Grumpy Boss, Hamel, B. [free novels to read TXT] 📗

She stood and followed me across the room. I recognized several people there, and nodded to one man that worked for a rival investment firm. I was sure he’d be out gossiping about this moment the second I left, but it didn’t matter. Kevin was not the kind of man that cared much for rumors or hearsay, or anything beyond his money and his clubs.

“Rees,” he said as I approached, genuine smile on his lips. He put down the newspaper and leaned forward on his elbows. A coffee steamed nearby, smelling dark and chocolate. Kevin lived his life shifted—he woke late, and went to bed early in the morning. He was physically present at this club every single night, and went through this ritual each evening, acting out a normal morning for any other human, except in the middle of the night. He’d travel to his other spots throughout the evening, until the early morning, and I was lucky to have caught him before he left.

“Hello, Kevin,” I said, sliding into his booth. Millie slid in next to me, her knee touching mine. “I’m glad I caught you.”

“Been a while,” he said. “I didn’t think my standing invitation would ever be used.”

“I didn’t think you’d actually have me on the list,” I said, grinning a little.

“Truth be told, I forgot I did that,” he said. “But I’m glad you came.” He leaned forward and looked at Millie. “Who’s this? The girlfriend?”

“Assistant,” I said. “And maybe girlfriend, if she’s lucky.”

Millie elbowed me then shook Kevin’s hand. “Millie. Nice to meet you.”

“Charmed,” he said, and leaned back to study me. I met Kevin a couple years ago when I bought one of his properties. I ended up razing it down and building an office tower, but we connected during the negotiations, and have been friendly ever since. “So what brings you to my domain? You’re not the night life sort of man.”

“No, I’m not,” I said. “I’m actually here on business.”

He made a face and sipped his coffee. “Let me guess. You want to try and convince me to invest in your little SPAC.”

I smiled slightly and spread my hands. “I guess there aren’t any secrets in this business.”

“Not at all,” he said. “Truth be told, I’m not very interested in the whole business, so it’s nothing personal. I prefer to invest in physical assets. Property, art, that sort of thing.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I can’t imagine you buying art,” I said, laughing to myself.

Kevin grinned at me and shook his head. “I don’t know shit about the stuff. I got this girl, real smart, went to some Ivy League school. Nice ass too. Anyway, she buys my shit and parks it in this warehouse out near the airport, basically makes it tax free, so when I sell it, boom, pure profit. Real nice situation.”

I glanced at Millie and she seemed almost disgusted, but was hiding it well enough. The world of high finance wasn’t exactly a bastion of gender equality. Frankly, lots of sexist fucking dick bags had a lot of money, and the money only made empowered them.

“You sure I can’t convince you?” I asked.

“Positive, but tell you what. Since you came out to visit me, I’ll throw you a bone.”

“Ten million would be a good start,” I said, grinning.

He laughed and banged on the table. “That’s what I like about you Rees. No bullshit. You go for what you want.”

I glanced toward Millie. “Damn right I do.”

“Listen, I know a guy, okay? Goes by the name of Byron, lives out in Colorado. He’s a cattle rancher.”

Millie perked up. “Like a cowboy?”

Kevin pointed at her. “Exactly like a god damn cowboy.”

“And he’s got enough to invest?” I asked, a little skeptical. I didn’t know of any rich cowboys out in Colorado named Byron, and that was exactly the sort of thing I’d know about.

“He’s got more than enough. Dumb bastard’s been buying gold, like literal fucking gold bars, and burying it out on his property. Prepper type, you understand, but he’s got this baby girl now and he’s thinking about trying to leave her something. So he’s suddenly a player.”

“Interesting,” I said, touching my chin. There weren’t a lot of guys that a lot of cash to invest but weren’t known in the money world yet. This could be a big deal for me—if I could get to him first. “Send me his details.”

“Will do. I’ll make an introduction.” Kevin banged on the table again, grinning huge. “God damn I love making deals happen. Do you feel it, Rees? That god damn rush?”

“I’d feel it if you wrote a check,” I said, and he laughed even louder. I leaned up against Millie and gave her a look and she rolled her eyes. As I turned back to Kevin, I felt my phone vibrate.

It was a text from an unknown number.

This is Judith. Lady Fluke will see you tomorrow morning for breakfast. 7am sharp. Do not be late.

My eyebrows arched up to my hairline. I halfway expected Fluke to blow us off. I showed the text to Millie, which got a similar reaction from her, then looked back at Kevin.

“Thanks again for your help,” I said. “Turns out, we have a breakfast meeting tomorrow morning, so we’d better head out.”

“So soon?” Kevin grunted and waved a hand. “Alright then, day walkers. I never understood why people loved the sun so much. I always fall asleep when it peeks its dumb face up over the horizon. Exhausting, all that light.”

“I think you’re unique that way,” I said.

He laughed again and waved faster. “Go on, go get your beauty sleep. I’ll send over Byron’s information.”

“Thank you,” I said, and turned away. Millie left with me, and we headed across the room again.

I leaned close to her, and I saw the question in her eyes. But before we got to business, I had one more thing I needed to do.

I put a hand on the small of her back. She opened