Page 30 of Protection (Mobsters + Billionaires 2)
He looks up from his phone and puts it away. “Oh.”
“Yeah. I've got a contact in the Indian government, and they want me to move the manufacture of my polymer to New Delhi.”
I ignore the inconvenient fact that my contact is the attaché my father’s been bribing for years.
“Oh, poor billionaire. That's what, another ten billion in your coffers before the end of the year?”
“Don't be silly,” I joke, playing along. “Two billion, maybe three when you count all the saved export fees.”
“So what’s the problem? Are you asking for a yacht bonus?”
I scrunch my nose. “Never buy a yacht, Anthony. Make friends with yacht people. But no, this is not about the cash.”
“No?”
I shake my head, trying not to feel defeated. “I’ve never made the deal because I can't get them to agree on humane treatment of the workers who’d be running the production facilities.”
“What does that entail, exactly?”
“I’m holding the line, making them agree to specific working conditions, which these officials don’t want to promise. Their responses make me think they’re under some misapprehension about me being hard up for cash. They’re playing hardball, and I’m not on the field.”
“Then why are you going to Vienna?”
“Because three billion dollars are on the line,” I say, holding my hands up. I follow that with a cocky grin. “And I'm pretty persuasive in person.”
He snorts. “Can confirm.”
I bite my bottom lip, and his eyes track the movement.
“So when do we leave?” he asks, nudging me.
I look up, and he’s still crowding me, which I don’t think he realizes. “Tonight,” I sigh. “Bonus, I can just turn around and come back home.”
He looks at his watch. “Do I have time to pick up clothing, or should I step into a store now?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, there's no way in hell you’re going to Vienna without a detail. And, my friend, because you have been so uncooperative, I am your detail.”
“I will be flying into the most secure city on the planet right now.”
“Nonnegotiable,” he says, squaring his jaw.
I swear, he has these pretty blue eyes that are sorta sweet-looking in a certain light, but his ridiculously square jaw is no joke. I want to tease him or refuse to let him come along, but I decide against it. I could use the company.
“Fine. But you're going to be bored. They won’t even let you into the hotel. Only people with a very specific invitation are allowed in.”
“Bullshit. The president's security detail is allowed in.”
“May I remind you that I’m a guy who makes trackers for cross-trainers. Not the president. You will not be allowed in the building.”
His smile is a little too self-assured. “I'd like to see them try to keep me out.”
“It’s your funeral.”
I point across the street at Reyes, one of my favorite stores for when I’m trying to dress like an adult. Luckily, it also carries Anthony’s sexy black-on-black style. “And we’ll stop here to get you something to wear on the trip.”
Anthony shakes his head. “Way too expensive for my salary, billionaire.”
