Having finally taken my revenge, I lift my bloody hand and pat Alexei’s back. “Thank you.”
“My greatest pleasure,” he chuckles. “First we clean up, then we drink.”
I let out a chuckle and watch as Alexei signals for Mr. Wan and his crew of cleaners that have been waiting for me to finish off Ballmer. They get to work, dismembering the carcass. Piece by piece, they throw it in a container of acid.
My smile grows as I watch the fucker dissolve bit by bit until there’s nothing left. When the warehouse has been cleared of any trace of what happened here, I walk to the back of my car and take out the leather bag with the agreed-upon amount inside.
When I hand it to Mr. Wan, he tips his head and hands me a bottle of paint thinners. “A gift for you.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
Mr. Wan and his crew take care of any cleaning jobs Alexei has. I get a feeling I’ll be seeing them often in the future.
I use the thinners to clean the blood off of me and the remainder to burn the clothes I was wearing.
Once everything has been taken care of, Alexei turns to Demitri. “Take my car home.” He opens the passenger door to my car. “We’re going to celebrate.”
I feel restless when I walk into the offices of Indie Ink. It’s been two weeks since I got rid of Ballmer, and the hunger for more still crawls under my skin.
I don’t belong at Indie Ink anymore. The work is tedious and soul-crushing.
I ignore everyone as I make my way to my office, and I’ve just shut the door behind me when it opens again.
“Morning,” Ryker says, and while I’m taking off my jacket, he takes a seat in front of my desk. “You’ve been quiet lately.”
I smile at him as I sit down in my chair, rolling up my sleeves. “Hana.”
Ryker’s one eyebrow lifts. “That serious?”
“If it were up to me, she’d be living with me already.”
Ryker lets out a low whistle, then he jokes, “Damn, from playboy to committed in less than a year.”
I let out a chuckle. “How are things with you?”
“Same shit, different day,” he answers. His eyes lock with mine, and then he tilts his head. “There’s something different about you.”
I shrug and open my laptop.
His eyes narrow, then he murmurs, “You really love her.”
“More than anything,” I admit.
A wide smile spreads over his face. “I’m happy for you.” He gets up, then asks, “Drinks this weekend?”
“Sure. Friday?”
Ryker nods, and then I watch as he walks to the door.
“Are you busy today?” I ask.
He shakes his head.
“Want to go to Hayes & Koslov Holdings with me? They’re almost done with the renovations.”
It’s the new company I started with Alexei when I took over Ballmer’s imports and exports business. Once I leave Indie Ink, Christopher, my brother, and Dash, Ryker’s cousin, will handle my workload until Jade graduates, and she can take over.
“Sure. What time?”
“One.”
He nods. “Catch you then.”
As Ryker leaves, Mark, my personal assistant, comes in with my coffee, and placing it on the desk, he takes a seat. “You have two meetings, and there’s the visit to Jinglin.”
“Is that all for today?” I ask as I pull up the contract between Jinglin and Hayes & Koslov Holdings. I forward it to Mark.
“So far,” he answers.
“I’ve emailed you the contract. Get everything ready.”
“Will do.” He gets up and walks to the door.
Enjoying my coffee, I check the stock market and international business news.
Letting out a sigh, I get started with work. The sooner I’m done, the sooner I can get back to Hana.
HANA
Tristan’s been busy at work, moving into the new premises, the past month, and I haven’t gotten to see him as much.
On the plus side, I’ve been able to spend more time with my friends and family.
But I miss him. It feels like half of me is gone when he isn’t with me.
At least I’ll see him tomorrow.
I walk to the living room with a bunch of facial masks and place them on the coffee table.
“Damn, I need this pamper session,” Mila says as she comes to sit on a couch. “We’re watching Smallville, right?”
I grin at her. “Yes.” We’ve been binge-watching the series with her.
Fallon and Jade bring the snacks and drinks, and when the four of us are seated, and Mila presses play, I hand the facial masks out. “They’re hydraulic acid ones for super moisture.”
We put them on, and I try to get into the show, but my thoughts keep going to Tristan.
I wonder what he’s doing right now?
Noah walks into the living room and takes one look at us before he turns around and heads back down the hallway.
“I have an extra one for you,” I call after him.
“Hell no,” he shouts back, making us all laugh.
Fallon glances at Jade. “How are things with you and Hunter?”
Jade grins, and it crinkles the mask, making me chuckle.
“I’m so happy,” Jade practically coos.
That makes eight of us. I’m glad they sorted everything out between them.
Fallon’s eyes turn to Mila. “What’s up with you and Jase?”
Mila shakes her head. “You need to ask him.” She lets out a sigh. “As far as I know, we’re just friends.”
My eyebrows lift slightly.
Mila’s gaze locks on mine, and then she tilts her head. “What about you?”
“Me?” I’ve only told Fallon and my parents about Tristan and me. For an unexplainable reason, I just don’t want to share how serious things have become with anyone else.
“Yeah,” Mila smiles. “You and Tristan. What’s happening there?”
As casually as I can, I shrug. “We’re dating.”
“And?” Jade asks.
“Just dating,” I repeat myself. “We’ll see where it goes.”
Fallon jumps in to save me. “Hopefully, Kao will ask me on a date soon.”
“God, that would be awesome,” Jade says.
My phone vibrates, and I quickly pull it out of my pocket.
T: Miss you.
H: Miss you more.
T: Then put me out of my misery and come down.
Excitement bursts in my chest. I glance at my friends, and not wanting to just leave, I ask, “Tristan’s here. Is it okay if I go.”
“Sure,” Fallon answers.
H: 5 minutes.
I get up, then Mila laughs. “Just take off the mask first.”
“Crap,” I chuckle as I pull it off and dispose of it. I dart to my room and quickly change into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Slipping on my shoes, I hurry out of my room.
The girls wave at me as I head out the front door. When I step out of the building, and I see Tristan, I break into a run. He catches me and locking me to his chest, he lifts my feet off the ground. His mouth finds mine, and then everything around us fades away.
Finally.
When he breaks the kiss, he sets me back down. His eyes caress my face, and then he opens the passenger door. “Have you had dinner?”