Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
“Okay. Understood. What are the other ones?” He bet money that she was taking good notes and memorizing everything he was saying. She was far too focused to not be.
“Fifth, set a good example. Sixth, ensure the job or assignment is easily comprehended, managed, and accomplished. Seventh, educate your Marines as a team. Eighth, make thorough and judicious decisions. Ninth, cultivate a sense of accountability between your subsidiaries. Tenth, engage your command within its proficiencies. Lastly, the eleventh principle: seek responsibilities and take responsibility. That’s what I’m doing. Even though it is killin’ me right now. Genesis, my family isn’t normal.”
She slowly got up from the floor, walked over to him, and sat beside him.
“What’s wrong with your family? I mean, you told me about your parents, I know that your brothers are strugglin’ with some things, but nothin’ that’s unheard of. You—”
“If I started from the beginning, we’d be discussing this for hours. What you need to know right now is that my grandfather is a psychopath, in every sense of the word. A lot of psycho-babble phrases are thrown around nowadays, but this is not the case. He really is. He’s a very powerful man—not just with his financial influence, but his ability to manipulate, cause fear, become whoever he needs to be to get his way, and force others to bow and kiss the ring, basically. He’s dangerous. Extremely dangerous.”
Genesis’ face flushed with color, and her eyes turned to slits. He didn’t know if she thought he was lying, or absurd.
“I’m telling you this because we’re involved. We’re a couple.”
“So, you think he wants to hurt me?”
“No. That’s the only good part about this, if you even want to call it that. He usually doesn’t hurt women.” He ran his hands down his face. Each time he opened his mouth, the worse and more bizarre it all sounded.
He took several deep breaths, got back on track, and started over. “Genesis.” He took her hand in his, looking her dead in the eye. “Some time ago I was at an important business dinner with my colleagues. My grandfather was there, and it was no coincidence. It was to let me know that he could show up, and know my schedule whenever he wished, but also another attempt to control me. I became upset and choked the shit out of him.”
“You did what?!”
“I put my hands around his chicken-skinned neck and squeezed the fuck out of it,” he said between gritted teeth, though a part of him flooded with comforting warmth as he replayed the image in his mind. “I wasn’t going to kill him—only to warn him, the way he was tryna warn me.”
“Why?! Why would you do such a thing, Roman? Psychopath or not, I can’t understand this.”
“My grandfather wants me to work for him. Do illegal things to help him gain more money and get the upper hand. This serves two purposes. It keeps me in the family business, and in line, while he gets riches and control. Insider trading. Illegal shit—think Martha Stewart times ten. Prison is a definite if I’m busted, and for the rest of my life, he could dangle this over my head, while escaping blame and consequence himself. I refused. He’s been harassing me and six of my other cousins who declined to join his company in different capacities, too. He selected us as children. Watched us grow, and nurtured the parts of us he thought could serve him when we became adults.
“Exploitation at its finest.”
“Exactly. We’ve been threatened with physical violence. We’ve been threatened with trumped up jail and prison sentences. We’ve been threatened with the loss of our careers and livelihood, or some sort of major public humiliation. He even sent one of our brain-dead younger cousins to try and intimidate my cousin’s then girlfriend, now wife, but it didn’t work and now—”
“Whoa… whoa… whoa…” Her eyes doubled in size. “What do you mean, intimidate?”
“I mean exactly what the word says. He basically told her to leave my cousin alone, and he’d pay her off for her time and trouble, but if she didn’t back off, he’d make their relationship uncomfortable. This happened to my older cousin, Lennox, and his wife, Nadia.”
“But you just said he doesn’t usually mess with women.”
“Usually being the operative word. It was probably just a bloated threat, but it happened nonetheless.”
She slipped her hand away from his grasp, and fell back against the couch, sighing as if exhausted. They were quiet for a few seconds, though it felt like hours.
“I’m going to lose you, aren’t I?” His stomach clenched tight.
Her eyes hooded, and a sullen smile creased her beautiful face.
“No.” She shook her head and stroked his cheek. He fell into her touch. “You make me feel amazing! This is the best relationship I’ve ever had.” Her eyes sheened, and she blinked the emotion away. “Anything worth having is worth fighting for.”