Axton (Four Kings Empire Book 1) Read online

  Anyone could win via cheating.

  That didn’t make a person great. No, that made a person weak, and he wasn’t weak. Every victory he made was because he played by the rules and made sure he stayed on top. All of their fathers’ pasts were part of who they were. All the lies and cheating had helped to keep the Four Kings’ Empire alive.

  Axton didn’t want that as his legacy.

  From the time he took over, he’d made sure to forge a new path, but he was still very much aware of the danger that surrounded them all. If anyone tried to look deeply within the company, they will see the poison that even now he was trying to push out. This empire was his whole life.

  There was no room for weakness.

  He would fight to the bitter end to save this place. He’d taken it from his weak-ass father and made it into something great.

  No matter what, though, he did have a weakness, and he fought like fucking hell to keep that private. There was no way he could ever let the truth get out. It was bad enough that his friends knew. He wouldn’t let anyone ever know what his secrets were, and he was damn good at keeping them. Even if his father liked to try to blackmail him with the truth of the company, at least his father didn’t know about one tiny detail.

  Pushing those thoughts and memories aside, he climbed into the backseat and released a sigh.

  “Would you like some privacy, sir?” Eric asked.

  “Yes, I would.”

  He stared at his email on his cell phone, reading through Holly’s resignation letter. As per her contract, which she asked for the change, when she wished to move on, she wouldn’t be forced to serve her notice. It was rather unconventional, but that’s why she’d worked well.

  Still, he didn’t mind having a change.

  It was an inconvenience, but he’d rather have a change than someone doing a shitty job simply because they didn’t want to work with him.

  Closing her resignation letter, he went to the emails marked with the PA position. The moment it opened up, there had been close to fifty applicants. Sitting in the back of the car, he read through each one.

  “Sir, we’re home,” Eric said.

  “I’m not ready to go home. Keep on driving please.”

  Once again, they were back on the road. He liked working in the motion of the car. It seemed to calm and relax him in ways that a blowjob never did, nor a woman. The moment he was done with a woman, getting her out of his space was a top priority to him.

  Just going through the applications once, he was able to reduce the number of interviews by half. Some of the people who’d applied had done so with a journalism degree. That shit wasn’t going to happen on his watch where they thought they could investigate him or get the next juicy story. His life wasn’t for public pleasure and never would be.

  He reduced the interviews to only ten after another hour, but as he was about to put his cell phone away, another beep alerted him to a new email.

  Checking through, he saw it was another application for the job as PA, but he wasn’t even interested in it. Everything always looked good on paper, but he needed to get a sense for them in person. He’d been about to place it straight into the trash bin when the name caught his attention.

  Surely, it wasn’t her.

  Clicking on the email, it opened up, and there was an introduction about her and her work, reasons why she wished to work for him, and also her views on privacy. This was why a few applicants were dismissed immediately. They didn’t have a cover letter telling him in detail why they wanted the job.

  Taylor Keane.

  A name he’d not heard in a very long fucking time.

  So long in fact that just seeing her name brought an immediate smile to his lips, recalling the way she’d held that damn steering wheel ten years ago.

  Wow, ten years.

  It had been ten years since he last saw her in person.

  He wondered what she looked like.

  Closing down his email, he immediately typed her name into social media, and nothing. She had no account and wasn’t attached to anyone either.

  His curiosity was piqued.

  Searching through her resume, he saw she’d been working with several small companies as either a secretary or a PA. She’d gotten a degree in business but hadn’t taken it anywhere.

  He’d heard of people doing a business degree then gaining their knowledge through work, taking on expertise like that.

  What did she look like?

  Why had she applied to his company?

  Was he just being paranoid?

  “Sir, we’re here again,” Eric said. “Would you like me to keep on driving?”

  “Eric, if someone from your past got back in touch again, what would you think?” he asked.

  Glancing up, he saw his driver was indeed shocked. He never asked anyone for advice before, and right now he was regretting asking.

  “It depends, sir. Are there reasons for you to doubt their intentions?”

  The night of Carla’s death flashed through his mind.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Sometimes we do things we’re not always proud of. It doesn’t mean that others feel the same way, sir.”

  “I’ll stay in for the night. Thank you.”

  He had a long day week ahead of him, but he was suddenly looking forward to Monday.

  ****

  Monday lunchtime

  Standing in the elevator making her way up to the top floor of the Four Kings’ Empire building, Taylor stared at her reflection. She was the only person within the four walls. Her heart thumped inside her chest.

  Ten years since she last saw these four boys.

  They were never boys.

  Men, now.

  Men who she intended to bring down.

  “Look, it’s not the body shape they’re attracted to,” David said.

  “It’s not?”

  “No, it’s the woman’s mind. You walk in there trying to cover your body, it’s going to turn them off. You stand with your back straight, your head held high, and rocking those curves. They’ll want a piece of you. It’s all about the perception you give. You don’t want to do the surgery, get rid of all your weight, then you’ve got to work with what you’ve got, and, baby, you’ve got a lot to work with.”

  And her body was all on display right now. Not with flesh hanging out. But rather than wear larger clothes to cover her curves, she wore a figure-hugging pencil skirt that ended at the knee but curved up over her thighs, going in at her waist. The blouse she wore, white and crisp, was tucked in at the waist, giving her the perfect hourglass figure.

  She wanted to bring justice to Carla, but there had been limits along the way in the last ten years. The first limit was not educating herself. She’d refused to not go and get her college education. Besides, if she once again worked her way into the kings’ lives, she wanted to do so with something about herself. So, she’d gone to college, and she’d worked her ass off in business. A boring degree but she’d done it.

  Then of course, she had to wait. Her plan would never work without careful planning. She didn’t want to scream at them and throw insults. The kings had been in charge for too long in town, and now in the city. She wanted to bring them down from the inside, and make sure they had no way of crawling out of the dirt she put them in.

  With that, timing was everything.

  Now at twenty-eight, she was ready.

  In the last ten years, she’d made a lot of changes. Staring at her reflection, she saw them. Her long, raven hair wasn’t tied up on top of her head, but she’d let it grow out, and worked it into curls that cascaded around her body.

  Like David said, the escort she’d paid to help her, and of course Paul was still on her side. His love of Carla had never waned. Taylor and Paul didn’t spend every moment with each other, but he’d been there for her when she needed him. Her grandparents had left her a small inheritance that had helped to fund all of her plans until she got a job that paid her well.

&
nbsp; David had taught her how to dress. He’d taken her to the gym with his own personal trainer, where she’d been given a strict diet and a set routine. Her curves were not gone, and they never would be.

  The trainer had told her unless she starved herself, her body was naturally curvy, and he could work with that. So she was primed and toned, and ready for anything.

  Next, David had worked on her confidence.

  She smiled, just thinking of the lesson in applying makeup. Her eyes looked smoky with the dark eyeshadow she’d applied. Her lashes looked dark with the mascara, and her lips plump. She wasn’t biting her lips to try to hide them. Their fullness was on display.

  “Lips like these make a man want to sink his dick inside them. You’ve got to be prepared to be the ultimate fantasy, Taylor. Men like the kings can pay for ten of you. You’ve got to learn to stand out.”

  Which was why she hadn’t approached them in a bar and why she had no intention of acting like a whore to achieve her goal.

  She may be different in a lot of regards, but she wouldn’t change herself to them, not the woman she was.

  What she was doing was unspeakable. Even now she had her doubts about bringing the four men down, but all she had to do was remember Carla and she didn’t doubt for much longer. There were nights she woke up slick with sweat, screaming because Carla died right in front of her.

  The elevator dinged.

  Showtime.

  Pushing a curl off her face, she stepped off the elevator, leaving her nerves behind her. Walking with a sway of her hips to the reception desk at the top floor, she placed a smile on her lips. The blonde woman gave her one scathing look, and immediately phoned down to the front desk.

  She knew from her sources that the kings had a receptionist stationed on each level of their building so no one could get past if they didn’t want to. This woman, whoever she was, called down to the main desk to double-check.

  Stepping up to the counter, Taylor placed a hand on her hip and waited.

  The woman kept looking her up and down, as if that look would make her think badly of herself. She’d met women like this in the gym, in life, and in work. They wanted to make her feel small because of the way she looked. The truth was, the receptionist must have felt her position was challenged here.

  Taylor wondered which man was fucking who.

  “How can I help you?” the woman asked, her voice meaning the complete opposite as it snapped the words out.

  “I’m interviewing for the PA position. I had Mr. Farris email me a time and date.” She checked her watch. “And I’m twenty minutes early.”

  There was some clicking on the computer, and she waited.

  “Yes, you’re signed in. Please, go and take a seat with the others. It has been a busy day today.”

  “I’m sure it has been.” She flashed the woman a smile, turning on her heel.

  Bitch.

  Taylor held in her giggle, thinking about David once again. He’d warned her that some women would feel challenged by her and the way she was dressed. She couldn’t believe how apt he’d actually been.

  Entering a waiting area, she saw five other people waiting. Taking a seat, she placed her bag beside her and pulled out her resume.

  Opening the file, she checked through her details.

  None of them were lies.

  Her life for the past ten years was laid out for her to see.

  Ten years of careful planning to this very moment.

  She couldn’t even believe that it was really happening right now.

  Someone walked past, and she recognized Easton. He was a lot bigger than she remembered; harder too. He stood in the center of the waiting area, and he cursed on the phone, spinning around as he did.

  She stared right back at him as he looked at her.

  Raising a brow, she waited.

  “I’ve got to go.” He snapped the phone shut. “I know you.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah, I know you.”

  She folded her arms, staring at him.

  “You’re not going to tell me who you are?” Easton asked.

  “I’d like you to guess.” She wanted to hurt these men. That was her initial thought on looking at Easton. One of these or all of them were responsible for Carla’s pregnancy and death. Of her taking her life, of keeping her baby a secret. She was going to find out who it was and then why. For ten years she’d waited. Letting everything stew around inside her, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Now was that time. She was ready now, even if Paul wasn’t so happy with the plan, not that he’d ever been happy with it.

  Before he got a chance to say anything, her name was called.

  “Taylor Keane.”

  Grabbing her bag, she stood, the six-inch heels giving her some height.

  “Taylor?” Easton asked.

  “I’ve got to go.”

  “Wait, Taylor from King’s Ridge?”

  “Very good,” she said.

  “Wow, it’s been fucking…”

  “Ten years,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “I better go and see—”

  “Wait, you’re here for the position of PA?”

  “That I am.”

  “Wait until Axton sees you. He’s going to lose his shit. I know it.” Easton gave her the once-over.

  “When a guy checks you out, don’t sneer. Don’t ruin the illusion that he wants you.”

  Keeping a straight face, she kept on smiling, pretending to be completely oblivious to his gaze.

  “I better go.” She walked away, feeling Easton’s gaze on her.

  She met a brunette. “Hi, just go through there,” the woman said.

  Axton Farris stated a sign on the door, which was closed. This was it. Ten years of hard work had brought her to this moment.

  She couldn’t fail, not now.

  Knocking on the door, she released a breath, especially when he called for her to come on in.

  Taking hold of the handle, she clicked it open and stepped through the door.

  Axton sat behind his desk. He was typing away at his computer while on the phone.

  One look up, and she saw she’d surprised him.

  Staying by the door, she waited for that moment of shock to pass. Once it had, he hung up his call and stopped typing.

  “Taylor Keane, in my office.”

  “I have my resume.” She was so fucking pleased her hand wasn’t shaking. Stepping up to his desk, she gently placed the file down and took a seat opposite him, putting the bag beside her.

  Axton had always been a good-looking guy. He’d been the guy that every single girl in high school wanted. They all wanted to be the one girl that tamed him, that controlled him. Taylor didn’t want to do that.

  In high school, she’d recognized that he was hot, but that was about as far as her attention went.

  Now though, he was all man. He’d filled out, if that was at all possible. He was now a lethal mix of hot and deadly.

  She waited.

  He stared.

  The way Axton looked though was having a nervous effect on her body. She liked his gaze, felt her nipples tighten, and wanted him to keep on looking. His once-over felt more like a caress as he went down then up.

  She licked her suddenly dry lips.

  “Water?” he asked.

  “Yes, please.”

  He got up, and she wished she’d declined the water. Damn, sitting behind a desk he was a handsome force of steel. Standing up, he was large, muscular man, confident, sure of himself. The suit he wore fit him like a second skin.

  Keep your cool.

  He stood beside her chair with some water in a plastic cup. She took it and thanked him. Sipping the cold liquid, she waited for him to take a seat.

  “I hope you don’t mind me asking, why did you come to us?” Axton said. “You could take a job anywhere.”

  “As I’m sure you’re aware, the Four Kings’ Empire has a reputation for being the best. Since finishing my business deg
ree, I’ve worked in smaller places, building myself up. I’ve made sure I understand the way business works. It’s okay to study it from books, but something comes from experience. At my last job, I found the daily routine boring. I want a challenge. What greater challenge than to try and get a job here?” She smiled. “I guess I want to challenge myself. Have a change of scenery, learn more. I think I could learn and be a valuable asset here. I’m loyal. I’m hard-working, and I have no other commitments outside of work that will keep me from doing the best job possible.”

  “No children? No boyfriend?”

  “None. I found that they only seem to demand time that I find is better suited elsewhere. I, of course, have some friends, but they understand my career comes first.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Don’t show your nerves. Stay your humble self but own your shit.”

  David’s words kept repeating around her head. They should do, she’d heard them enough times to recite them.

  Crossing her leg over the other, she rested her hands in her lap, still holding the cup, taking a sip every now and again.

  He fired questions at her, relating to certain business practices and how she’d deal with circumstances. If an employee, for instance, came to her with a problem of possible sexual harassment, she explained she’d consult with HR, but if she felt the situation wasn’t being handled, she’d bring it to him.

  She’d also done her research.

  The Four Kings’ Empire took their business practices seriously. She didn’t know yet if they actually did or just bought people off, throwing money at everything as if it was a magical Band-Aid to cure everything.

  There was no magical cure for losing someone though.

  “Well, it has been a pleasure hearing from you,” Axton said. “I will certainly give you some consideration.”