Extradition (Mobsters + Billionaires, #1)

by Kelly Fox

“Who am I? Motherfucker, you don’t wanna know who I am, but I’ll tell you this: if you think that you escaped captivity because you’re the top dog, you could not be more wrong. If I’m in captivity, you’re in captivity with me. The only thing that alpha bullshit ever got you was a prettier cage.”

I Google gazelles through the first mile, and the only photographs I find feature lions dining on the ones they just mauled to death. So, perhaps not a gazelle.

I’m told it’s twice the size of the average Manhattan apartment. A fact that used to make me feel proud. Now it makes me wonder about the people who live in apartments half the size of my office.

Ah finally thinking about those “lesser” than you. Painful isn’t it. This book is gonna be so good!

“Do you really think that’s a livable wage?” “It’s janitorial work!” Blink. Blink. “If you don’t think it’s important, try going a week without those folks doing their job. Go ahead.” My jaw drops. “I said what I said.”

First and foremost, people are no longer willing to work for less than they deserve. There is no reason for them to stay here if they can earn more money and have a better work-life balance somewhere else.

There’s that inner drill sergeant again, yelling at him for showing the tiniest hint of emotion.

How sad. Well if anyone can change that, it’ll be Joe.

“Psst, billionaire,” Joe says, crooking his finger at me. I lean in, nervous. “Calling anyone ‘the help’ is dehumanizing and marks you as an out-of-touch one-percenter who deserves to be eaten.” He emphasizes this by chomping his sexy teeth together.

Before all of this happened, it was so easy—too easy—for me to get away with saying things that are outdated and plain wrong. Even with Sherry, I wonder how often she doesn’t say something because she simply has to pick her battles.

“It’s meatloaf. It doesn’t matter what’s in it. You don’t get to pick at it. You don’t get to ask for special things. You just sit there and be a good boy and eat what I make for you.” Did I put a little bass in my voice at the end there? Yes. Yes, I did.

“You weren’t lying the other day, were you? Rand is a good man.” “Yes. He very much is.” Grayson regards me for a few seconds. “And thanks to you, more people will get to see him the way I’ve seen him.” “You think so?” He nods, thoughtful. “You put a big crack in that mask of his, and right in time. The strain of wearing it was getting to him. I think your confrontation in that meeting was the last time he could convincingly tell that lie.” I shift, turning toward him. “Yeah?” “He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I wonder how he’s never stumbled. Even in that meeting, he did everything exactly from the playbook he’s been given since birth. And some part of him probably believed it. But then he spoke to a man with real power.” He gestures at me. “The kind of power that comes from understanding who you are at the core. And very quickly, all of that posturing seems very cheap indeed.”

“You are the one thing I cannot buy, Joe. And because I know you will never take advantage of my wealth, it makes me want to be generous with it. So please, shush, and let me do nice things for you.”

“My life is very strange. I got taken down by a mobster, and now I’m friends with them.” “Not much of a difference from the CEO crowd, is it?” “That’s not true. Most CEOs are assholes.”

A lot of people had already figured it out, and since we’re gay, they don’t want to be seen as bigoted. So…yay for progress?”

“You, Joe, are my most valuable asset. I could lose every penny, but if I still had you, I’d be the richest man in the world.”