Unwilling Pawn by Measha Stone

Chapter 5

Christian

Words such as generous and reasonable were wasted on the likes of me. When I set my eyes on something I wanted, there would be nothing getting in my way.

No matter the cost. I would own it.

Kacper Dudek’s office sat at the back east corner of his house. The windows overlooked the expansive back yard. I doubted he ever spent any time admiring the perfectly manicured lawn or the gardens in full bloom. He wasn’t a man who could appreciate natural beauty.

While I was sure he never stepped foot in them, I had a good feeling Amelia spent plenty of time admiring the blossoms.

Since seeing her at the party, I’d gotten to know my little intruder. I knew what schools she attended and what grades she received. While I expected to find musical classes littering her transcripts, I was surprised to see none. She had earned a degree in hospitality from the University of Chicago, but not a single class in music.

I’d also found out her social history along with the name of every boyfriend she’d ever had—which wasn’t hard; there were only three. And none in the last year and a half.

As interesting as I found her, it was her father that really piqued my interest. Why he would be trying to get into bed with a man like Sebastian Gorecki, and why would he be dragging his daughter along with him?

Once I had my answer to that question, I had set my course. And once I had decided on something, there was no changing my mind.

“Christian! Hello.” Kacper bounded into his office wearing a deep brown sweater pulled tightly over his bulging stomach, and a pair of dark trousers. He reached me in three large steps with his hand outstretched. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon, but it’s good to see you.”

I ignored his hand, purposefully slipping mine into the pockets of my pants. He dropped his protruding hand.

“Maryellen didn’t get you a drink,” he said disapprovingly as he moved toward the bar in the far corner of the room.

“I didn’t want one.” I corrected him. The poor housekeeper looked as though she would fall over if I blew too hard in her direction. Maybe I should have shaved before heading over. I would have looked slightly less like the devil.

“Oh, well, mind if I have one?” He chuckled while pouring himself a glass of bourbon.

I walked to the chair facing his desk and sank down into the leather, unbuttoning my suit jacket as I did so.

“So,” he said with a heavy breath after a long stretch of silence. “How can I be of help?”

“I’ve been going over our books, records of debts owed, that sort of thing.” I flicked an imaginary piece of lint from my knee. “And I came to your name.”

“Debts? Yes. I borrowed money from your cousin, Piotr—again, I am sorry for your loss. He was a good man.”

I arched a brow. Ass kissing sickened me, and having it done over the piece of shit my cousin was made it worse.

“Thank you. As you know, I’ve acquired the debts owed to him, because a debt to him was truly a debt to our family,” I explained, keeping my eyes fixed on him. He folded his hands on the desk, staring back at me as though I’d hung the moon for him. Stupid bastard.

Piotr loved to be fawned over. The more people tripping over themselves to lick his boots, the more important he felt. I wasn’t my cousin.

“The amount is substantial,” I continued. Seemed the big important investment broker was making bad investments left and right. He needed to cover a lot of his own miscalculations while trying to keep clients happy enough not to pull out.

He nodded along with me. None of this was news to him, and to his credit he had made the payments required of him to keep all of his limbs attached to his body.

“It’s more than I would have allowed, but Piotr was in charge at the time.”

“Yes. He did mention it was more than typical, but I’ve made good on the terms.” He pressed his palms together and pointed his fingers at me. “Not a day late. Not even once.”

“Yes. And that’s good. But I heard a rumor that has me concerned.”

His throat worked as he swallowed hard. “Rumor?”

“Sebastian Gorecki seems to have some interest in you.”

His shoulders fell, and he smiled. “Not me, my daughter.”

“But a marriage to her is really an alliance with you, yes?” This prick couldn’t think I didn’t know how this game was played. He might not live in the shadows as much as my family, but the rules weren’t all that different. Kacper Dudek had power, influence where it mattered in Chicago. He could sway the right people to make the right deals, and when words couldn’t get the job done, he was able to arrange for meetings that would bring men like me to the table. He was valuable.

To a point.

“I’m sure my ability to get things moving at City Hall will benefit him at some point,” he said slowly.

“I understand why he would want to get closer to a man like you, but I can’t figure out why you would want to get in bed with a man like Sebastian Gorecki.” I steepled my hands, staring him down. His eyes flickered from side to side, trying to find somewhere—anywhere—to look besides me.

“My daughter finds him—”

“I don’t like liars, Dudek,” I cut him off with a hard tone. He snapped his mouth closed. “What has he offered you in exchange?”

He flattened his hands on the desk, bracing himself, I supposed, for the impact of his words. “Money.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Money? More than what you’ve already borrowed from me?”

He nodded. “A few of my investments went bad. In order to pay you back, I’ve had to borrow from others, including Sebastian.”

I rolled my shoulders back. Sebastian didn’t have the sort of capital to put him in the loansharking market.

“He’ll wipe the debts clean for you in exchange for your connections?” It was a long shot, I had no real clue what Sebastian really wanted, but I knew his history.

“He wants to bring a casino to the lake.”

“And to do that he’ll need your connections and your stature. Having your daughter as his wife gives him the appearance of legitimacy.” I rested my hands back on my knees. Sebastian wanted to head into the gambling business, and he wanted to make a legitimate name for himself.

And whatever Sebastian wanted, I wanted more.

“He could be making this deal with you without having to involve your daughter. Why marry her when he could wipe away your debts himself for the connections he wants?”

The color washed away from his cheeks and like the fearful puppy he was quickly becoming, his shoulders sagged.

“You won’t be making this deal with him,” I stated flatly.

“But…why?” He looked like a child who’d just been denied another round of PlayStation.

“Because I’m making you a better deal. The only deal you’ll be accepting. Your debts to my family will be wiped clean, and I’ll handle the outstanding balances you have with the others.”

“Y-you’re letting me out of my debt?” His eyes went wide. An appropriate response to being gifted five million dollars.

“And I’m taking care of the rest of the debt, which adds up to another three million, so that’s a dowry of eight—hell, let’s round it up to ten million dollars.”

He blinked several times before falling back in his chair. “You’re giving me ten million dollars? For what?”

“Your daughter.” I splayed my hands out. “There will be no marriage between her and Sebastian Gorecki, and no alliance between you and him.”

“You want Amelia? My daughter?”

Want wasn’t really the right word for it. Craved worked better. An itch that I’m sure would go away once I scratched it. And as much as I didn’t like the prospect of marriage, at least it would put her out of Sebastian’s grasp. He wouldn’t get the access he wanted. It was worth the few times a year I’d have to visit my wife tucked neatly away in New York or Chicago. I hadn’t decided yet where I’d have her live once I was finished with her.

The thick leather creaked as Kacper sat back in his chair. He curled one hand over the other and rested them both on his stomach.

“From what I’ve heard, you’re shopping around for a husband, someone who will marry Amelia and get her off your hands.” Since he wasn’t going to be completely honest, I would be. Like most people in the circles he ran, he underestimated my attention to details.

Information is as good as cash in my world, and I was loaded.

“Rumors spread like wildfire.” He tried to cover, but I could see through him like the cheap material he was.

“Well, this one happens to be true.” I stood up from my chair, tired of the back and forth. There was no need to convince this man to do as I was telling him; he either would, or he’d be ruined.

“How do I know she’ll be safe with you?” He tilted his head, but even with the fake concern in his tone, I could see the dollar signs in his eyes. With his connection to me, he could possibly spread his business, work in the shadows more. He might be able to make himself beyond rich.

“You’re shopping for a husband for your daughter because you need the inheritance that relinquishes to you once she’s out of your care. You’ve kept her living here under your roof to continue getting the payouts from her trust for her care. Once she has a wedding ring on her hand, the full amount of her inheritance goes to her, but you retain the remainder of the trust.”

He went pale. The fucking prick. He’d been living off his daughter’s money for years, and now that he needed to cash out the trust, he needed her gone.

“How would you know that?”

“You’ll send for Amelia now. You can tell her that we’ve agreed on a marriage. Tomorrow you’ll make an announcement and on Sunday we’ll—”

“Sunday? Why so quickly?” He shoved up to his feet. If he was trying to show some sort of prowess, he’d have to gain a few inches. Toe to toe, I probably had a full head over him.

“I want her to be safe.” And away from his money-hungry fists.

“Absolutely not! There’s a way these things are done. A full announcement. An engagement party should be thrown before the wedding. This will all take time.” He rattled off a useless list of events.

“None of that is needed. You can make an announcement if you’d like, but it will be a marriage announcement.” I wouldn’t give him time to allow Sebastian to wiggle in and take her from my grasp.

His chest puffed out.

“And if things don’t move in the fashion I’ve just described, you still won’t have the alliance with Gorecki, you won’t have the money you need to pay off your debts, and I will personally make Amelia aware that if she manages to stay single for just one more year, she’ll inherit her mother’s full estate, cutting you completely out of the trust.”

His eyes bulged. “Fine,” he muttered when he finally found his voice. “You’ll pay the debts, all of them?”

“I will. You’ll get your extra two million. And you will do everything in your power to stop Sebastian Gorecki from getting the necessary licenses to open his casino.”

“What am I supposed to say to him?” Panic returned to his features. They’d already struck a deal, going back on that was dangerous.

“I really don’t give a shit,” I shrugged. “Now, send for Amelia.” I pointed to the door.

He picked up the receiver of the desk phone as though it weighed twenty pounds and hit an automatic dial button. His eyes never met mine while he waited for someone to answer on the other side of the line.

“Please have Amelia come down to my office.” He started to pull the receiver away to hang up when something else was said from the other line that made him pause. His jaw tensed and his eyes did finally raise up to mine. Fear floated into the blue orbs. “Thank you.” He hung up the phone.

“Is there a problem?” I asked, already knowing damn well there was one.

“She’s not here.”