Page 17 of A Good Girl's Guide to Dominance
The room goes silent, and my skin feels like its temperature has skyrocketed to a thousand degrees. Pinpricks stab my face and my heart drums with humiliation as everyone looks at me before looking down at the table, clearly embarrassed for me.
Rome stands up and places one hand on the table. “I know this is new for you all. You're not used to going after bigger fish. But now that there is no illegal activity taking place at Sandcastle, we will not shrink ourselves. We will grow, and we’ll be unafraid of taking risks.”
“This is a reallybigrisk,” I say before I can stop myself.
“Yes, it is, Nia,” Rome replies. “Even if you're not okay with taking it … I am. This is the move I want to make, and I’ll gladly take full responsibility if it goes wrong. If this hurts the company, it will be my fault, not yours. Because I’m in charge. It’s important that you remember that.”
He takes a moment to stare at me, his eyes sparkling with something unreadable before he looks away to address the room.
“We’re going after Golden Diamond. Accept it, brainstorm with your teams, and prepare pitches. Whoever is chosen will pitch directly to Nix Malone … with me. They'll have a chance to land the biggest account in Sandcastle’s history. It’s a huge deal, so I suggest you all get started. See you soon.”
With a final nod of his head, Rome turns on his heel and walks to the door. He places a hand on the handle, pulls it open, and pauses to peer at me one last time before walking out.
Ten
Leaving the conference room feels like stepping out of a sauna. The air hits me and I realize how hot I was in there. What was that? The way he looked at me was beyond intense, and while I want to be mad about it—I wish I was disgusted by the way his eyes gravitated to me and refused to look away—I honestly can't explain my emotions. I dislike how he embarrassed me in front of my coworkers, but the way he looked at me nearly overshadows it. There’s just something so hypnotic about his gaze—the way his jaw flexes as he stares. It’s like being locked in place by invisible hands that don't allow me to do anything but stare back … but fuck him for making me look bad, and fuck him for the idiotic idea of working with a known criminal.
Rome’s plan of pursuing a new contract with Golden Diamond casino is beyond insane, and it’s about so much more than Sandcastle’s history with finding local companies as partners. Going for a bigger clientele isn’t a bad thing, and I’d almost expect it from him since he admitted that he’s competitive and ambitious during his introductory meeting yesterday. Butattempting to team up with people weknoware sketchy is not a good idea, and no smoldering look will ever make it one.
After taking a quick second to gather myself in front of the conference room door, I bite my lip as frustration grows in my chest. I’m so annoyed by everything that just went down that I need to let it out. I have to talk about it with someone who I know will understand and be supportive of my feelings, and there is only one person working at Sandcastle that fills that role.
“You won't believe what just happened in there,” I say to Jeremiah the second I reach his cubicle.
He's facing his monitor, so he never had a chance to see me coming at all, which leads to a wide-eyed, bewildered expression as he spins his chair around. His clean-shaven face looks up at me with a furrowed brow as his cup of coffee steams behind him on the desk.
“Now you know it’s too early to come over here confusing me, Nia,” he says, slow-blinking like he’s too tired to stay awake.
After a sigh, I reach around him and grab his coffee, forcing the cup into his hand. “Then drink this and wake up, because I have to tell you how our first meeting with Mr. …Romewent.”
“Rome? Y’all on a first name basis now?” Jeremiah asks before carefully sipping from his Sandcastle mug.
“Apparently, because he demanded to be called by his first name,” I explain. “He even had a little attitude with Sierra and me about it.”
“Oh, for real?”
“Yes, and that’s only the half of it,” I continue, my annoyance climbing and raising the volume of my voice without me knowing it. “I think the asshole vibe has been confirmed. This man is off the chain.”
Jeremiah frowns like he’s disappointed. “Seriously? Goddamn it. The last thing I wanted was for Mr. Thomas’s replacement to be a pain to work for.”
“Then you better buckle up, because not only is he an ass, he’s also so ambitious that he’s willing to risk Sandcastle’s doors closing so he can work with Nix-fucking-Malone.”
Jeremiah nearly spills his coffee from sitting up so fast. “What?”
“Yeah, you heard right. Nix Malone is having a new casino built in Center City—you know, with his blood money—andRomewants us to pursue the ad contract. He even wants us to do pitch wars to see who will belucky enoughto go meet Nix Malone in person to pitch our idea. The man is crazy.”
“Does he know who Nix Malone is?”
“That’s exactly what I said! Apparently he does, he just doesn't care. He says everything we know to be true about Nix and Solomon—everything all of us practically grew up hearing—are just rumors. He thinks because they have never been indicted that they must be good businessmen. When I mentioned their known illegal activity, he chastised me and threw Mr. Thomas’s indictment in my face in front of everyone in the room. It was humiliating, so now I have to call Jaz and have her come slash his tires for trying to make me look like an idiot in front of my peers.”
When I finish ranting, I look down at Jeremiah and find him frowning at me.
“What?” I ask with raised hands.
“Damn, girl. He has you wound uptight,” he says playfully.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve never seen you this amped up after a staff meeting before,” he expounds. “He wants to pursue bigger fish. That’s not the worst thing in the world, although it’s crazy to team up with Nix Malone. But why are you so personally bothered? You're damn near sweating just standing here.”
