Page 5 of Extradition (Mobsters + Billionaires 1)
Rand: According to Wrinkled Shirt Guy, there is no such thing as an ethical billionaire, so don’t get up on your high horse.
Mads: Horses? How agrarian of you. I prefer to judge from my Maybach.
I send him the middle finger emoji.
Mads: Oh, did the sexy man with a probably valid point hurt your feelings?
Rand: Shut up.
Rand: Also, pretty sure a best friend would have my back.
Mads: Pretty sure a best friend would tell his boy when he’s got shit on his overpriced trainers.
Mads sends over both the poop and the shoe emoji, and I feel dread for the first time. Like maybe I really stepped in it.
Rand: Do you know what a neckbeard is?
Mads: Bet you’re wishing you’d taken my advice about cutting out your father’s alpha bullshit.
Rand: You may have been right about that.
Mads: Drinks after?
Rand: Pretty sure this is about to be my entire life for the next few days. Let’s chat next week.
Mads: You got it.
Mads, Dr. Madhuban Laghari, is CEO of Tracker Technologies, the world’s leading manufacturer of personal GPS devices. Last year we partnered with him on our Wolfe+ cross-trainers, which track distance, speed, stride, and about fifteen other things, all of which get sent to the Wolfe+ app after a workout.
Elite athletes started praising the combination of high-performance shoes and athletic technology, and the shoes began selling out across the globe. More importantly, to me at least, Mads and I hit it off. He jokes about being my best friend, but the sad truth is that he kind of is.
We sign off with our signature fist-bump emoji because we’re actually eleven years old, and I prepare to face my father. This day is going to suck.
I make my way through my penthouse, and Edgerton, my very stern head of security, is waiting for me in the foyer by my private elevator. He’s a no-nonsense ex-military machine made entirely of scowls and sharp angles. Even his suit is tailored to within an inch of its life. His striking cerulean eyes make him appear approachable, but Mother Nature was lying when she gave him that feature.
When you get close enough, he reads dangerous in that way women and men seem drawn to as much as they are intimidated by. I’m not attracted to him, at least not sexually, but he fascinates me.
He’s what people think of when they talk about an alpha male. It’s frustratingly effortless for him. The billions of dollars in my various investment accounts across the globe lock in my status, of course. But Edgerton could be homeless, and he’d still have that edge of steel.
As my father would say, born or bought, the result is the same.
Aside from the inconvenient fact that yesterday turned all of that on its head. Anyway, his presence here instead of James, my usual guy, means the threat factor is off the charts.
Great.
“Sir, a little early this morning.”
I puff my chest, which feels entirely fraudulent given the circumstances. “Didn’t you hear, Edgerton? The sky is falling. We’ll be walking. Outside. And before you say anything, yes, I understand the increased risk, but needs must.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Wolfe. Not today.”
I roll my eyes because Edgerton says it gives him angina when I walk the whole city block to the office, but this isn’t weather-related.
“Dare I ask?”
He removes his phone from his pocket and pulls up the video feed from the building’s exterior. There’s a group of protestors and reporters right at the entrance, harassing everyone leaving and entering the building.
God, what I wouldn’t give for a little fresh air. “Fine, Edgerton. Let’s just get going.”
