Boy in the Club a boy & billionaire novel - Rachel Kane Page 0,95
him up and destroy what’s hurting him—”
“Wait, back up, why is he in trouble?”
I got so caught up that I didn’t even realize what I was saying.
Fuck.
I shake my head. “That part’s not relevant. What I’m trying to tell you—”
“Is he okay? Is something wrong? Do you need help?”
No, I just paid a quarter of a million dollars to ensure nothing is wrong, and I have the sinking feeling that maybe I failed at that.
My second scotch goes down as fast as the first.
“Pace yourself, man. It’s okay. If you’re telling me you have feelings for Finn…that’s great. I mean that. I honestly do. That puts a whole different spin on things.”
“I like him so much, Dalton. But…I’m scared.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say those words.”
“They’re not easy to say.”
“What can I do to help?”
It’s such an odd question I don’t know how to respond. Help? Me? Dalton can’t help me, I’m the one who helps everybody else.
I’m the competent one, the master of business and money, giving orders, solving problems…
And the thing I really need help with—ensuring that Jimi never rears his ugly head again—is the one thing I can’t tell Dalton about.
I am not in the best frame of mind when I get back to the office, but Finn wraps his arms around me the moment I step off the elevator. I wish it improved my mood.
I wish anything could.
“How…how did it go? Wait, let’s get you into the office and close the door.” He’s practically pushing me in. I go straight to the drink tray. Normally I just keep that around for company, the out-of-town guys who insist on boozing their way through business meetings, but my nerves are raw, and I’d thought the conversation with Dalton might help, but it just made me feel more hopeless.
Finn’s watching me open the decanter, his eyes full of worry. “Colby…talk to me.”
“Nothing to talk about. It’s done.”
Is that true? Or will Jimi be back with a counteroffer from his client?
I can’t tell him that. I realized on the way back here, I can’t even tell him about the money. It’s too sordid. It’s like… It’s like I’ve bought Finn from Jimi, and I can’t bear to think like that. Worse still if he had to think about it.
“You’re worrying me…can you tell me anything about what happened?”
My drink pauses on its way to my lips. I finally look at him, and it’s breaking my heart how vulnerable he seems right now. Like his entire future is at stake.
What if we ran away? What if I just took him somewhere—anywhere—that Jimi and his goons couldn’t find him?
I had endless resources at my disposal…
You do for now. But what happens if Jimi gets that counteroffer and comes back for Finn and finds him missing? You think he won’t immediately release that video to destroy you?
“We sat down for a meeting,” I say, hoping the lie-by-omission will go down easily, the more simply I tell it. “I threatened him. Pretty harshly. I think I mentioned bodily harm.”
That makes Finn laugh. “You’re gonna bust him up?”
“Well, I don’t think I said I personally would be doing the damage, but the implication was clear.”
His arms are around me again and it feels so good, so right, and I have to set down my drink and hold him, lifting him onto his toes. One of his legs snakes around mine, and without quite meaning to, we find ourselves lip to lip again, caught in that moment just before a kiss, a moment we have found ourselves in again and again these days.
There is so much warmth and care in his eyes. “I’d do the same for you,” he breathes. “You know that, right? I’d protect you, if anyone ever came for you.”
It’s so sweet I don’t know what to say. “You’ll never have to do that, if I have anything to say about it.”
“But I would. I’d take on anybody. I can’t believe you just went out there and fought for me. That’s so…”
He snuggles against me, except this is not exactly an innocent little hug, not with the way his leg is pulling my hips in closer, and the incipient hardness I can feel in his pants.
Suddenly his eyes open wide. “Oh hell! I forgot to tell you!”
I’m startled by the change in expression. “What’s up?”
“Not to kill the mood, but your friends came by. Hawk and…what’s the old one’s name?”