Page 26 of A Geek Girl's Guide to Kissing a Video Gamer
Shaking her head, she said, “Nope. I made a deal.”
The waitress returned to the table, chuckling. Xavier suspected she’d seen Sadie’s reaction to the first bite. “Can I get you something else, honey?”
Sadie sucked in more air. “Just some milk.”
“Okay, but it just builds from there.”
“I’ll be fine.” Sadie picked up the burger and took an even bigger bite this time. “Just need milk.”
Xavier grimaced. “Are you sure? Will you get sick?”
“No. I mean, it’s pretty warm, I won’t lie, but I grew up eating spicy stuff. I’m not going to get sick.”
Jamison whistled. “I’ll give you a ten on determination.”
Sadie finished the bite she’d just taken and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Then you should know that Buck’s giving me controlling interest if I get you to sign with Empire.”
Jamison took a deep breath. “Thank you for your candor. I appreciate that.” He shook his head. “Interesting. I’m a little surprised by that. Buck didn’t strike me as someone who would give up much of anything.”
He took a bite of his burger. Swallowing, he washed it down with his drink and continued. “And he certainly doesn’t come across as someone who would share either.”
“No,” Xavier replied, agreeing with Jamison more than he let on.
For now, he’d keep that and hiring the investigator to himself. If Sadie liked him as much as he liked her, she’d understand that he was protecting himself. There was even a good chance she’d appreciate it if it shed light on why Buck was behaving the way he was. Xavier hoped she would anyway. The little nagging voice in the back of his mind could take a hike.
Chapter 17
Sitting on the edge of the hotel bed, Sadie dug her fingernails into the mattress. That burger she’d eaten was tearing her stomach up. Enough that she’d feigned exhaustion to go to bed. Her mouth still tingled, and the burn was sitting in her chest dead center.
She burped again, trying to alleviate it, and all it did was make her hurt worse. Pushing off the bed, she pulled on the robe the hotel had provided and decided to make a run to the small store in the hotel lobby, praying as earnestly as she could that they’d have something to help her.
Just as she reached the door to their suite, voices from Xavier’s room brought her to a complete stop. Who would he be talking to at nearly midnight?
“Trouble? I mean, I know that—” Xavier exhaled heavily.
A female voice on speakerphone replied, “No, I meantroubletrouble. Buck has loans with people who break bones if said loans aren’t paid.”
Sadie’s mouth dropped open as she blinked. Loans? As in loan sharks? But why would Buck be so willing to let Empire be torn apart by creditors?
“That’s on Buck, then,” Xavier said.
“Not according to my guy inside. Buck’s promised if he can’t deliver on the note, Sadie will.”
“What’s that mean?” Xavier’s voice rose an octave, much like Sadie’s would have had she been the one on the phone. Only she knew what the woman meant.
The woman sighed. “You’re such a sweet guy. I find it incredibly endearing that you have to ask that.”
Xavier chuckled. “Stop.”
It was rather cute that he had no idea what that meant.
“Anyway, it means if Sadie takes back the company, it’ll be her bones they’ll be breaking. If I were her, I’d just let Empire go. Let this slimy Buck guy have it.”
Now, not only was Sadie’s chest on fire, her entire body was engulfed. Buck had taken the company from her and then bargained it with a loan shark?
“How slimy is Buck?” Xavier asked.
The woman grunted. “Uh, you remember that kids game show that dumped slime on them? That slimy. Buck Nash is an alias. He just wanted her money. I can keep digging, but I thought you’d want to know that your instincts were right. This isn’t the first time he’s done this.”
