does that mean?” My heart started racing. Because I knew what it meant.
“We both know what Uncle Richard is capable of.”
Terrible things. He’d fucking killed my wife-to-be. He was heartless. He was a monster. And there had been things that happened that I thought for sure would have resulted in retaliation. Like when Isabella met her untimely end. For some reason, there hadn’t been any repercussions.
“Aw, isn’t she cute,” Poppy said and pointed to Scarlett in the photo. “I heard she really likes to open doors for strangers.”
“Poppy, I swear to God…”
“It’s not polite to swear, Matthew. You know Uncle Richard’s rules. After all, you’ve signed a contract agreeing to abide by them.”
“If you touch one hair on Scarlett’s head…”
“Me?” She laughed. “God no. Whatever makes you think I’d touch a stranger’s hair? Gross. I’m not a peasant. I have people for that.”
I swallowed hard.
“So call my uncle back, yes?”
I didn’t respond.
“If you don’t, I think we both know what will happen.”
Yeah, I’d gotten the hint. But she and her minions would never get close enough to Scarlett to make good on a veiled threat. James had the best security money could buy. And I wouldn’t let it happen. “Get out of my office.”
“Oh.” She shook her shoulders. “I like when you get stern with me. You know…I saw your dating profile. It was very endearing.”
“Out. Now.”
“You should just cancel that. You won’t be needing it. I think there’s a different future laid out for you already. Oh, and I almost forgot.” Poppy pulled out an envelope from her purse. “This is from Uncle Richard.” She placed the envelope on my desk, the fake nail on her pointer finger practically poking a hole through the paper. “Would you like to read this now? You can write a response and I can take it to him. I’ll wait.”
“I’m not going to ask you again to leave, Poppy.” I grabbed my desk phone. “I’m calling security.”
“You’re no fun, Matthew. We’ll change that, I’m sure. See you soon.” She blew me a kiss, turned on her heel, and walked out of my office, taking the ice-cold air with her.
I stared at the envelope with my name written across the front. There was no use reading it. Surely it would be the same as the countless texts Mr. Pruitt had sent me over the years. Yet, I found myself ripping it open anyway.
I understand why you’re angry with me. But I’ve been protecting you for years now. And for years you have returned my kindness by ignoring me. This is a matter of life or death now, Matthew. Call me back immediately.
I crumpled the paper in my fist and threw it in the trash. Life or death? He didn’t value life. And protecting me? What the fuck was he talking about? He’d never protected me from anything. And he certainly didn’t care about me. Or else he wouldn’t have sent Poppy here to flirt with me. Or threaten me. Or whatever the fuck had just happened.
I picked up my phone. I’d had enough. It was one thing to harass me once a year. It was another thing to threaten one of my best friends’ daughters. I’d had enough of this family of psychopaths. I pulled up his contact info, but my thumb paused above the call button.
Tanner thought I should just talk to him and get it over with. I knew most people would give me the same advice. But I didn’t want to talk to Mr. Pruitt. That was what he wanted. And I didn’t want to do anything that Mr. Pruitt wanted me to do. He’d find some way to twist something I said and get me stuck doing something for his muddied name. And I wasn’t having any part of it. I set down the phone and walked over to the floor to ceiling windows, overlooking Manhattan. I didn’t want to talk to him. I didn’t want to step foot back into his haunted apartment. I wanted nothing to do with him or his evil niece.
I took a deep breath as I watched the cars speeding down below. I needed to put a stop to him trying to insert himself into my life. And the answer was right at my fingertips.
It was my job to sort out financial messes. Which meant I knew exactly what to look for if I needed to…oh, I don’t know…find proof that someone was laundering money. And Mr. Pruitt was definitely laundering money. He had to