Page 48 of Defiant Queen (Mount Trilogy 2)
Her brow furrows in frustration. “You know that’s not what I mean. Why would you give this to me?”
I swear, there has never been a more difficult woman to please. I keep my tone bored as I reply. “You’d rather not sell an extra six thousand cases a year? If that’s true, I’m sure the buyer could find an alternate—”
Keira cuts me off. “Of course I want to, but who the hell is buying them? And how did you arrange it?”
The muscle in my jaw flexes as I rein in the urge to shut down her interrogation. No one questions me like this. And I don’t know why the hell I let her.
The voice in my head calls bullshit. You know exactly why.
“The distributor caters to high-end liquor stores all over the country.”
“I’ve never heard the name before, and I know all of the big ones.”
“Not all of them, clearly.”
“Do you own it?”
I debate whether to lie, but what’s the point? “Yes.”
A grimace graces her features. She’s so frigging transparent with her facial expressions, and clearly not finished with her questions.
“Why would you do this? It doesn’t make any sense. There have to be strings attached. I’ve figured that much out when it comes to you.”
She’s not wrong. In my world, nothing is freely given. Everything comes with a price.
I break it down for her. “For the duration of the contract, you work directly with me. Not your assistant or a salesman. You.”
“So, it’s not a gift. Because if it were, there would be no strings.” She shakes the paper between us. “This is just another way for you to control me.” Her voice is quiet, and her words hit me like a gut punch.
She’s right. My first attempt to give her something I know she wants, and I fuck it up.
I snatch the contract out of her hand, pull a pen from my breast pocket, and take it over to the table. I scratch out the clause, initial it, and turn it back around.
“There.” I shove the agreement at her.
The line between Keira’s eyebrows deepens as her gaze darts between me and the document. “I don’t understand.”
My fingers crease the paper as my grip tightens on it. My jaw still tight, I reply with my final offer. “No strings and a healthy profit margin.”
I’m giving up all the leverage in this deal and receiving nothing from her in return, which feels beyond foreign.
Keira’s teeth tug her bottom lip into her mouth as she reaches out to take the contract from me. Her every movement screams hesitation.
Because she doesn’t fucking trust you, I remind myself.
“There has to be something else. You don’t do anything that’s not calculated, and you certainly aren’t out to do me any favors.”
I want to point out the fact that there’s an extra five hundred grand in her checking account and her bank debts are paid, but I bite back the retort.
“Is it so hard to believe that I did it because it’s a good deal for Seven Sinners, which means it’s good for you?”
Her stubborn chin lifts another inch. “So, you’re patronizing me?”
I count to ten, my temper flaring again. I swear, this woman lives to test me. I attempt to do something helpful and she throws it back in my face . . . bu
t only because I attached the golden handcuffs to it first.
I release a breath, my temper ebbing once more. “No. I’m not patronizing you.”
