She smiled arrogantly. “Ah, now that’s a shame. I kind of liked having you around.”

“Kind of as in none at all?”

“Precisely. I miss the way things used to be, sans you. It was less complicated. Only a matter of time.”

“Writing me off already?”

“Mm, not entirely, but Borden’s got a lot of enemies. It only takes one.”

Sigh. “Duly noted, Linda. Thanks for your positivity in the matter.”

She smiled wider, those little pink lips now aggravating me to no end. “In the unlikely but likely event something does happen, just know I’ll take good care of the boss man, alright?”

My whole being tensed and my eyes narrowed. “How about you just fuck off now, Linda, or else I might accidentally not pay you this week. I do take care of payroll services, you know.”

That smile bared teeth just then. Really white ones. “Alrighty then. See you later, doll.”

I clenched my fists, shaking with the urge to sucker punch her. She turned around and walked off, those hips shimmying from side to side in that way a man would salivate over. I wanted to rip her face in two, the snotty little bitch that she was. What the hell had Borden seen in her to hire her as manager – making a small fortune, no less – to this place anyway? How could she be given such a large responsibility when she was such a fuckwad? I looked her slim and tall body over before she disappeared into another room and briefly wondered if he’d touched her at all. Had he given her a taste and that was why she was hungry for him?

The rational side of me said hell no. Borden had never been like that. My mind was tormenting me right now because he was in a room with scantily clad women, and I was seething over it. Was this how angry he felt when a man looked at me? Was I feeling the same level of possessiveness? If so, it sucked, and I understood him better.

Minutes passed in miserable silence. The kind that had me simmering in a pool of self-pitying thoughts of being cheated on by a criminal kingpin that had the city beneath his boot. I scoffed at myself. I deserved no sympathy for being in this spot in time. I firmly placed my ass upon it willingly.

I heard the entrance of the club open and heavy footsteps followed. I looked up and rolled my eyes at the sight of Hawke. He noticed Graeme first and stopped in front of him. “What’s going on? You’re meant to be with Emma.”

Graeme cocked his head to where I was seated. “I am. Borden’s with Hector at the moment.”

“Then he’s found something.”

“Possibly.”

“So why are you out here instead of the office?”

Graeme jerked his head in my direction again and said nothing.

Hawke then glanced at me, understanding dawning. “Okay.”

I looked away from them and down at my cell phone, half-heartedly playing one of my mind numbing games. When I noticed him approaching, stopping at the stool Linda had just been on, I sighed and turned my body away from him, dismissing his presence entirely.

“That friend of yours you just had lunch with, how much money did you end up giving her?” he suddenly asked.

I stalled before answering. The asshole had still followed me.

“Emma,” he pressed.

“I thought you were all knowing,” I replied disinterestedly. “You can leaf through my life but don’t know my bank details?”

“I can figure it out if I wanted to, but it’d save me a few minutes of cracking into your account if you just opened your mouth and told me.”

First, I dealt with a friend that lied to me about her issues. Then, I faced Linda’s bitch face telling me Borden was in a room surrounded by barely clothed women. And now, I was copping Hawke’s bullshit.

And I really didn’t want to deal with Hawke’s bullshit.

The tornado inside of me spun uncontrollably, and I ended up spinning back to him, icily replying, “How about it’s none of your goddamn business, Hawke? I’m not going to willingly tell you jack shit about the money that’s sitting in my bank account. You can figure that shit out yourself. If you don’t like it, join Linda’s ‘I Hate Emma Club’ and fuck off into the sunset.”

He blinked at me, his dark eyes searching my face for several moments. “You done?”

“Done what?”

“Done having your little bitch rant? Because I got a lot of time right now, so if there’s more, go right out and fucking say it.”

I nodded at him, feeling that pent up anger seeping out of me. “Yeah, there’s more.”

“Yeah? What else you got for me, little one?”

I slid off the stool and stood in front of him. I craned my head up at him and spat out, “I don’t get you, Hawke. You’re an asshole, always have been, and it’s for no reason at all. Strutting around all day glaring at me and shit. I haven’t done anything to you!”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, and I’m sick of your fucking ego.”

“My ego?”

“Yeah, and you following me around.”

“What else?”

What else? I looked him over, taking in his large ass frame before pointing at his face. “And I fucking hate your crumb catching beard. Shave it the hell off, you look like Chewbacca.”

He paused, blinked again, and then said, “Great. Now are you done acting like a petulant fifteen year old instead of a grown ass woman?”

Was I done acting like a petulant fifteen year old? I took a few breaths, trying to determine how I felt. The anger was still there, but it’d faded some after my rant. I didn’t feel like a ticking time bomb, so...

“Yeah, I’m done,” I told him.

“Good,” he gritted out. “Now how much did you fucking give her?”

I answered robotically, “Four hundred and thirty dollars.”

He just stared at me, his brows shooting up in disbelief. “Four hundred fucking dollars, Emma?”

“She’s an idiot,” Graeme called out from nearby.

“I was trying to help out a friend,” I stressed defensively. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Graeme laughed in response and Hawke dug into his pocket, shaking his head more to himself as he cursed under his breath. He pulled out his wallet and produced several hundred dollar bills. I watched in confusion as he slammed it on the bar in front of me.