Michael sat back in the chair at his desk.
Jean had just left, and despite being in control the whole time, he could not get his heart to stop racing.
It had taken all of his self-control not to go over to the sofa where she sat and kiss her till both of them could no longer breathe.
From the very first moment he had set eyes on her, as she walked into the office, every plan he had formulated for the past three weeks flew out of his head, and he was nearly at a loss for words.
Thankfully, he had mastered the art of organizing his thoughts in tense or unexpected situations, and that had helped him.
He had made sure to go on with things as planned.
He made her feel small, cornered.
He made her feel fear, and then he laid down the bomb.
Michael had to admit, he was quite shocked when she refused his offer.
He’d always known there was something unique about Jean, and it was quite unfortunate that the person she had chosen to love was none other than a drug addict scum who used her like a rag.
Furthermore, he was surprised when she snapped and almost defended herself but stopped.
Any other person would’ve laid down their life history, what pushed them into doing the things she did, but not Jean.
She did not explain and was ready to receive the punishment for her crime, and even willing to take the blame for that stupid boyfriend of hers.
It had not been difficult to fish her out after that night.
Michael had gone to the club a week after, and after asking the bartender if he remembered the girl he was with, the guy denied it, and Michael had to leave him a reasonable sum of money, and he was running like a tap.
He did some digging and found that Jean had been orphaned at a young age.
He saw that she grew up with her aunt and her husband, and all of a sudden, she’d run away from home to live with Jeff Peterson, a junky who had gotten chased away from home by his parents.
He set some guys on her and Jeff, and they reported all that Jeff did.
He’d been arrested a couple of times, but they were never for serious crimes, and his men also gathered that Michael wasn’t the first man she would be pulling that stunt on.
He felt sorry for her because she was being used and she had no idea.
She had lost her parents at a young age, and Jeff was probably the one person who had been there for her during some of her tough moments, unfortunately for her.
He had exploited her, seen how vulnerable she was when it came to him, and he had manipulated her into doing his dirty work.
Michael felt his anger rise at the thought of just what the poor girl must’ve had to endure at the hands of some of the men she had done business with, and he wanted nothing more than to bash Jeff’s head in.
Michael gripped the paper in his right hand so tightly until his knuckles turned white.
He looked at Jeff’s photograph on the paper.
It was one of him and Jean going into a restaurant.
It was a week after that night with Jean, and he did not doubt that it was his money they were spending.
Jean had sunglasses on, and she wore a beautiful, brown crop top that exposed a fair amount of her slim waist and belly, on a high waist jean.
She looked so damn hot, and it infuriated Michael that she was wasting away with that lowlife.
When Jean had defended him just some moments ago, his anger had gone through the roof, and he had to control himself not to yell at Jean and call her a stupid child.
The office phone rang just then, drawing Michael out of his thoughts, and he picked it up.
“One Miss Katherine is here to see you, sir.” “Send her up,” Michael said before slamming the receiver down.
He waited patiently, his eyes fixed on the door, anticipating the entrance of Katherine.
It’s been a while since he saw her, and even though he would never tell her to her face, he missed her.
The door finally opened, and a tall, slim lady with auburn hair walked in wearing a flowered sundress and a beach hat.
She had three diamond necklaces on her neck, two diamond rings in each ear.
Her bracelets were made of real gold, Michael was sure, and her smile was like a ray of sunshine.
“Hello, brother.” She said.