take the chance to tell you, Alicia,” Derek says looking into my eyes. “Because I didn’t want you involved at all.”

“Why not?” I ask back, my indignation piqued.

“Because…I love you.”

Oh.

Well, let’s let that statement hang there.

Derek walks around the bar.

“But all that is over now,” he says and wraps his arms around me. “My money is returned and we have no secrets between each other. We won’t let anything ever get in the middle of us again. Deal?” he asks.

“Except clothes?” I ask, smiling at my cheesy joke.

“Well we won’t let them get between us for long.”

I don’t know how or why I squeal, but I do. And in three seconds, I’m kissing him passionately.

Yeah. So I’m turned on. So sue me.

We’re in his private jet, the whole cabin to ourselves… What do you expect me to do? Sit still while the man I love is so damn close to me? No way, Jose.