The Love Of Money - S02 E179

Story 2 months ago

The Love Of Money - S02 E179

Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 179

If it was the same poison, then maybe Tanaka had killed Colin Gerrard, which meant that Tanaka hadn’t just had a beef with me, but my grandfather. Was Tanaka really that butt-hurt over what happened at the board meeting, or was there something more going on?

It was all so messy… so unclear

“Can you find out for sure?” I asked Psalter.

“Given a few more days, perhaps,” he said. “This is a high-profile case, though. Getting that sort of access won’t be easy… or cheap.”

I winced at that. “My funds… they’re a little tied up at the moment.”

“So I gathered,” Psalter said. “Don’t worry. I have my own discretionary budget. You can compensate me at your earliest convenience.”

“So, you’re not jumping ship?”

“You’re paid up until January. You won’t have to worry about me ‘jumping ship’ until then.”

“Thanks,” I said, a tinge of bitterness at the way he’d said it. I liked Psalter. His stories were fun, he was effective, and we got on well. It was only at times like this that I remembered that, at the end of the day, he was just an employee whose loyalty I’d bought.

It was a cynical way of looking at it, but it was true.

“My pleasure. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some things to attend to.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Chloe said as Psalter grabbed his coat and shrugged it on. “I have a few questions for you.”

“I have to make a few calls as well,” Helen said, holding up her phone.

“Tell your daughter I said ‘hi.’” There was quite a bit of sharpness to my tone.

“Step-daughter,” Helen reminded me, “and I’m not talking to her. She stepped out of the office with her phone to her ear, and I heard her business-like murmur fade as she walked away.

“I’m going to see what I can do about this campaign,” Charity said. “By the way… I tried to call Karly, but she didn’t answer. I’m a little concerned that she might have lost interest since all this went down.”

“I can’t say I blame her,” I said. “Thanks.”

Charity came over to me to give me a kiss—one on the mouth… soft and lingering. “Don’t worry,” she murmured as she broke the kiss, staring up at me with her lovely almond eyes. “We’ll get through this.”

I gave her a weak smile. “Thanks.”

Then she left me alone with Erin.

I dropped onto the couch, feeling hopeless. I didn’t know what to do. I was literally a prisoner in my own home… likely with people who wanted to kill me right outside the door. My finances had taken a big hit. People were threatening to sue me. Charity was doing her damndest to fight a battle to keep the public from turning on me.

A tumbler full of brown liquid came into view, fingers with black fingernails holding the rim. I looked up to see Erin staring down at me, a look of cool concern painted on her features.

“Thought you could use a drink, boss.”

“Thanks,” I said, taking it from her.

“Noooo problem,” Erin said, dropping onto the couch beside me, her own tumbler in hand. Sitting on the other side of her was the decanter. She’d brought it with her.

I threw back the drink, and she did the same before pouring us both another. We sat in silence, shoulder-to-shoulder, drinking as we let the entire situation sink in.

“Hey, Erin,” I said after my third finger of alcohol. “What if I lost all my money tomorrow?”

“Huh?” my assistant asked, not quite understanding what I was getting at.

“Psalter,” I said. “That stuff about having paid up until January. It got me thinking…”

“Oh,” Erin said. She looked back down at her tumbler thoughtfully.

“Would you still be with me?”

She didn’t respond.

I couldn’t blame her. Money had summoned her to my side. Money is what kept her here. If I lost all of it, it made sense that she would disappear the same way Psalter would. Her silence didn’t exactly feel good, but at least it was honest.

I wondered if any of them would stay with me.

Would Helen? She had no husband. No home. If YPV lost me as a client, Karl and William would likely find some way to muscle her out. The only reason she’d made partner was because I demanded it—in exchange for my continued patronage. Carl was a prideful man. Without me applying pressure, I was sure he’d exert his will.

Still, Helen had to have a decent amount of money by now. She’d be fine, even if she didn’t have a job or a home.

All of them would be, really—except maybe Bobbi. She’d been working a dead-end job and living a dead-end life. I didn’t want to paint myself as some kind of savior for her, but I had a pretty good feeling that if she lost me, she’d slip back into her shady ways.

I was pretty certain, though, that she’d go wherever I went.

Or perhaps… wherever Helen went.

Erin was the only one I hadn’t been sure about. But I guess now, I had a pretty good idea.

Speaking of friends, I picked up my phone as Erin poured another drink. There were a lot of missed calls—over a hundred, in fact. My mom. My dad. Richie. Dillon. Jonah. Kwan. Rose…

Twenty-six missed calls from Astrid. God damn.

And, of course, eleven from Natalie.

I needed to call her back more than anyone else. She didn’t deserve being ignored—especially when I was relatively sure that if I lost my fortune tomorrow, Natalie would still… stick with me.

Loyalty. That counted for a lot in the “pro” column for Natalie being a girlfriend.

“I should probably call them back—”

A fierce kiss from Erin cut off my words. Her dainty hand cupped my cheek, and I could feel the faintest whimper vibrate against my mouth.

There was no tongue. This wasn’t that kind of kiss. It was soulful—sincere, and full of need.

We kept at it, lips sliding, hers catching my bottom lip to tug, massage, wrestle. Every pause came with a needy little hiccup—a quiet gasp of air, just enough to survive before diving back into the ocean of heat and hunger.

She slid onto my lap with almost supernatural grace, straddling me. Her tiny ass settled perfectly as she wrapped her arms around my neck and kept kissing me. The taste of her lipstick smeared across my lips was intoxicating, and the floral scent of her shampoo was all I could smell.

And then she broke the kiss.

She didn’t move away—she stayed close, her forehead pressed to mine, eyes closed as she breathed deeply.

Finally, her lashes fluttered open. She looked at me through that heavy, molten gaze, still breathing hard.

“I’m not gonna lie to you,” she whispered.

I laid my hands on her impossibly slender waist, stroking gently. “Okay.”

She kept staring—slow blinks, heavy breathing. “I don’t know.”

It wasn’t the most satisfying answer, but somehow it made my heart swell more than knowing Natalie would never leave my side. Erin’s answer felt… real.

“I understand.”

“You think you do.” She shook her head, a faint smile curving her lips. “You don’t.”

“Then tell me,” I said, confused.

“Take me on my date first,” she murmured. “Then maybe I will.”

“I will,” I said. “First chance I get.”

She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded—then guided my hands between her legs.

I felt the steady click of my zipper as it slid down, opening my fly. Her dainty fingers slipped inside and fished out my cock. It wasn’t particularly hard, so it came free easily.

Something about this time felt different—not bad, just… different.

“I—We don’t have to—”

“I want to,” she interrupted, quiet but confident.

Her cool fingers wrapped around me and began to stroke. Despite everything—the exhaustion, the mess, the uncertainty—I felt myself start to stir. That old hunger, stretching and waking.

By now, Erin could’ve turned me on in her sleep. In less than a minute, I was nearly at full length, thanks to skimming knuckles, grazing fingertips… lips on mine.

We started necking heavily as she lifted her hips and guided the head of my cock to her moist, waiting cunt. As soon as I felt the head lodge between her lips, she slid down with practiced ease.

Her breath came out in a ragged little gasp against my mouth as I sank fully into her.

And then we were joined once again.

Most of our fucks had been fun, frenzied romps—some even borderline romantic. This one felt different. Like it needed to be savored, just in case it was our last.

I knew things might get tougher moving forward… tougher than normal.

That seemed absurd, considering Vegas and Norway.

But back then, I’d only had a few assholes mad at me. Now it felt like it was nearly the entire world.

Somehow, Erin made all that matter a fraction less as she stared down at me, slowly riding me.

She gave a gentle smile, reached for her glass and the decanter. Still moving on me, she poured another drink, downed it, then filled one for me.

And that’s how we continued—sharing a tumbler of brown as we fucked slow, not knowing what tomorrow might bring.

I’m not sure how long we stayed like that. It felt like forever. I remember her coming twice… but I don’t recall getting there myself.

The alcohol got to me first… and then unconsciousness.

Blessed unconsciousness.

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To Be Continued...