Diesel (Devil's Mafia Brotherhood Motorcycle Club Book 1) (9 page)

Tania was scared, more than she had ever been in her life. Everything was happening too fast, and she’d lost control some time ago. Riley was a force of nature. Now that he was unleashed in her life, there was no way that she could stop him. He was in her life, in her heart, and in her mind. What the hell was she supposed to do about him?

Initially, she convinced herself that it was all sexual, and for a while, that was true. They shared a chemistry that was off the charts. She couldn’t get enough of him, and the same was true for him but now she was afraid that their relationship was moving in a direction for which she wasn’t prepared.

She liked him. Damn it!
Like
was too soft a word. She was fairly in love with him. Since Tania never felt like this with such intensity about anymore ever before, she didn’t know what the hell to do about this. Her last serious relationship was five years ago. Since then, she had fun with men but then she discarded them or else they parted ways when they both had their fill. But Riley wasn’t going anywhere, and she didn’t want him to.

When did this strange attraction turn into something serious? She didn’t know. It was hard to get a grip on the exact chain of events that now led them to this point. This was crazy. It was madness and, yet, she loved it. If he went away now, she would be devastated.

No! She wasn’t that weak. She wasn’t going to fall apart when he left her. But why would he do so? He appeared as content as her. Surely, he was also plagued by the same thoughts and feelings, but she didn’t know for sure because they never talked about it. Maybe it was time to discuss their future.  

It was a scary thought. What would she say? What if he told her that he didn’t want anything permanent, that he wasn’t even thinking along those lines? He might even laugh at her. After all, they did tell each other that it was just for fun. How could she change her mind and then expect him to do the same?

She was almost in love with him. It was a scary thing to admit, but she didn’t have a choice but to accept it in her heart. Did he feel the same way? She didn’t have any way of knowing unless she asked him. But how could she do that? Could she at all?

As she agonized over this decision, she was startled when her intercom rang. She was sitting in the office, and much to her disgust, she had spent the last fifteen minutes thinking about Riley. What was wrong with her? Maybe this was some kind of a chemical imbalance and she needed to see a doctor to correct it.

She picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Tania, I want to see you now,” said Brin’s loud, clear voice. “Now.”

She put down the phone, stood, and straightened her dress. Brin wasn’t one of the most patient men she ever met, but he never quite used that tone with her before. Something was wrong. A strange fear slithered up her spine. Surely, this couldn’t be about that warehouse. It wasn’t her fault that Xavier backed off from the deal. The fact that he hadn’t picked up her phone or returned her calls meant he didn’t want to sell it, or, perhaps, the owners changed their mind. Whatever the reason, she couldn’t be blamed for it. These things happened. If he sold the warehouse to Riley, however, then she would be in shit load of trouble.

But of course, if the deal was going through, Riley would have told her. He wouldn’t have kept her in the dark. He promised her, and she expected him to keep his word. He was a man of honor. She trusted him.

She marched towards Brin’s office. Seeing her, the secretary waved. “Hi, Tania. How is it going?”

She grimaced. “Not good, I think. I’ve been summoned.”

Rosy shuddered. “Oh dear. He has been in a bad mood for over an hour ever since he got a call from someone. Don’t know what the matter is. Good luck, dear.”

Tania sucked in a deep breath of air to gather her courage and then knocked on the door.

“Come in,” he barked. She entered and came to a stop beside his desk. He glowered at her. A thin man, he had dark circles under his eyes and boasted a permanent sneer. “Tania, what the hell went wrong?”

He didn’t even ask her to sit. She wondered if she should take a seat but then decided against it. If he was already pissed she didn’t want to make him more so. “I don’t understand.”

“Of course, you don’t.” He grimaced. “This is extremely unprofessional. In our line of work, you have to be competitive. You can’t let people make a fool of you. What happened with the warehouse deal is totally unforgivable.”

Panic slithered up her spine. “What happened?”

He raised his eyebrows. “You mean that you really have no idea?”

Tania took a seat. Whatever the news was, it was bound to be bad and she didn’t think that she could handle it well. Had Riley betrayed her? No. It couldn’t possibly be. She wasn’t ready to believe it. “I don’t know.”

He glared at her, and then finally leaned back. “I’ve heard from another source that the owners of the warehouse have signed the papers three days ago. It has been sold to someone.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know and, frankly, I don’t care. What matters is that we didn’t get it. I was counting on you, Tania. This was important. This client is very important to us and now they are going to be disappointed. I’d assured them you were on top of things, and now I find out that not only has the property gone to someone else, but you didn’t even know about it,” he said in a disgusted voice.

            Tania didn’t know what to say. How this could have happened? It felt like a bad dream, a nightmare really. Surely, this wasn’t possible. Had Riley actually signed the papers and didn’t tell her about it? His betrayal cut deep in her heart. She hadn’t expected this, especially when she was having such deep thoughts about him and their relationship.  How could she have allowed him to suck her into this vortex of lies?

“I will get to the bottom of this,” she told Brin.

He sneered. “There is no need to do it. What’s the point? We’ve already lost the deal. Anything you do now wouldn’t serve us or our client.” He took a deep breath. “I am actually more than disappointed, Tania. I’d thought that you would be able to handle this; otherwise, I wouldn’t have handed over such an important client to you. You begged me to give this to you and, since your record was good, I complied…but I expected results.”

And she didn’t deliver. Yes, she failed. Tania licked her lips. “So what are we going to do now?”

“We?” He raised an eyebrow. Leaning back, he surveyed her for what seemed like the longest time. “I am sorry, Tania, but I have to do something to appease the client. That’s one of our most important corporations and I can’t let them slide out of my hands. I’ve built this firm with a great deal of hard work and grit, and I can’t suffer just because you failed to perform.”

“Give me another chance,” she pleaded. She didn’t want to hear what he had to say. Tania thought she knew where this was going. He’d warned her enough times before. There was plenty riding on this deal, and she’d known that. Her promotion and even her job security; how could she have risked it all for a man? She trusted him and he betrayed her. Of course, he’d know that this was going on. How could he not have?

Well, he was the one who screwed up. And now maybe he could set things right. She would tell him to back out, to cancel the deal. Would he listen to her? She didn’t know, but she was willing to try.

“What will you do?” asked Brin.

“I can…maybe the deal isn’t finalized. They could cancel.”

Brin tapped his fingers on the desk. “They won’t, Tania. Don’t be absurd. Do you just intend to march up to the new owners and tell them to get out because you want it more? Don’t be silly.”

She was clutching at straws now, anything to save her job. “I could find some other property. There are some great deals available at amazing locations and the client could really benefit from them.”

“The client wanted that property and you didn’t get it. Anything else would be an insult. In any case, I’ve got other people who can get it from them.”

He didn’t need her. She’d outlived her usefulness. Tania felt terrible. Not only was she aware that this was her fault, that she had failed, but also that she did so because she was careless. She made the mistake of trusting a man who intended to make a fool of her from the first day. It was stupid of her. She shouldn’t have gotten involved with him, and she should not have entrusted him with her heart..

She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst. It hadn’t taken her long to climb the corporate ladder but it took her even less to fall right down to the bottom. “What’s going to happen now?”

He put his hands on the table. “I wish I didn’t have to do this. You’re a good employee and this is your first mistake, but, unfortunately, as I said before, I have appease the client. I have to let you go.”

She closed her eyes for a moment. Tania felt the tears prick but she didn’t want to cry in front of him. She opened her eyes. “Brin, please.”

“I’ve prepared your termination letter and a reference letter, which I shouldn’t really give under the circumstances, but I don’t want you to be out on the streets.” He passed her a thick, white envelope. “With luck, you will find another job. Of course, given that you failed to perform, I am sure you will understand that I can’t give you the usual severance package. Please vacate your office in one hour. Take care, Tania, and goodbye,” he said in a hard voice.

She hated it. She hated him. But the man who deserved all this hatred was far away. There was nothing more to say. Brin wasn’t going to change his mind and it was below her dignity to beg more. She stood. “Bye.”

Outside, she glanced at his assistant but Tania didn’t have the courage to talk. She was out of her job. This was her last time in the office. She went straight to her room. There was already a security guard waiting there for her. Obviously, Brin didn’t leave anything to chance. The guard had put a box on the table. She picked up her belongings and put them inside. Someone peeped inside the room to see what was going on, but she didn’t bother to look up. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. This was the most humiliating experience of her life, and the man who led her to the point was going to pay with his blood for his betrayal.

After she left the office, Tania took a cab to his apartment. She intended to rip into him the moment she saw him. When she rang the bell, she was prepared to do battle. He would have to back out of the deal and give the property to her. Only then she could win back her job. No one answered. She rang again. Still, no response. Was he hiding inside? Or, perhaps, he wasn’t home.

Finally, she was convinced that he wasn’t inside. She rang his cell but he didn’t pick up. Maybe he was deliberately avoiding her. Not sure as to what she could do, Tania went home. Riley wasn’t there. She didn’t quite know where to find him. Should she wait for him to arrive back here? Would he do so now that the deal was done? Perhaps he already knew that her boss would find out and hence wouldn’t bother to show up. Did he sleep with her just so he could distract her until he got all the papers signed?

Tania called his phone again. He didn’t pick up. Had he served all contact with her already? She tried again. Much to her surprise, he picked up. “Tania? Hi. What’s going on?”

“Why don’t you tell me?”

“What do you mean?”

He was pretending as if he didn’t have a clue that he ruined her life. Well, two could play at this game. She wasn’t a complete novice. With an effort, she curbed her temper. “Where are you, Riley? We need to talk.”

“I am meeting someone right now. Why don’t I see you later? How about I drop by your office?”

The nerve of him! She wanted to shout at him, to tell him that she didn’t have an office now, thanks to him. But she didn’t want to scare him away. If he left, she would never know as to why he deceived her. No. She needed to lure him in. “I am at home, actually. Come back here.”

“Are you feeling well? Why are you home?” The concern in his voice grated on her nerves. He was still pretending as if they were one happy couple. Didn’t he have any shame?

“I am okay,” she managed to cough out the words. “Bye.”