Page 95 of Velvet Corruption

Tristan didn’t say a word as I walked in. He didn’t need to. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife, and it wasn’t just the temperature that was cold.

He sat behind the desk, hands folded like he was conducting a goddamn board meeting, but his eyes gave him away. Tired. Angry. I’d seen that look before, and it did scare me.

Maybe not as much as he wanted it to. I kept my hands in my pockets and watched him, quiet.

“You look like shit,” I said.

He didn’t smile. Didn’t even blink.

“You decided to show up, then. Took you a minute,” he said, voice tight.

“I always show up. Can’t control traffic,” I replied. I tried to keep it easy, casual, like I wasn’t standing in front of the man who could end me with a word. “Figured you’d be holed up in that mansion of yours.”

“Wanted to have a conversation without Ade hearing.”

I lifted a brow at that. Adriana didn’t scare easily.

His temper was thin, even if he tried to hold it in. His eyes had that look, the one where he felt everything was about to slip from his control.

“You can do that,” I said, lifting my chin to him. “Talk. Thought you were a shoot first, ask later kind of guy.”

“Don’t fucking test me, little brother.”

His jaw clenched, words bitten off like they tasted of poison. I’d seen that look a hundred times growing up. The one where I knew that before this conversation was over, it would be my fault.

This time, though? This time he wasn’t entirely wrong.

“What, is she pissed at you again?” I asked, letting a grin curl on my mouth.

Tristan was silent, the way he got when he knew he had no fucking clue what he was doing.

I liked the silence. It reminded me of when I was winning.

He didn’t answer. Not right away. He let his anger speak instead, his hands folding into fists. His nails dug into his palm, like if he let go, something worse would slip out.

“She expected this to be solved by now,” he said. “Adriana runs the business with me, Kieran. You know this. If this isn’t solved, it affects everyone.”

His temper was hot, boiling beneath the surface, a stark contrast to the cold of the room. The frost on the windows. The breath misting between us. I stayed silent, giving him time to say whatever he needed to say.

I already knew what was coming.

“I gave you a job,” Tristan said, voice low. The pressure of his stare was as heavy as the room. “A simple fucking job.”

He leaned back, crossing his arms like it was a struggle to keep his fists from flying. His fingers flexed, curling into the fabric of his sleeves.

“You fucked up.”

I didn’t respond.

Tristan was good at holding his anger. Except when he wasn’t.

“I gave you a job,” he repeated, leaning forward this time. “And instead of doing it, you’ve been following her around like a fucking dog.”

That got to me more than I wanted it to. I forced myself not to react.

“I’m still doing my job. You’re just not giving me enough time.”

“Really?” He barked out a laugh, shaking his head. “You were supposed to destroy her, Kieran. You were supposed to make her unelectable. And yet, here we are. One day out, and she’s winning. So tell me—what the fuck happened?”

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