Page 12 of Vengeful King

I return to my office to take care of business. There’s paperwork I need to do, things that have to be taken care of before I venture back out. I lose myself in it for a while, and then there’s a knock before the door swings open.

Connor enters, hands in his pockets. He looks relaxed, sedate. “How’s the night going?”

“Quiet, for the most part.”

“Mostly?” He raises an eyebrow, interested.

I should have known better than to say anything. I sigh and shove some papers aside. “We have a possible new dancer. She’s trying out later.”

“Is she any good?”

“I don’t know yet. She’s got the body. I’ll find out if she has the moves.”

Connor nods, then turns to look at the shelves behind him. They’re mostly for show; there’s a model of a house I haven’t built on one, a few books on another. None of it is particularly useful, but it’s good to have displayed when I bring someone back for business. It sends a message.

“You’re not taking the night off?” he finally asks.And there it is.

“No. There’s business to finish.”

“Still. It’s a Friday.”

I don’t want to argue with him. I keep my mouth shut, hoping he’ll wander off to his wife or somewhere else so I can finish my work. I don’t have any patience left to handle my brother. I know he means well, and I know he cares about me. But I can’t go back and forth with him right now.

The door opens again. I give up on my paperwork and set it aside. It’s Aiden this time, adjusting his watch as he enters.

“What are you two doing?” he asks.

“Talking about the new dancer,” Connor supplies.

“New dancer?”

“Well, she hasn’t been hired yet,” Connor corrects himself. “But Lachlan says she’s hot.”

I didn’t really.I shake my head. “I’m auditioning her later.”

“Well, if that’s what he thinks, I’m sure it’ll work out,” Aiden says, smirking.

I know they’re giving me shit. I know they want me to have what they have, as happy as they are. But every time they bring women up, it just reminds me that I’m going to be navigating a business arrangement soon, a marriage to a woman I don’t know.

It reminds me that no matter what, my future is the future of the family. I can’t afford to fuck it up.

A dancer is out of the question. I can’t even fathom it.

So it’s all teasing, but it doesn’t matter. I just wave a hand vaguely and try to focus on my paperwork again. “Like I said. I’m testing her later. We’ll see how it goes.”

“You do that,” Aiden says, nodding at Connor. “We’ll be around.”

They won’t be around for long. I know it already; they’ll be back to Rose and Willow in no time.

They head out after a while, and the night passes in a blur of work. The club empties out eventually, people coming and going, and I don’t keep track of the woman that came in. Kate. I’m not worried about her yet; if she even sticks around, I’ll deal with her later.

I make regular rounds in between paperwork until there’s almost no one left, and then I finally look for Kate Winters. I find her near the bar, sipping on something—just water, I think.

Good.I like my dancers clean and sober; no addicts, no alcoholics. No drama. I need functioning people. They’re working, after all. I want them to be present for their job.

There are still people lingering. I figure I’ll wait for them to leave, but I still approach her. I have questions in mind. Things I want answered before I even consider bringing her in.

She looks up when I approach her. She doesn’t waver when I look her in the eye, so that’s good. “Well?”

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