Page 95 of Breaking the Rules
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Waverly relished the speed with which Xavier moved. There was no debating over countless lesser options or overthinking. He was decisive and intensely focused, and God she found that attractive. Never in this lifetime would Waverly have expected to find bossiness sexy. But with Xavier Saint, that’s exactly what it was.
He issued orders and ran herd like a general commanding his troops while Waverly watched his every move with female appreciation.
With everyone on board, Xavier gave Anatoli the go ahead and listened as the man gave an Emmy-worthy performance when he hysterically called the assistant to ask if she’d seen Petra. The assistant leaned on Anatoli and suggested that telling Grigory right now would only cause the man needless worry. She advised that he give it a few more hours. Petra would probably show up.
It took just seventeen minutes for Waverly’s phone to ring.
She held up the screen for everyone to see.
“Let it go to voicemail first,” Chelsea suggested. “Keep him worked up and off-balance.”
“Yes!” Waverly pointed at her with enthusiasm. “You’re a smart woman.”
Chelsea grinned. “It works on men like a charm.”
Xavier glared at her. “I’m packing you up and sending you to a convent after this.”
She tossed a throw pillow at him.
“Children,” Dante said, pointing at Waverly’s phone that had begun to ring again. “Showtime, Waves.”
She took a breath and answered with just the right edge of annoyance in her voice. “Brad, you’re interrupting an amazing massage.”
Brad’s voice rang out of the speaker loud and clear. “Where is Petra Stepanov?” he demanded.
“What are you talking about?” she asked airily.
“You were supposed to take her Saturday.”
“Well, you know I’m an overachiever. I wanted to have a little extra time with my friend. Have a little chat with her about her father’s business and a couple of drug manufacturing licenses.”
The only sound coming from Brad’s end was heavy breathing.
“What do you want?” he asked finally.
“This deal is worth billions from what I hear. I want a cut.”
“And then you’ll give me the girl?”
“You give me twenty-five million and leave me the fuck alone permanently, and you can have the girl.”
He tried to bluff his way out, which she hoped he would.
“How am I going to get that kind of cash together?”
“Nice try, Brad. I have a feeling this isn’t your first freelance job. I’m sure you’ve got cash reserves handy for situations like this. Tomorrow, 9 a.m. I’ll call you with the place once you’ve wired the money into the account I send you.”
“Don’t play games with me, Waverly. I had Dante Wrede taken out, and I won’t hesitate to do the same to you,” Brad snarled.
“Honey, you’re going to have to get a better goon squad than a bunch of washed up stunt men if you want to take me anywhere,” she said, her tone icy. She felt the weight of the gazes in the room settle on her questioningly and ignored them.
“You could have been a huge asset for Target,” he said snidely.
“I’ve seen how you handle your assets, asshole. I can do better than working for you. Now you can pay me to keep my mouth shut about your little side business, and I turn Petra over to you, or I can start calling gossip sites now with the biggest story of the year.”
His laugh was cold. “You’re a cold-blooded—”
