Grump on the Run, page 6
“We’ll figure it out,” Adrian sighed.
“Come here,” I said, inviting him to rest his head on my lap. “I always like to get massaged like this after a long day.” I started massaging the base of his neck.
“If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you're a nice person,” Adrian chuckled.
“Ow!” Adrian laughed as I pressed hard on his trapezius.
“Not so nice now, am I?” I laughed.
“Naughty, then?” Adrian smiled, turning round to face me and pulling me into a kiss.
“You fiend,” I joked, kissing him back.
“I know where I'm going,” Adrian said.
“Where's that?” I asked.
“Vegas,” Adrian said. “Once I finish this side quest we can face the board and the traitors among them.”
“The sooner the better,” I said. “I was thinking you could do a little surprise auditing. There might be clues somewhere in the bookkeeping.”
“Trident’s books are clean. Timothy’s firm has auditors that go through them every three months,” Adrian said.
“A lot of shady business can go on within three-month intervals,” I said. “All they’d need to do is cover it up before the auditing team gets to Trident. That’s why surprising them with one large general audit is probably one of the best ways to find out who your enemies are. The people trying to kill Trident.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Adrian asked.
“Use a different auditing team. That way, no one has a heads up,” I said.
“Timothy wouldn’t like that,” Adrian said.
“He doesn’t have to,” I said. “It’ll be a one-time thing.”
“We’ll try it out,” Adrian said.
“Adrian, you’re the boss now,” I said. “You’re going to step on people’s toes even when you don’t move your legs. People will see you sneeze and be offended by it. You have to develop a healthy aptitude for offending people. And be ready to deal with those who offend you, regardless of who they are.”
“Machiavella,” Adrian teased, raising his eyebrows at me.
“Who are you?” I laughed, punching his chest.
“Adrian Ross,” Adrian smiled and pulled me closer.
“You’re a curious man, Adrian Ross,” I smiled, straddling him and leaning in to stare into his eyes.
“And at the moment,” I said, unbuttoning his shirt. “I want to discover all of you.”
“Well, there’s a lot for you to see,” Adrian said, his hands, making their way to my waist.
Adrian sent shivers down my being as his fingers trailed expertly around my body. His thumbs circled around the tautness of my hardened nipples, while he kissed avalanches on the base of my neck and robbed me of my senses. My legs squeezed his waist as he nibbled gently on my earlobes. I wanted him.
“Adrian, take me.”
He grunted. With predatory precision, I clawed his clothing off while he slipped the rest of my dress off and discarded my lacy red thong across the room.
“I want you now.” I begged.
“Soon enough.” He teased.
He trailed kisses down past my navel and bit my left hip with a feverish sucking and nibbling effect. The fire of lust burned in my stomach as the muscles of my abdomen clenched in excitement. He lowered his mouth to my clitoris and with a soft quick motion licked it once. Twice. Three times. I moaned.
“Ugh, stop teasing me.”
His tongue brushed my clit again and again with progressively more force. He drank of me as if I was to be his last drop of water. I groaned in delight. His fingers plunged into the moistness of my loins. He thrust them in and out while continuing the pleasure with his mouth. His tongue continued its rapid dance and suddenly began to explore with a hungry urgency. I gasped out his name as the pleasure overcame me in a tsunami of a climax. My body shuddered in completion.
Adrian triumphantly thrust the shaft of his manhood straight into me after drinking his fill of me. He groaned in satisfaction at the wetness. Without haste, he thrust only a few more times before he filled me with warm, sticky pleasure.
Chapter 11
Adrian
I sat in the back of a yellow taxi, stuck in traffic, surrounded by a cacophonous chorale of cuss words, honking noises. I was here in secret, I could not simply walk into the Shelton, a hotel I own, as I would do on a normal day. Having the press badger me was one problem, but I couldn’t risk letting anyone I didn’t trust know of my presence in back in America. Trisha was head of this division of hotels. I didn’t know many things about my enemies yet, but I knew Trisha wasn’t my friend, and if anyone was or was siding with my enemies, it was her.
Alexandra told me all about what went down when she threw her drink at Trisha, and honestly, I wished I could have taken back my words when I fired her. No wonder she was so angry with me. She got fired for fighting for me, and I just kicked her out when I didn’t know what happened, but that was in the past now. Alexandra and I had gotten over that phase. We were friends now…or something more than that. It was obvious she liked me. The feeling was mutual, and we weren’t particularly hiding it from each other.
“First time in San Francisco?” the taxi driver, a young man in his late twenties asked.
“Well, I can’t really say I’ve ever been to San Francisco,” I said. “I’ve come here many times, but I’ve not actually seen much of it.” ‘
“So, you haven’t had time to enjoy the city,” the taxi driver smiled. “This city is a great place to be if you know how to have fun.”
“I’ve only ever gone out on business before,” I said, realizing how monotonous my life has been. “Too young for vacations.”
“Nonsense,” the taxi driver laughed. “I started this job four years ago with my friend.” He pointed at the picture of a man, plastered on the windshield with duct tape. “I didn’t have a car, but he did, and I used to be so mad at him when he’d go out on vacations randomly.”
“You had a right to be,” I said. “That’s terrible work ethic.”
“It was, it was,” the taxi driver laughed. “He’d go out sometimes for a whole weekend, and I wouldn’t know where he went. He’d just disappear. It all made sense two years ago when he finally told me he was sick, and he’d been going to the doctor. He died after a few months…couldn’t keep up with the payments again. He left me this car as a parting gift.”
“That’s really sad,” I said.
“I was the only one left. All his brothers were in jail, so I had to do the funeral arrangements. One day, I picked up an old man. He was curious about the picture, so he asked if I was married.” The taxi driver chuckled. “When I told him about everything, he told me not to worry and wrote me a check for fifteen K. Fattest check I ever cashed. It covered the cost and gave me a little extra. He told me no one should ever be too busy for a vacation.”
My dad always said that. He always did.
“I dropped him off at the Shelton,” the Taxi driver said. “I check around there every once in a while, hoping I’ll get to see him. Tell him thank you properly.”
“What are the chances?” I laughed, taking my phone out of my pocket.
“Slim,” the taxi driver sighed. “But if I ever get the chance to see him again, I’ll tell him thank you properly.” The taxi driver smiled at me through the mirror. “I was saving for a house when Buddy died. I was gonna use the money I saved to bear the cost, but that check he gave me stopped that, and I know it took another two years, but I’m never gonna have to struggle for rent. Soon, I’ll have enough to get a second car, and I’ll be able to start a small business, like Buddy and I always planned to do.”
“I don’t wanna jump to conclusions, but is this him?” I asked, showing him a picture of my dad.
“Yes! That’s him!” the taxi driver exclaimed. “He’s the one. He like your dad or something?”
“Yeah, he was my dad. He died early this year,” I said.
“Damn,” the taxi driver sighed. “Your dad was a good man. I mean, it was two years ago, but that’s something I’ll never forget.”
“There’s no way this isn’t fate,” I laughed. “So, I’m gonna ask for your number. We can do business together.”
“Sounds like a plan,” the taxi driver said as he pulled over to the side.
“Name’s Jordan,” he said as he put his number in my phone.
“Adrian. Adrian Ross,” I smiled. “Save my number when I call you.”
“I will,” Jordan said with a smile and drove off after I waved him goodbye.
I walked down the street with my hands in my pocket, fiddling with the flash drive I found in my dad’s library, and a wad of money as I searched the buildings with my eyes. This was the address. 18E Quinby Lane. I nodded as I confirmed the address. I had gotten information on the whereabouts of Pete Barker from Doyle, a former member of an intelligence agency. He’d been loyal to my dad since my dad paid off his loans and set him up with a nice job in a bodyguard agency. I knew I could trust him with knowledge of my whereabouts and favors like this.
I walked right up to the front door and knocked slightly. No one responded, but the smell of baked beans and the heat coming from the small gaps at the bottom of the door told me that someone was home.
“Pete, I know you’re in here. It’s Adrian,” I said. Doyle had given me all the information on Pete that I needed, and I wasn’t really happy with his situation, but he happened to be in the perfect position to do what I needed him to do.
A slight movement in the house started and stopped right in front of the door. “Adrian? Like…Adrian Ross?”
“In the flesh,” I said. “It’s freezing out here. Why don’t you let me in for a cup of coffee?”
“Who’s with you?” Pete asked.
“I’m here alone, Pete,” I said. “I just wanna talk.”
There was brief hesitation, but the door finally opened, revealing a man I hadn’t seen in fourteen years since I was pulled out of Harvard. Pete was a shadow of himself. His hair was in a mess, his body had undergone gone a retrogressive transformation from a muscular work of art, to an unsightly, lean caricature of meat and bony fingers that nearly rattled as I shook his hands. It made sense that he was this way. He was in crushing debt. So much that he was a week away from losing his house, and there was nothing he could do to stop it since he was too busy fighting for his daughter’s life while she bravely battled leukemia. He’d lost it all…his career as a bank manager, his wife, his car, and from the lightless look in his eyes, I could tell he’d lost hope, but I was his miracle. If he would let me be.
“It’s been a while, Pete,” I said, sitting on the worn-out couch he offered me.
“The worst years of my life…” Pete laughed humorlessly. “But not everyone gets life easy. I read about you in a business magazine last month. This is all my fault, so I guess karma’s getting me back, huh? Why are you here, Adrian. To gloat?”
“The little prank you and your friends pulled on me fourteen years ago is ruining my life again. I don’t have the time to gloat,” I sighed. “I wouldn’t be here if Jeremy didn’t tell me everything when the police got involved.”
“I’m sorry about what I did, man,” Pete sighed. “I didn’t know Brie was a lying bitch. She fucked us over. I’m a victim too.”
“You’re a victim?” I laughed. “You’re not a victim if you meticulously planned to creep into my life and destroy it. If I wasn’t lucky, I could have really hurt Jack Davidson…or worse.”
“I would never have done any of that if Brie didn’t lie to me in the first place!” Pete shouted with what little strength he had left.
“I’m not denying that,” I said, staring at him straight in his sunken eyes. “To have a mind that can think up something so wicked is what makes you despicable.”
“Everyone’s evil, Adrian Ross. All we need is something to trigger the madness that we’re hiding,” Pete said. “I’ve apologized, but if you don’t mind me, I need to find a way to make three hundred bucks for Amelia’s drugs.”
“I have a deal for you,” I said, stretching out the wad of hundred-dollar bills.
Chapter 12
Alexandra
I wondered why Adrian hadn’t done this sooner. In just one week, he had shut everyone up. He turned himself from the reckless billionaire bad boy to a public hero. He’d gotten Pete Barker to confess and tell the whole truth, and in return, Adrian paid his debts and moved his daughter to a private hospital while refusing to press charges. In the eye of the public, he was the benevolent, young, new head of the Trident Group who shouldered their hatred to protect an old friend. He was back, and that meant that it was time for the audit, and for me to catch Ben Miller, Hank Jones, and whoever was involved with them in a box.
Ben and Hank turned ghostly pale when they saw me walk into the boardroom along with Adrian, but they couldn’t object to my reinstatement into Trident as a general manager. And even though my post was in London, they knew I was a threat to them. Since they had acted like they wouldn’t have had me kicked out of Trident, they had to act like they were happy to see me.
It felt good to walk around the hotel. Everything was familiar, and I didn’t know whether to feel good about it because it meant that the standard I set while I was in Trident was so great that it was hard to improve upon, or whether to be disappointed at the lack of innovation displayed by Timothy Crenshaw. Well, he was just a lawyer, and he didn’t have any managerial training. s
“Feels good to be back,” Adrian smirked, pouring me a glass of juice as we celebrated our official return by having a small party for two.
“It does,” I smiled back, placing my glass on the table and walking over to Adrian. “Press?”
“I still have the press on my back, but it’s better now that I know they only want to talk about how great I am.” Adrian smirked and walked me over to the dimly lit living room.
“Someone’s tooting his own horn.”
“So, you agree that I am great guy,” Adrian smiled smugly.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You implied it. The only way I can ‘toot my own horn’ is if the qualities I’m bragging about are something I actually possess. Otherwise, I’m just making noise, no?” Adrian said.
“It’s hard to fault your logic,” I conceeded. “You are a ‘great guy,’ Adrian Ross.”
“It’s no fun when you agree so early,” Adrian sighed.
“I have to find one way to kill your joy,” I said with a wink.
“Who are you?” Adrian laughed.
“My name is Alexandra Holmes, and my time in America is ending soon,” I said.
“Can’t you extend your stay?” Adrian asked. “I’ll make it worth your time…every second of it.”
I could feel mischief rushing down my veins at Adrian’s wiles, but…
“Much as I’d love to indulge in the most scandalous acts with you, I must close my eyes to the forbidden fruit and go on back to London,” I said. “The Redstone Manor will not run itself, and it’s going to get suspicious if I’m not sleeping at the Trident Hotels after having sold my house here in LA. It was suspicious enough when you welcomed me back into Trident.”
“Then, let me make it worth your while tonight, and every other night until you leave America.” Adrian inched closer.
“Seducer!” I giggled, attempting to push Adrian away, but he was much bigger than me and pushing him only took me off balance.
“You can’t push me away,” Adrian chuckeled. “You can pull me closer though.”
“Adrian, you’re a b—” He never let me finish a sentence, shutting me up with a kiss.
“I didn’t hear what you said… what did you say?” Adrian smiled wickedly with his hands around my waist while he stared victoriously into my eyes. He knew he had caught me.
I shook my head and reached for him, signaling him to continue his kiss. He’d earned it, and I think I had earned it too.
“Stay until the end of the audit,” Adrian said after seducing my willpower to its knees.
“You win,” I sighed. “Plus, it’s going to be fun to see what will come out of my little scheme.”
“What are your predictions?” Adrian asked, tracing his forefinger around my lower lip.
“Well, the audit is going to expose two things. Those who are corrupt, and those who are your enemies,” Alexandra said. “This audit is going to step on a lot of toes, and a few custom-made Italian shoes, and so, the board is going to act up. They’ll probably try and break your wings with a bold move. I’m not sure what it is yet but be prepared for heavy moves and outright betrayal.”
“But the board tried to have me resign because of the rumors. Won’t the audit just be another reason for them to want to force me to step down?” Adrian asked.
“But that’s how we catch them, the bo—“
“An impromptu audit doesn’t pose a threat to the progress of Trident. If anything, it helps it, and since there aren’t any rumors flying around, they don’t have any real reason to push for my resigning.” Adrian said. “Those who push for it are the traitors.”
“You’re catching on quickly,” I smiled.
“I guess the old man knew exactly what he was doing.” Adrian smiled.
“He did.”
“He raised an evil genius,” Adrian laughed. “Now, we wait to see the results of the audit, and whoever is found wanting, we kick ‘em out.”
“Sure about that?” I asked.
“As hell,” Adrian said, stiffening his jaws as if biting on an invisible rock. Adrian was clever and he had the resolve to do whatever needed to be done in most cases, but when it came to stuff like family, it seemed there was a bias. I couldn’t tell him the truth. He had to see it for himself. This audit was done to kill off all the pawns on Ben and Hank’s chessboard. Without anyone to use to torment Adrian, they were going to have to be the ones to get their hands dirty…if they were greedy enough.
“Let’s hope you are when the time comes,” I said.
