Page 68 of Queen of Ruin

“That’s a given.” He sets the pen down.

A ruckus in the office distracts me, and I turn around to see a group of men enter the center of the bullpen where a small basketball hoop is erected under the railing of the second floor.

They lift one of the guys, who slams a basketball through the hoop as they cheer. From the second floor, Lock watches with amusement.

I turn back to Alistair. “What’s that all about?”

He rubs the back of his neck as if he doesn’t want to tell me, but he does anyway. “When someone brings in a particularly wealthy client, you get a slam dunk.” His cheeks turn rosy with embarrassment.

I turn back to watch as they congregate under the hoop.

“Will you get a slam dunk for bringing me in?” I speculate.

His cheeks turn an even brighter shade of pink. “To be frank, five million barely gets you a pat on the back here.” He raises an eyebrow.

This is a world that I don’t understand and simply don’t belong in, because five million dollars is life altering to the point that it makes me queasy. To think it means nothing to them – Alistair included – just makes me feel even more over my head. I stand to leave, but Alistair quickly rises from his chair, rounding the desk to stop me.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I shake my head, grabbing my purse.

“Please, don’t leave.”

“I don’t know why I came here to begin with.”

“I’m just being honest with you. I don’t want you to have any pretense about what we’re doing here, and who you're doing business with,” he explains, and I can see the sincerity in his face.

“Look, it’s more than just my ethical obligation to do the right thing by you.”

“It’s because I’m Darren’s wife,” I say for him.

“No,” he states resolutely. “It’s because I care about you.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “I might have had a hand in everything that went down in Vegas, but do not think that I was ever okay with it, and the more I got to know you, the more it weighed on my conscience.”

“You might think I accepted the offer too eagerly, Alistair, but you’re wrong.”

“I have never thought that about you.”

I raise an eyebrow.

“Truthfully, I advised Darren not to give you access to the money before the contract was up.”

I purse my lips. “I suppose that’s fair.”

“Look, however you came into this money is irrelevant. Here, you’re a number, and that’s not a bad thing if you’re looking for anonymity.”

I sit back in the chair, placing my purse in my lap.

“If you let me manage your money, I will make sure that, whatever the reason you accepted it, it will be more than enough to sustain you for a long time to come.”

“I just want to make sure my grandmother has the best care.”

Alistair sits back, intrigued. “Okay, tell me about your grandmother.”

26

VERY DIFFERENT VIEW

DARREN

---