Page 35 of The Stalking King

Lia: Don’t offer me that again. It’s shameful enough that I’m staying at your place rent-free, and that’s only because I’d never be able to afford to pay even a fraction of that. I pay my way. It’s what my mother taught me.

Maksim: I won’t offer again.

I tell her, though it pisses me off. There’s no reason for her to grind herself to dust when I could make a one-time payment into her account and change her entire life.

But I respect that. It’s just difficult knowing how hard she works, especially when I’ve seen it.

Lia: Thank you.

Maksim: If you won’t take time off work, let me give your brain a rest. I’ll come by later.

Lia: Maksim, I don’t know if I’m ready for that.

Maksim: I’m not some animal, beautiful.

Lia: Ha! Really? Could’ve fooled me.

My intercom buzzer goes off.

Maksim: Let me surprise you. Let me treat you.

Lia:

My smile is borderline delirious. The buzzer goes off for a second time.

Maksim: I’m taking that as a yes.

I put my phone in my desk drawer.

“Yes?” I say, pressing the intercom button.

“Mr. Vale is here to see you. But he doesn’t appear to have a meeting.”

“Send him in.”

A few moments later, Conrad Vale walks into the room. He’s a short, wide man with a perpetual sneer on his face. He wears a suit with an American flag pinned to the lapel like a wannabe politician, as if he can’t accept his station in life. On paper, we’re rival businessmen. In reality, I wouldn’t mind leaving him in an unmarked ditch.

The difference between me and this lowlife?

If I find vicious things in the data of our lauded elite, I quietly pass them to the authorities. The real dark stuff. The stuff nightmares are made of. Conrad has no such compulsions.

I smile thinly. “Take a seat, Conrad. What a welcome surprise this is.”

His smile is even thinner as he sits. “I always enjoy dropping by on the competition.”

“Care for something to drink?”

“Thank you, no. I won’t be here long.”

I nod. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I heard you met with Wesley Grant today.”

“That’s correct.”

“I was curious about what he had to say.”

I almost laugh. That’s his cover for being here? The shit-eating grin on his face says otherwise. He’s not here for the senator’s situation. He’s here to rub his recent victory in my face.