Reign of a King (Kingdom Duet #1) - Rina Kent Page 0,10
she’d do the marketing because she’s a genius at that.
Five years later, we were killing it. Our company had gone from two people to more than one hundred. We made that happen. Just Layla and I. Until that bastard Jake ruined what we built in years in a matter of months.
“This is the best.” She takes another slurp. “I feel more energised and ready to kick butt.”
“You must’ve had some coffee already.”
“I need two to fully wake up. Remember dorm days?”
“Ugh.” I used to literally splash her with water so she’d wake up and not be late for class.
“Uh-huh. Exactly.”
“Looks good.” I motion at the board.
“Not good enough, but forget about that.” She takes my hand and leads me to the sofa opposite my desk, then tells Alexa to stop playing the music. “How did it go yesterday?”
“I told you.”
“A text in the middle of the night that says, ‘I think we’re good, talk to you tomorrow’ explains rubbish. I need details.”
“Lay…”
“All of them,” she speaks like a stern mother and I sigh, then tell her the gist of what went down yesterday and the dreadful meeting with Jonathan. I’d previously told her that the mere thought of that particular encounter scared the shit out of me.
“Bollocks,” she breathes out after I’m finished.
“Bollocks indeed.”
“So your nephew really called you Mum?”
“Seriously, Lay?”
“What? I think that’s cute.”
“Aiden is anything but cute. He’s the mini version of his father.”
“So what’s the problem here?”
“Jonathan threatened me. If I go through with this with Ethan, he’ll come after me.”
“Not if you have Ethan’s protection.”
My brow furrows. “What do you mean?”
She takes a generous gulp of her iced coffee and crosses one leg over the sofa, fully facing me. “Okay, listen up. So Jonathan is like this big bad wolf, right? Guess who can kill a wolf?”
“A hunter?”
“Yeah, but we don’t have that. What’s the next best thing?”
“I’m not even sure where you’re going with this. Is this another one of your crazy ideas?”
“Focus, mate. What else but a hunter can kill a wolf?”
“Spare me the suspense.”
“Another wolf.”
“Another wolf?”
“The only way to bring Jonathan down is to use Ethan.”
“Really?”
“Why do you think Jonathan is so against the idea of you going to Ethan? He knows that if you have Steel Corporation’s support, he won’t be able to touch you. In a way, we’ll be under Ethan’s protection, and he’s known to take great care of small businesses and even their lawsuits.”
“You think?”
“I’m kind of sure.”
“Kind of?”
“The fact that he insists to know where you’ve been in the past keeps throwing me off.” She takes another sip of her coffee. “Why don’t you clear that up?”
“I don’t owe him anything.”
“You don’t, but if it can clear a misunderstanding, do it. It’s better not to be on his radar at all.”
Problem is, I think I already am. I screwed it up yesterday and I’ve been flagged by Jonathan whether I like it or not.
Besides, what misunderstanding could there be? Jonathan and I always lived in different worlds. Hell, his nineteen-year-old son doesn’t seem to know he has an aunt.
We have that much distance between us, yet he acted as if it never existed.
“So?” Layla urges.
“What?”
“What are you waiting for? Call Ethan.”
“Shouldn’t I give him more time to think about it?”
“More like forget about it. A man like him must receive a hundred company offers per day. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but you get the idea. Hit it while it’s hot, mate.”
I hide my laughter at the way she talks. Being brought up as the youngest girl after four older brothers turned Layla adorably tomboyish.
“What are you laughing at?”
“You sound like a street thug.”
“Suck my D.”
Layla is the type who always wants to curse, but she refrains out of respect for her religion, so she either uses initials or spells the words out.
“You don’t have a dick, Layla.”
She makes a face, then claps her hands. “Come on, no time to waste. Get your designing mojo.”
“I’m nervous about this one.”
“That’s what you say every time and you knock socks off. Now, off to work.”
My heart warms at her words. Layla believes in me, even when I don’t believe in myself. She’s the best friend and partner I could’ve wished for.
It’s due to those facts that I protect her from my past. All she knows about me is that I’m an orphan — which is far from the truth.
I stand up and hug her. She awkwardly pats my back. Another thing about Lay? She doesn’t like hugs or being touched in