Chapter 6

Beethoven

I felt bad for Whiskee.

I thought she knew about the arrangement; otherwise, I would have kept my mouth shut so her brother could tell her. She needed to know, though. I was confident Pops and Carlos were somewhere finalizing the details of the agreement.

Whiskee was beautiful, which made this evening harder than I thought it would be. No matter how much I tried to avoid talking to her, Pops kept forcing conversation between us. Whiskee was cool. She had a calm spirit—until now. She was shaking as she stormed out of the dining room and she had every reason to be upset.

It was one thing for my father to ask this of me because I was in the business and dedicated to doing whatever it took to ensure it continued to flourish. From the sound of it, Whiskee didn't have anything to do with the business. It wasn't fair for her to be forced into this life, whether it benefited us all or not. If she wasn't willing to do this on her own, I would not force her to.

I stood and headed in her direction just as she whimpered and covered her face. "I don't even know where to go," she said into her palms.

Lowering her hands, I held the left one. "Follow me."

Each time she sniffled, that shit was like a shot to my heart. I looked down at her just as she quickly wiped away a tear. Jaw clenched, I tightened my grip on her hand. Forcing her into a marriage without her permission was some true bully shit… and I'd never liked bullies. I shouldn't have been surprised, though. Pops probably told Carlos not to tell her. He liked to be in control.

I led her to my father's office. Without knocking, I opened the door. Whiskee was like a little tornado as she made her way inside. Carlos stood immediately, tossing a nervous smile her way.

"Hey, sis, I…"

She slapped the spit out of his mouth.

"Damn!" I yelled, covering my mouth and my laugh.

Pops lowered his head, fingers pressing into his desk as his shoulders shuddered from his quiet laughter.

"Are you out of your fucking mind!" she roared as Carlos gripped his cheek and stared down at her with a frown. "There's no way in hell I'm marrying this man! I don't even know him! How dare you bring me here without telling me the whole truth!" She chuckled, crossing her arms as he took a step back from her. "Oh, I know why. It's because you knew I would say no."

"All right, that's enough," Pops said. "Simmer down so we can talk like adults."

"Now you want to talk like adults instead of making decisions for me like I'm a child?"

"Whoa," Carlos said, gripping her wrists and standing directly in front of his sister. "Pipe down, sis. That's not the man you want to disrespect."

"Neither of you have respected me in this situation, so I'm not giving my respect. I can't believe you, Los. How could you do this to me? Daddy hasn't been gone for but six months and you're already acting like a person I don't even know!"

"Sit down, Whiskee," Pops ordered with a firm tone.

When she didn't make a move, I walked behind her. If I was the only person on her side with this, maybe I could help keep the peace. With her wrist in my hand, I told her, "Let's sit down so we can keep this from escalating, okay?"

She stared at me for a few seconds before her body softened and she nodded. I led her over to the four leather chairs that were in front of Pops' large wooden desk. Instead of sitting next to her, I stood behind her. Quite frankly, I didn't trust either of them with Whiskee, and if needed, I wanted to be able to get her out of here quickly.

Whiskee looked up at me with watery eyes and gave me a soft smile.

Pops sighed as he took his seat. Carlos sat down as well. He didn't sit in the seat that was next to Whiskee, and that made me smile. So did the red print on his cheek.

"You're upset because you were left out of the conversation," Pops said, cupping his hands on the desk. "I get that. It wasn't our intention to make you upset. We wanted to get the details squared away before we brought you in. Now that we have, your brother can tell you everything freely."

Carlos picked up where Pops left off. "I told you how important it was for us to stay in business with Tim, and I also told you Pops was the only man he did business with that isn't in his family. In order for us to maintain our business relationship, we have to be considered family, Whiskee."

"Then do business with someone else."

"I can't. The strain that Tim produces for us is one of a kind. Our clientele pays what they pay because of it. If I switch the product, I risk them not being satisfied and going elsewhere. On top of that, Tim discounts the product because of how well our sales are. If I go to a different supplier, I'll end up spending three times as much for product that isn't as good or strong. And if I tried to grow it myself, not only would I have to wait for the harvest, but I'd have to spend a hell of a lot of money that we don't have to spare for production. That was never Pops' desire. We don't have a choice, sis, and I need you to understand that."

"Whether you understand or not," Pops said, "This is happening." He slid a folder in her direction. "We just signed the contract. Though… after seeing how beautiful and fiery you are, I wish I would have kept you for myself."

Whiskee snatched the folder up, and I read over the contract as I stood behind her. Sure enough, he and Carlos had outlined their business arrangement based on our impending nuptials. We were required to be married by the end of the year, or sooner depending on the needs of both families, or the agreement would be over. Both signatures tonight meant Carlos would be able to leave here and secure the product that had been sitting for the last six months.

"I advise the two of you to talk and come up with your own set of boundaries, rules, and expectations," Pops continued as he stood. "Carlos and I have more to discuss." When Whiskee remained silent as she continued to read, Pops chuckled and continued. "Bay, take your wife home, and make sure she understands tonight will be the first and last time she ever disrespects me."

"Sis," Carlos called, trying to hold her hand but she snatched it away. "I'm sorry, but I'm doing what is best for us."

"I hate you," she muttered through gritted teeth as she stood.

"I'll take you home," I offered, placing my hand on the small of her back to remind her that I was here. That she had someone in this room that was just as fucked up behind this as she was. That she had someone in her corner.

"We can talk when I get home," Carlos said as we left the office.

Her head shook but she remained silent. I was glad I drove instead of using our car service tonight. Once we made it outside, I opened the door for her, and she slipped into my silver Porsche 911 effortlessly.

"I don't want to go home," Whiskee said as soon as I got inside.

"Okay. Where can I take you?"

She rattled off an address that was close to forty-five minutes away, then we headed that way in silence. Well, aside from the music that played in the background. Her perfume enveloped me. The vanilla scent was sweet and spicy at the same time. I kept taking deep pulls, somehow soothed by the sensual embrace. When we pulled up to the complex, I walked her to the front door of apartment 1120.

"Whose house is this?" I asked as she stepped closer to the door. "Are you safe here?"

Whiskee nodded, avoiding my eyes. "Yes. This is my best friend's home. I'll be good. Physically at least."

"Take my number. I'm on your side, Whiskee."

Whiskee considered my words for a while before handing me her phone. After I gave it back, she surprised me by giving me a hug. I couldn't imagine how hard this was for her. I was angry when Pops first came to me about it, but Whiskee was angry and hurt. She had every right to feel all that she felt, but I would have to make sure she understood how dangerous it was to disrespect my father. He took that from no one and would kill her in the blink of an eye if she did it again. And for some reason, the thought of that angered me and made me want to protect her more.