Sex and the Billionaire Crime Boss

Ch. 17: It's Your Choice

As soon as Gabe leaves, Max takes a step toward me, and I take an involuntary step backward.

I start trying to tell him why I came back to the room, why I thought they wouldn't be there.

"Max, I can explain."

He keeps moving toward me, his face determined and his eyes unforgiving.

"Did you come up here to the suite after I specifically told you not to?"

"Yes, but—"

"There's no point trying to explain yourself. You intentionally disobeyed me."

"Disobeyed you? You're not my boss, or my father." I can't believe I'm being defiant when I ought to be apologizing. Especially since I'm clearly in the wrong here. But I can't help myself.

"Then I think we have to get a few things clear," Max says coldly. If anything, I've made him more angry than he was already.

Nice work, Hadley.

He's still moving toward me and I'm still walking backwards.

"What are you going to do?" I hate it that my voice comes out higher pitched than normal.

"I think you have a pretty good idea what happens next," Max says.

"I think we should sit down and talk."

"Think again."

"Max, come on, I didn't mean to—"

He cuts me off and for a brief moment his eyes flash with anger. Then he's back in control, his voice even.

"Do you have any idea what you did tonight? I specifically told you not to come up to the suite until Gabe cleared it with me because this is exactly what I did not want to happen."

I swallow hard. I don't think I have my voice right now. He stops a moment, leaning his hand against the side of the couch, so I stop retreating and stand here nervously waiting for what he will say next.

"They know your name, Hadley. You are now involved in the deal. Didn't I tell you these were not good people? That I didn't want you anywhere near them? But you didn't listen, did you?"

I'm pretty sure these are rhetorical questions, so I keep my mouth shut. I don't want to make him any angrier than he is already.

"So congratulations, Hadley. You're officially a mob lawyer now. Is that what you wanted? Are you proud of yourself for those little changes you made to the agreements? On the deal you were supposed to know nothing about?"

I already knew what it was. Knew once I read those documents, once I saw the people sitting across the table from Max, that he's up to his neck in the same illegal activities his father is serving a life sentence in a federal penitentiary for.

But now it's even more real when Max says it. Those papers represent a money-laundering deal with the mob. Which makes me exactly what he said.

A mob lawyer.

If I thought his voice was cold before, it's like ice now.

I've never seen him this kind of angry. It's bad enough I'm feeling so horribly guilty about my own role in helping commit a crime. I'm also feeling guilty that I put myself in this position in the first place, despite Max's specific instructions to stay well clear of trouble.

The fact that I didn't mean to do this doesn't really matter.

I deserve whatever he's going to say to me now. Even if what he says is that he never wants to see me again.