Page 143 of Brutal Collateral

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Griffin – Ten Minutes Earlier

“Is Ava in here?” Kaiasks me, his big head sticking into my office.

I look up from my desk, and wish to God she was here. Under my desk sucking my cock, but I would never make my wife do that in an office. As much as I want everyone here to know my marriage is real and we’re fucking our brains out, I don’t need to flaunt it.

This is still a workplace.

Not answering Kai brings him all the way inside the office, closing my door behind him.

“No, Ava isn’t here,” I answer. “Why would she be?”

Kai spins around. “I let her in. She was in the lobby.”

“She was?” I bolt out of my chair. “Was she alone?”

“Errr.” Kai realizes he just got her guard in trouble. But so long as Bourne put her on the elevator, that’s fine.

“Where is she? Where ismy wife,Powers? And why are those damn blinds closed?” A sense of dread that she’d see them drawn and make a salacious assumption washes over me.

Fuck.

Kai points to the stack of papers on my desk. “Financials, sir. The blinds are regulatory to keep everything private.”

“Sure. Great.Where is my wife?” I snap, feeling unhinged that she’s close but out of reach at the same time.

“That’s what I asked you.” Kai pulls at his tie and goes pale. “Aw, fuck. Ava said Wren didn’t let her in.”

“What do you mean, didn’t let her in?” I practically growl in anger.

“I...”

It clicks in a heartbeat what happened. My wife showed up. My assistant Wren, who’s going to be a dead bird at the bottom of a cage by tomorrow staring at yesterday’s news because it’s clear she has a thing for me, didn’t let her in.

And Kai showed Ava to my office where the fucking blinds were drawn.

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