Hell by Elena M. Reyes Page A

that.” He nodded, a small smile on his lips as he made an immediate right, then left. More than a few minutes passed while I gathered my bearings—I needed answers. Had to be levelheaded and keep an open mind. Calvin wasn’t in the picture anymore. “But seriously, Kevin…does she love him?”
    While failing miserably at masking my internal freak-out with indifference, I waited for his answer. The more he took his sweet time, the quicker my agitation returned.
    “Thought you didn’t give a shit.”
    “What do you want from me?”
    “Honesty.” Another right turn after driving two blocks down, and he pulled in to an underground parking structure. “Just be honest with yourself.”
    “Goddammit, I do. In less than forty eight hours she’s made me care for her in some capacity.” Mostly my dick, but I couldn’t tell him that.
    Kevin found a spot close to the elevator and parked. After turning off the car, he turned my way and appraised me, sighing to himself as he battled to find the right words to respond to my declaration.
    “Thank you, I appreciate the truth.” Opening his door, he exited the car and walked toward the elevators. Following his lead, I did the same and once I reached him waved him on. I needed more than that to appease me.
    “Answer me.”
    “Hardheaded fuck,” he grumbled while pressing the up button. “And to answer your question…no, she doesn’t.”

Chapter 8
    “Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice, Mr. Thurston. My sister and I appreciate the lead on this bid.” We’d been escorted upon arrival into a very spacious yet empty office. As in plain as fuck. “We know you are a busy man…the city has a lot of future projects in the works, and we believe we are the best fit for this particular undertaking.”
    In the center of this room sat a clean-cut desk that looked opulent. Stuffy. All clean lines—metal on glass. Two very uncomfortable-looking white chairs were placed in front of it for visitors to sit. Ostentatious in a minimalist way, if that were possible.
    A leather couch matching the two chairs sat across the room with a small coffee table in the same style as the desk. That’s it. No paintings, diplomas, or family pictures. Very impersonal, and it didn’t fit the portly man who stood before us shaking our hands.
    “I don’t have the remotest idea of what you are talking about. A bid…” he laughed “…what bid?”
    “Is that how this will be played?” Kevin played along while I watched, not understanding.
    “Isn’t this meeting about the hefty donation you’ll be making toward my wife’s ‘save the mall’ foundation?”
    A snort escaped me at this. The many retailers around the world that catered to the female form would give a left nut for this.
    “Hey, I tried.” Mr. Thurston laughed before waving us toward the two chairs. After we were seated, he walked around his desk and sat down himself. For some reason, being inside this room left me feeling cold, weird. Screamed too much of nothing. “This is all my Mrs. Thurston’s doing,” he interjected, pulling my wandering mind back to the present.
    Why the blue fuck this bothered me I had no clue, but it did. My man card was suffering because of it.
    “I’m sorry?” Kevin’s shoulders shook beside me in silent laughter, and it baffled me. How was this funny?
    “Minimalism, son. All her doing.” Even the old man seemed amused as he took a sip from the coffee mug to his right.
    “I don’t follow.” Code words and bullshit were not my specialty.
    “My office.” He waved a hand around in a circle. “She decided that clean lines and open space with little to no furniture was the way to go. Feng shui and all that nonsense. To be honest, I gave up on understanding her years ago.”
    “Was I that obvious?” If I wasn’t so embarrassed at that moment, I would’ve punched or slapped Kevin in the back to quell his laughing fit. Asshole.
    “Yes, but don’t feel bad. Everyone who comes