Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98

SERAPHINE

The room smelled like expensive whiskey and older secrets. I sat on the edge of a leather chair watching the door, counting the minutes.

Thirty passed. Then forty. Then fifty.

Where the hell is he?

I had paid two hundred grand just to get the message across. Two hundred thousand dollars I’d earned on my back, on my knees, in ways that made me wince when I thought about them too long. And now I was sitting in a back room of a club, waiting for a man called Sparrow to decide I was worth his time.

The second-in-command who had taken my money kept offering me a glass. I kept refusing. I needed a

clear head.

At exactly the fifty-seventh minute, the door opened.

He walked in.

Sparrow.

He was tall. Broader than I remembered from the photographs. His arms were sleeved in tattoos, dark ink that crawled up his neck and disappeared into his collar. His jaw was sharp, his eyes sharper, and when he looked at me, I felt like a specimen under glass.

He said nothing. Just crossed the room, nodded once at the man who had summoned him, and listened to whatever whisper passed between them.

Then he turned to me.

“Come with me. Let’s have a word.”

I followed him down a corridor, past a set of steel doors, into a room that looked nothing like the rest of the club. This was private. Soundproofed. A bed in the corner, a table with two chairs, a wine cabinet.

He took a bottle of wine from his cabinet, sat down, opened it, poured two glasses, and pushed one

toward me.

“Actually, I’m not here to drink…”

“You’ll have to take a drink from me if you want me to listen to what you’re about to say.”

I took the glass.

He settled back, watching me over the rim of his own glass. “So go ahead. Why have you been desperately searching for me?”

“I need your help.” I set the glass down without drinking. “I’m Mrs. Seraphine Dominic Ford. Dominic

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Ford, the richest billionaire in the country, is my husband. I haven’t been able to reach him. I don’t know why. He was interviewed and he acted like I’m not his wife. Something is happening.

Maybe he can’t publicly acknowledge me for a reason,” I continued, hearing the desperation bleed into my voice. “But I know how much he loves me. I just need to meet with him.”

“And what do I have to do with this?”

“I know you’re a business partner. Someone acquainted with him. Someone of your caliber can arrange a meeting. I’ve seen pictures of both of you together. Please help me.”

He swirled his wine. “If you’re truly Mrs. Dominic Ford, you should have another means to reach him. Family. Friends. Something.”

I bit my lip. Dominic had never talked about his family. Not once in all our years together. And foolishly, I had never asked. He wasn’t the type to volunteer information about his past, and I had been too busy enjoying my life to care.

“I don’t have anyone else,” I admitted. “He never introduced me. He never…”

“Then that’s your problem, not mine.”

“Please. I know you can help me.”

He nodded slowly. “It’s true. I can help you. But Dominic and I are not as close as you think. We do business when it benefits us. That doesn’t mean I can snap my fingers and arrange meetings with him.”

“Just this one thing. That’s all I’m asking.”

“Fine.” He drank from his glass and set it down. “I can arrange a meeting.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” His eyes traveled down my body, slow and deliberate. “You need to show sincerity

first.”

“Sincerity?”

“Don’t play games with me. You’re not a child. Nothing goes for nothing.”

“You want me to pay you?”

“Of course. My time is valuable. I had important things to do before you dragged me here. If I’m going to make an arrangement between you and Mr. Dominic Ford, you have to make it worth my while. I’m taking a risk. What if I arrange this meeting and you end up harming him? I lose my business partner.”

“I won’t do that. I’m his wife. Get me to meet with him, and I’ll have him compensate you,” I offered.

“No. I don’t work without payment. I have a reputation. I always deliver. That’s why everyone wants to work with me. Pay me first, then the job gets done.”

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“Fine. How much?”

“How much do you have?”

*Just tell me the amount. I’ll find a way.”

He smiled. It was not a kind smile. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a thick cigar, and bit the end off. He lit it slowly, letting the smoke curl between us, filling the room with something dark and heavy.

“You need to hurry up,” he pressed. “I don’t have all day.”

“I’m the one waiting. How much will you charge?”

He took a long drag and exhaled. “Look at me. Do I look like I lack money? I don’t need money from you. Someone like you can’t afford me anyway.”

“Then what do you want?”

“If you insist on paying with money, then send ten billion to my account, and I’ll make the arrangement.”

“Ten billion?” I stared at him. “Just to see my husband?”

“We’re talking about the richest billionaire in the country. He’s worth more than most small countries. Ten billion is a small price for someone who claims to be his wife. Drop the money tonight, and I’ll arrange for you to see him first thing tomorrow morning.”

“I don’t have ten billion.”

“Exactly what I said. You can’t pay me.”

My heart was pounding. “What else can you take? Other than money?”

His lips curved. “Now you’re talking.”

He looked at me the way men look at expensive things they want to break.

“You’re a very beautiful woman.” He licked his lips. “Look at those luxurious melons on your chest. Those smooth wrists. Those curvy hips.”

I turned my face away.

“As long as you please me tonight, I’ll make the arrangement.”

“I’m Mrs. Ford. I told you… I’m Dominic’s wife.”

“That’s not my business. This is a transaction. You scratch my back, I scratch yours.”

“I can’t do something like this. If Dominic finds out…”

“Who will tell him?” He cut in. “Will you? Because I’m certainly not a man who kisses and tells.”

He got to his feet.

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“The ball is in your court. I’ve spent too much time here already. It’s either you accept my terms or you don’t. You’re either in or you’re out.”

He began walking toward the door. “Make sure you see yourself out.”

“Wait.”

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