Once inside, Kingsley had disappeared and the three stood waiting awkwardly.
Ori was highly irritated that she had been made to come in. There were a lot of things she was okay with, but this was not one of them.
She had asked Shawn to stop selling coke before he had even began. After countless arguments always ending in something like "You're not my mother, Or," or "Get off my back. I'm the only one providing for this family, and if you don't like how I run things, you can leave," Ori stopped asking.
She was reliving their last argument in her head when a bald man in black slacks (whom she assumed to be some sort of guard) entered the room.
"Mr. Kingsley is in his office. You're welcome to go back now."
Shawn followed suit as the remaining two began to sit down on a fainting couch next to the door. Before their butts reached the seats, the man appeared back in the doorway.
"Everyone is welcome to come back," he said sternly. She then realized that whoever's home they were in, "welcome" meant "required."
They entered a large room the color of wet concrete. The floors were made of dark wood and were shinier than she had saw her own in a very long time. On one side of the office sat a grand table, accompanied by stacks upon stacks of blocks of snow. There were two men who stood together talking beside of it. Both instantly grew silent as the trio approached. On the other side of the room, a man sat behind a desk equally as grand as the table. There were three winged, claw foot chairs set out before the desk.
"Alexander, would you be so kind as to assist Mr. Hawthorne and his partner with their groceries?"
Dylan and Shawn followed Alexander to the snow covered table.
Ori's cheeks lit up with embarrassment and anger. Not only was this the last place she wanted to be, but she was now standing awkwardly in front of a man who was looking at her as if she'd killed his dog. Aside from the fact that she was present for the deal to begin with, Ori didn't know which one was frustrating her the most at this moment: the fact that she was being stared at so intently by a stranger, the fact that she found this man to be incredibly attractive, or the fact that this incredibly attractive man was a coke dealer. She didn't have to ask. He was the dealer, and his posture made that clear.
"Sit." He bore a smile on his cold, granite face - but it didn't belong to him. Ori could see that. A smile like that could only belong to a wolf.
She didn't hesitate.
"You're Eric's daughter then?"
"Ori Hawthorne. Pleasure. You... knew my dad?"
Ori was in disbelief. What on earth would her father have to do with this man? He had never done any sort of hard drug that she had previously been aware of.
He certainly wouldn't have been moving or purchasing them, she thought.
Her distress began to spell itself out on her forehead.
This bothered Ever.
Was she ashamed her father had associated with him? Ever's name was (to the public) pure gold, aside from the handful of people who had been affected negatively by his career. How could she seem so dishonored? Or was she just afraid that she was stumbling on some terrible truth about her dad?
Oh! That's it.
"Ever Kingsley. Likewise. And yes, I did know your father. I was very sorry to hear about his accident," he said.
YOU ARE READING
Drug Lord
Romance"That single thought is enough. The impulse increases to a wish, the wish to a desire, the desire to an uncontrollable longing, and the longing (to the deep regret and mortification of the speaker, and in defiance of all consequences,) is indulged."...
