Chapter 4 - The Offer
Harper felt as though the floor had given way beneath her feet. The shear indignity of Caleb’s cowardice was almost laughable. He had cheated on her, stolen her money, and now, faced with actual dangerous men, he was willing to sell out her professional integrity just to clear his own stupid debts.
“He’s a coward,” Harper whispered, her knuckles turning white as she squeezed the armrests of the chair. “He’s a pathetic, spineless coward.”
“That he is,” Dominic agreed smoothly, leaning back against the edge of his desk and folding his arms across his chest. “In my world, men like Caleb Thorne are the most dangerous kind of vermin. They have no loyalty, no honor, and no spine. They sell out anyone the moment things get difficult.”
Harper looked up at Dominic, her fear of him suddenly eclipsed by a burning, white-hot rage toward the man outside the door. “What are you going to do to him?”
Dominic raised an eyebrow, amused by the sudden steel in her voice. “That depends on you, Harper.”
“On me?”
“Caleb Thorne owes my establishment sixteen thousand dollars including interest,” Dominic stated coolly. “He attempted to trade corporate secrets he does not even possess—secrets from your firm—to settle that debt. Technically, he has committed fraud against the Vulpes organization. By our rules, that warrants a very permanent solution.”
Harper swallowed hard. As much as she hated Caleb in this moment, the thought of him being murdered in the basement of a nightclub made her stomach turn. “You... you can’t kill him.”
“I can do whatever I deem necessary within these walls,” Dominic corrected her softly, his tone devoid of any emotion. “However, I am a businessman, not a mindless butcher. I prefer solutions that yield a high return on investment.”
He pushed off the desk and walked slowly around her chair, his tall frame casting a long shadow over her. “You are a certified auditor, Harper. Marco tells me you specialize in forensic accounting and tax structuring.”
Harper blinked, taken aback by the shift in conversation. “Yes. I... I specialize in finding discrepancies in large corporate ledgers.”
“Fascinating,” Dominic murmured, stopping right beside her. “As it happens, my family holds extensive legitimate business interests across Chicago—real estate, logistics, hospitality. But my current financial director has recently developed a habit of misplacing funds. I suspect he is stealing from me, but he is clever enough to hide the paper trail.”
Harper looked up, beginning to understand where this was going. “You want me to audit your books.”
“I want you to find my money,” Dominic corrected sharply. “I want a brilliant, angry accountant who has no ties to my organization, no loyalty to my captains, and every reason to be thorough.”
“And if I do?” Harper asked, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Dominic leaned down, bringing his face inches from hers. The scent of sandalwood and expensive liquor enveloped her senses. “If you spend the next two weeks going through my ledgers and find my missing funds, I will consider your presence here tonight fully compensated. Furthermore, I will personally handle Mr. Thorne’s debts.”
“What does that mean?” Harper whispered, held spellbound by his dark gaze.
“It means,” Dominic said, a wicked, cold smile spreading across his lips, “I will seize every asset Caleb Thorne possesses to cover his debt to me. His car, his accounts, his apartment. I will leave him destitute, broke, and blacklisted from every financial institution in the city. He will have nothing left—not even Chloe.”
Harper stared at Dominic, her mind racing. It was a deal with the devil. She would be stepping directly into the inner workings of a major crime syndicate, putting herself in immense danger if she failed or if his men turned on her. But on the other hand, it offered her a way out of her financial ruin, protection from Caleb’s mess, and a chance at absolute, devastating revenge against the man who had destroyed her life.
“And my safety?” Harper demanded, her voice steadier than it had been all night. “If I work for you, how do I know I won't just end up in a ditch when I’m done?”
Dominic straightened up, placing his hand over his heart in a gesture that was half-mocking, half-deadly serious. “You have my word as a Vulpes, Harper. Protect my interests, and no one in this city will ever touch a hair on your head. You will be under my personal protection.”
May you like
Harper looked at the mahogany desk, at the bloodied history of the room, and then down at her hands. The quiet, passive girl who had walked into the nightclub tonight had been murdered the moment she saw Caleb with Chloe. The woman sitting here now wanted justice.
She looked up at Dominic, her eyes flashing with newfound resolve. “Show me the ledgers.”
