Art of War (A Stern Family Saga Book 3) Page 10

  He clears his throat and says, “I’m so sorry, Ms. Larussa, I had no idea. I mean, it was never said that Mr. Murphy had a child.”

  I swallow my hurt at the fact that it’s just been proven that my father never mentioned me to anyone.

  “Yes, well it was on a need to know basis. Now that you understand who I am, who are you?”

  “I’m Tom Williams, I’m your head of security.”

  I stand tall. “I’m going to tell you this once. If I ever offer my hand for you to shake again and you deny it, I will treat it as an act of disrespect. I will not put up with my employees disrespecting me. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

  He swallows hard, nodding his head. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good, because I know you don’t know me yet, but I am the boss, and I will be treated like it. I won’t accept anything less. So please, go pass it around that the new boss is a real bitch because trust me, I am.” I gesture in a shooing manner. “Go on, start now.”

  He leaves the room fast with his tail between his legs. Kyle starts busting out laughing. “Girl, you are a total badass.”

  “They will all learn that soon enough. Now, let’s get to work.”

  “Okay, what’s first, Boss?”

  “First, I want to meet with HR, and I want to meet with all my floor managers. Then we are going to tear this office apart looking for anything I can use to find out what the hell is going on. Got all that.”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  I throw a ball of paper at his head that hits him right smack on his forehead. “Hey, don’t you badass me. I’ll knock that shit out of you, girl.”

  “Yeah, yeah, Scrappy, get out.” Now to get to work. I start digging through all my father’s drawers. Some things need to be thrown out, but not a single piece of paper will go unread.

  Two hours later, I’m meeting with HR in my office, and we go through the employee policies of the casino, some of which I change. An hour after that meeting, I have another meeting with all my floor managers at one time. Most were called in to work for this special meeting, but they all showed. Learning everything and trying to remain in charge is a difficult balance.

  It’s now supper time, and I haven’t left this office all day. Kyle and I are still going through every inch of space in the office. I find more ledgers, but so far nothing out of the ordinary.

  “Murphy, I’m getting hungry; can we take a break to go eat?”

  I want so desperately to leave, but I know if I want to make any headway, I should keep going.

  “It’s going to be a long night. Why don’t you take a break, go eat? Hell, leave the casino for a while if you want, but I’m going to stay. Would you mind bringing me something back to eat, please?”

  “Sure, I wish you would come, but I understand. I’ll find something you like and bring it back to you.”

  For the next hour, my frustration continues to grow. It shouldn’t be this hard to find why my dad borrowed the money, nothing makes sense. Why would he risk his life’s work? Hungry and tired, my aggravation takes over and I push all the bullshit papers off my desk. Then I throw my head down on the desk and curse my life. Fuck, why did I do that? All I did was give myself more work to do, and now I’ve got to pick up all the fucking papers.

  I stand and make my way around to the front of the desk, seeing all the damage my tantrum did. “Fuck it all!” I bend down, getting on my hands and knees to make my way around, gathering all the papers. Then I notice some have fallen under the desk. So, squeezing further down with my ass stuck in the air to fetch the papers, suddenly I hear, “Hello, Red.”

  It’s him. I jump and hit my head under the desk, cursing as he starts laughing. “Shit!”

  18

  Zander

  Since Saturday night, I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything but my mysterious Red and why she ran out like that. I’ve also slept like shit, too. That night I slept at my mom’s with everyone. The next morning, all the teasing began. I expected it from my brothers, but shit, Fallon, and even Avery jumped on the bandwagon. They’re having a field day thinking that I got left hanging by a woman. I’ve always prided myself on being single. I’m a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy, but I never had a woman up and leave me. They know it’s affected my pride, so they keep grinding it in. Mom, on the other hand, kept watching me. It’s like she knows Red has affected me in a bad way.

  I left after breakfast to go home, but that didn’t help shit; I just drowned in my memories of her.

  Now it’s Monday, and my mom’s already called, wanting to remind me that I need to go to Murphy’s casino and meet the new owner. She wants me to make an offer to meet with Gabriel and her to discuss business. If he refuses, it’s my job to make him see the light. I tell her I have some other business to handle first, but I would make it to meet Murphy Larussa Jr. before the end of the day.

  Later in the evening, I send a text to Tom Williams. I ask him if the boss is there, and he responds with a simple yes. Tom, like many, can be bought to tell you anything. He’s someone who would never work for me or my family, but he makes my job so much easier.

  Pulling into the parking lot, I head to the back of the casino. I text Tom that I’m here, and he opens the door for me. I hand him some money and start walking. He tries to stop me to tell me something, but I keep walking; the less interaction I have with this asshole, the better. I go straight to the late Murphy’s office. As I open the door, I see papers scattered all over the floor and a big, round, luscious ass facing straight up at me. Gorgeous, I’ll be damned.

  I put my hands in my pockets and rock back and forth on my heels.

  “Hello, Red.” Her movements freeze, and I tell her, “I’d recognize that ass anywhere.”

  She hits her head on the underneath of the desk and starts cursing. The best part is when she starts wiggling her ass to back out from under the desk. Finally, with her head up, she looks at me, giving me a surprised look.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “First of all, I like you in this position, but can I help you up?”

  She takes my offered hand, and I pull her to her feet. “So, now why are you here?”

  “I’ve missed you, too, Red, but I wasn’t looking for you. I was looking for your boss.”

  She looks confused, but before I can say anything else, the door opens and the skinny guy that I saw with her at the hotel runs in with a bag. Before he sees me, he calls out, “Hey, hun, I brought you some Chinese.” Then he lets out a short and high-pitched scream when he notices me.

  “Oh shit, sorry, you scared me!”

  I look at Red, and she is trying not to laugh as I say, “You didn’t see me? That’s rare.”

  With a shaky voice, he says, “I was looking down, but yeah, I can’t believe it either.” Then he looks me up and down.

  I shrug and say, “That’s all right. I’m used to people screaming around me; it’s kind of my thing.”

  Now they both look baffled. I look over to Red; finally, I have it figured out. “That’s why you were at the party, you were spying for your boss.”

  The skinny guy says, “What boss?”

  I turn and look back at him and extend my hand for him to shake. “Excuse me, Mr. Larussa, I’m…”

  He shouts, looking between both me and Red, “Mr. Larussa? What’s going on? Am I being pranked?”

  Red leans against the desk and says, “He thinks you’re my boss.”

  Now they’re both laughing, and the guy sits on the arm of a chair. “That’s funny, man, you had me going. Look, Mister tall, dark and handsome, I’m not her boss, no one is. She won’t allow anyone to boss her around, if you know what I mean.”

  I’m starting to get frustrated; they have me looking like an idiot. “Okay, what the hell’s going on? I want to see Murphy Larussa Jr., and I’m not leaving until I do.”

  Their laughter starts to subside, and Red extends her hand for me to shake. “I’m Murphy Larussa, but I’m not a J
unior.”

  I know my mouth just dropped, but I can’t seem to raise it. “You’re Murphy’s son, I mean kid?”

  “Yes, Zander, I’m Murphy’s daughter. I’ve never been a boy, and I hope you would know that by now.”

  I look over to the guy and say, “So who are you?”

  “Oh, me? I’m Kyle, her best friend.”

  “So, you’re Murphy?” I bend in laughter and then say, “No wonder.”

  “No wonder what?” Red asks in a confused manner.

  “I’ve been looking for a guy.” Then I straighten my back. “Hey, I saw you at the Ritz, but you weren’t registered. Did you use Kyle’s name?”

  “Oh no, we used Cherry’s,” Kyle excitedly states.

  “Kyle, shut up!”

  He looks at me and says, “See, she’s so bossy.”

  “So, you’ve been here all this time under another name and being the opposite sex. I thought I was losing my touch. Damn, you’re good.”

  She stands and moves to the back of her desk. “Why are you looking for me, and how did you get back here?”

  I look back over to Kyle and notice him staring at my crotch. When he realizes I’ve noticed, he shoots his eyes up, looking like I just caught his hand in the cookie jar. Then it dawns on me.

  “I see she told you?”

  He nods his head.

  “Aw, Red, I thought I meant more to you than that.”

  Kyle hurries and says, “It was all good, I promise.”

  Well, that puts a smile on my face. I wink at him and say, “I aim to please.”

  “So, you like Chinese, Red?”

  Kyle rushes in, “She loves Chinese.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Okay, enough, Kyle. Shut up for real this time, and Zander, you didn’t answer me. Why were you looking for me?”

  “Not just me, Red, my family.” I walk around to the side of her desk. “Let me introduce myself properly. The name is Zander, Zander Stern.”

  Instead of shaking my hand, she slaps my face. “Damn, Red, why’d you do that?”

  “You’re a Stern?”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “Did you know who I was?”

  “I already told you I didn’t, I was looking for a dude. How was I supposed to know that a kid named after your dad was a woman?”

  She looks down and says, “I guess that makes sense, but you’re still a Stern. You should have told me your whole name.”

  I cock my head to the side. “You mean like you told me yours?”

  “Fuck you, Zander.”

  “You already did.”

  Shit, she slaps me again.

  “I think you need to leave.”

  “Look, Red –”

  “It’s Murphy. My name is Murphy.”

  I give her my most serious face. “Not to me, it’s not.”

  She goes to slap me again, but I grab her wrist and look straight at her. “You’ll always be Red to me.”

  I let her wrist go and say, “We need to discuss some business, but since we both had a shock today, I’ll be back in touch.”

  I turn and tell Kyle it was nice to meet him. I start to walk out of the office, but then I hear Kyle shout at me, “She loves Italian, too.”

  I smile and respond with, “Thanks. See, Red, I’ve already learned so much about you. I can’t wait to find out everything.”

  Murphy

  I can’t believe this. I throw myself into my chair and tell Kyle, “Don’t you start.”

  “I didn’t say anything, but if I would have, it would have been something like, wow, you’re in trouble.”

  “Tell me about it, how dare he!?”

  “Yeah, how dare he?” Kyle starts laughing.

  “What the hell are you laughing at?”

  “You. You got it bad.”

  Shocked, I say, “No, I don’t. You don’t know shit.”

  “Sure I don’t, Murph. I know what I saw, and that man is under your skin. I think you might have found Mr. Right.”

  “Zander is far from Mr. Right. Mr. Right is supposed to protect me. Not threaten me.”

  “Oh shit, I didn’t think of that. You think he’s the one who had someone threaten you?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Kyle becomes silent, and I take a moment to think about how I got myself into this fucking mess.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Nothing. I’m going to stay far away from the Sterns. I’ll just have to find a way to pay them off.”

  “Well, I guess we need to get back to work.”

  I nod in agreement. We begin tearing the office apart again. Around midnight, we call it a night. We both carry our tired asses into our hotel room and crash for a few hours before we get back to work the next morning.

  Sleep doesn’t come easy for me. I’m so wired, and all I can seem to think about is Zander. I get startled by a buzzing on my nightstand. I reach for my phone and see a text from an unknown number. I open it and read,

  Goodnight Red. Sleep well, I’ll see you soon.

  ME: How did you get this phone number?

  ZANDER: Did you think it was that easy to blow me off?

  How the hell did he get my phone number? He has another thing coming if he thinks I’ll sleep with him again. But then I think, should I text him back? I bite my lip, wondering and staring at the message.

  I decide not to respond; it’s better to leave him hanging. I don’t want him thinking I want to see him again because I totally do not want to see Zander Stern again. Possibly ever or maybe…no, definitely never.

  Then I hear another ding.

  ZANDER: I love watching you try though.

  The rest of the night, he continues to text every few minutes. Geez! This guy is determined, and I can’t help but smile. I kind of like it.

  ZANDER: Are you going to respond? Come on Red, I’m feeling lonely.

  ZANDER: You’ve been on my mind.

  A few minutes later:

  ZANDER: Well let me tell you about my day.

  That’s how the texts continue, he tells me all about his day. He even includes what he ate. It was cute, and it had me laughing until I fell asleep.

  19

  Zander

  She pissed me off last night not responding to my texts. She’s blowing me off. I know the move. And I fell for it. The more she ignored me, the more I tried. What the fuck is happening to me? All I know is I needed to have some kind of interaction with her, and I know she read each one of my texts, so I kept going.

  The next afternoon, I walk into my mother’s house, pissed and practically shouting. “We have a problem; Murphy Jr. is not a Junior. He is a she, and she wants nothing to do with our family or me.”

  Once I notice that everyone is here, I sit down on the sofa and Mom starts in on me. “What do you mean he’s a she?”

  “Just what I said, that’s why I couldn’t find him. He is a she! And she used another name. I was looking for a guy the whole time.”

  “So, you’ve seen her?” Gabriel asks.

  “Yep, and so have all of you.” With raised eyebrows set on their faces, I tell them, “Remember the redhead at the party?”

  Liam asks, “The one with the body? The one that ran off on you?”

  With a growl, I answer him, “Yeah, Liam, her. She’s Murphy Larussa, not a junior.”

  Everyone starts laughing except Mom. She sits in a chair and crosses her legs. She looks deep in thought.

  “Mom, what are you thinking?”

  “I’m not sure yet. Did you tell her that we wanted to speak to her? Did she maybe try to get close to you because of who you are?”

  “Not exactly. I plan on going back. I was too shocked. When she found out I was a Stern, she immediately seemed thrown off. I honestly believe she had no idea that I was a part of the family.”

  “She could be a good actress, maybe it was somehow her plan to get close to you.”

  Now I’m really getting pissed. “I’m telling you, that�
�s not what happened. First of all, I went after her, not the other way around. Plus, now she wants nothing to do with me!”

  “I saw you on the dance floor; that’s not what it looked like to me. Then she left once she was finished with you.”

  I stand. “Enough, you will not talk about her like that. Like she’s playing me. She’s not that kind of woman. She’s fiery and spirited, but she’s not manipulative. What I see is that she’s lonely down here. She’s confused about everything dealing with her father dying and now inheriting a debt she has no way of paying back.”

  Everyone stops whatever they were doing; they’re frozen in their spots. I just talked back to my mom, and no one does that. Shit, I watch as my mom stands. “You dare to contradict me over a woman? Since when do you become so protective that you come after me like that?”

  Fuck, I guess I have no way out, but I really don’t need one. I don’t know when it happened or why I’m taking up for Murphy, but right now I make my final decision.

  “Since now. I know what you want from her, and I know you have the power to get it. But I beg you, let me handle her. Give her time to get everything under control, and then I will work on her.”

  “Work on her, Zander? Haven’t you done enough of that already?”

  She’s crossed the line with me. “You listen up, Mother. I don’t give a fuck about her casino, but for some reason I do care about what happens to her. You are not to threaten her at all. I love you, but don’t you press me on this.”

  Mom’s mouth drops, and I know I went too far. I look at everyone surrounding us as they watch the shit show. I fucked up, but I’m not a man to regret my actions, and for some strange reason I don’t regret it at all. After the staring contest has ended, I rush out of the house as fast as I can.

  I leave in a hurry, not knowing what the fuck I just did in there or where I go from here. I hit my steering wheel in aggravation. Why did I do that? Mom’s always just looked out for us, and she’s probably right, it could have looked like Murphy was trying to seduce me on the dance floor. All right, fine, she was seducing me, but I know why. She was taking control of the situation I put her in. That night, our connection was not a game, and how dare she try to tell me that I wouldn’t know the difference? Over the years, my brothers and I have had a lot of women come on to us because of who we are. But Red, she had no clue; it was an honest connection. Mom has fucking nerve. I mean, she even taught Fallon how to seduce my older brother.