A Pound of Flesh (A Pound of Flesh #1)(128)



“Austin,” Carter fumed. “There is a huge f*cking difference between not giving a shit and not appreciating being handled and played by an * who thinks he’s God’s gift because he wears an expensive suit. I went to prison, not f*cking dunce school. Your offer is shit. You know it. I know it. So, like I said, try again.”

The silence was deafening. “Fine,” Austin murmured. “I’ll get my law team and finance team to reevaluate, and we’ll get back to you.”

“Can’t wait,” Carter retorted. “May I be excused?” he asked with his hands on the arms of his chair.

[page]Austin didn’t answer but dipped his chin minutely, his stare fierce and angry.

“Thank f*ck,” Carter grumbled. “I have a literature session to get to.”

As Carter stood, he noticed both his cousins react instantly to his words. Adam, who was still standing to Carter’s left, shifted nervously, while Austin rubbed his palms together.

“Oh yes,” Austin said as Carter began walking across the office. “How is Kat?”

Carter froze with his hand on the door and gripped the cold steel in his fist. The question hung around the room like a putrid smell. It was, to anyone who didn’t know better, a simple, polite question. To Carter, the question reeked of a possessiveness that nobody but him had any right to feel. How the f*ck did he know Kat?

Carter’s heart pinched. He turned slowly, attempting to keep his expression neutral. Still, as soon as his eyes met Austin’s, Carter knew he was on thin ice. Asshole knew. What exactly wasn’t clear, but he knew something. Carter’s eyes darted to Adam, who was now apparently fascinated with his shoes.

Carter took a breath. “Kat,” he replied through a tight throat, “is just fine.”

Like a snake ready to strike, Austin smiled. “Oh, good,” he said with too much enthusiasm. “I was hoping she was.”

“Were you?” Carter seethed. His right eye twitched and his nostrils flared.

“Absolutely,” Austin replied, standing from his seat. He moved around his desk. “Oh, didn’t you know? Adam’s engaged to Beth, who’s known Kat for years. We’re friends, Kat and I. I knew she had family to see in DC and Chicago, so I haven’t seen her since her birthday party.”

Carter swallowed and bit his tongue so hard he could taste blood. “Birthday party?”

It was then that Carter noticed the absence of Austin’s wedding ring.

“Oh, yeah,” Austin answered. “We had dinner. Then I drove her home. We had a great time.” He f*cking grinned. “She loved my gift. She’s a great girl. Beautiful, too, but I guess … you know that.”

Carter shook with ferocious violence.

Austin and Kat had dinner? She’d been with him. In his car. Alone? Had she invited him up to her apartment? Did that mean they’d …?

Bile rose in his throat at the same time an agonizing pain hacked through him.

Austin continued. “I’m planning to take her out again, you know, go on a date and get her mind off work and less important matters.” Austin gestured toward Carter and grinned. “Like her students.”

Through the furious red haze, Carter could see the son of a bitch was goading him, taunting him, like a kid with a stick through the bars of the lion’s cage, waiting for the inevitable snap, wanting him to lash out and play right into Austin’s greedy f*cking hands.

Sure enough, the rope of sanity Carter was holding on to within himself was thinning rapidly, while the grip he had on it was tenuous at best. He wanted nothing more than to grab Austin by his neck, rip off his balls with his bare hands, and throw him out of his office window.

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