Chapter 2

In the ten years that Nic had taken over his father's business, he had started another restaurant and opened a club uptown. All three investments were flourishing and he was in business with three foreign companies which he worked with to supply weapons. He had more than quadrupled the income his father had been bringing in. In their city, you knew to do any 'business' you had to go through Nicolas Andretti IV. Nic was never an overly flashy guy, but he did dress in the nicest Armani suits and had a hot new thing on his arm every other night. That's actually how he met his wife, Amber.

She had been one of the regulars at his club, and eventually she flirted her way into his bed and then into a marriage. He still didn't know how that had happened. Maybe he had a weakness for tall, mean blonds, because that's exactly what Amber was. And part of him was turned on because of this mean streak she seemed to possess. He found it amusing when she would launch into someone and cut them down before they even had a chance to speak. Of course, when she turned that foul mouth on him...he knew what to do to put it to good use. She might have been the Alpha bitch, but in his domain, he was king, and no one would disrespect him. Not even his wife.

But at the moment, they were separated and had been for six months. Frankly, he couldn't stand her. He never loved her, and still couldn't figure out why he agreed to marry her three years ago. Something in him did want to share all of his success with someone. A companion, but Amber only wanted the money. And the sex. Originally, he knew that this leggy blond was only flirting with him because of his status.

Although, he knew to women his looks were a bonus. He figured he wasn't the most handsome man in the world, but many women thought he was pretty close, due to the light olive tan he inherited, along with his blue eyes and contrasting jet black hair, which together seemed to turn women on. But when Amber realized the things he could do in the bedroom...she was one hundred percent sold.

But now because of their separation, he had gone back to playing the field a bit...not that he had ever really stopped. He never had to chase women. They were always there...and always willing. But without Amber at home cursing people out left and right, he was becoming bored. He couldn't stand talking to her, but yet she was amusing. Their separation came about when she had asked the dreaded baby question. It just seemed to come out of left field one day while they were in the middle of dinner. They rarely talked to each other as it was, and now she wanted to add a baby to that? Fuck no.

He could never imagine her as a mother anyway. All she did was spend his money and dance at his club all night. And she thought he didn't know, but she had been fooling around with cocaine. And that was a big no to him. They fought over that and the baby issue until he stormed off, and she left the house, trashed out of her mind. She got into his Lamborghini and wrecked it. Nic was so pissed.

Not really because of the car, although it had been his favorite, but because her little incident brought the police sniffing around. He sent Jimmy and another of his guys to bail her out. There was no way in hell he would step foot in a police station now. They wanted him too much, and he would be damned if he'd go down without a fight.

Later that night, Amber and he had gotten into another argument. Nic didn't like to yell. He didn't like to argue. People usually just did what he said, but sometimes Amber tried to bait him, just to get a rise out of him. But he couldn't even stand the sound of her voice anymore. Worse than nails on a chalk board.

She was high, and crying, and her makeup was running down her face. She had asked him point blank if he loved her. Nic just stood there staring at her, his answer in his eyes. No, he didn't. And never had. Amber also took the silence to mean no, and she pulled off her large diamond ring and threw it at him. She missed and it went sliding across the floor.

She stomped out and that was the last he had seen of her. She called him a few days later to inform him that she was staying with her sister, but she wanted to work something out. Nic really didn't want to. But he also didn't feel like getting the courts involved in a divorce, so he just told her that they needed time apart, and they would work something out later. But with her gone, no longer wreaking havoc on everyone's life, he was extremely bored. He needed a new challenge.

Jimmy shot at the striped ball and missed. "Shit."

Nic took the next three shots to clear the table of all of his solid balls, along with the eight ball. He looked over his handiwork and tossed his cue stick to Eddie, his accountant.

"Fuck, one more Nic. Let me try to redeem myself," Jimmy said.

Nic sighed and grabbed the cue stick back. "You're a glutton for punishment, big guy," Nic said, taking in his friend's large frame. Both Nic and Jimmy were tall, but Nic had him beat by about an inch, however his friend definitely had him in the weight department. Jimmy's wife cooked the best Italian meals every night, and judging on Jimmy's protruding belly, he certainly enjoyed them. Where Jimmy preferred to eat, Nic preferred to work out, which was his best stress reliever. That and sex.

Jimmy smiled and racked the balls back up. Nic rolled his eyes and turned toward the back door, where Raymond, his head of security was entering. He walked over to Nic.

"Sir, there's a young lady here to see you," Raymond said.

"Lucky bastard," Jimmy muttered, as he shot first, and the balls went scattering everywhere.

"What does she want?" Nic asked, surveying the table.

"She said it's a personal matter."

"What's her name?" Nic asked, as he lined up his cue stick and sunk three striped balls.

"Victoria Davis, sir."

Nic ran the name over in his head. Davis? Davis, Davis...oh. He knew who she was. Her father, James, owed him a shit load of money. He had opened up some cheesy soul food restaurant that tanked, and sunk Nic's fathers' money with it. Nic had only been in the restaurant once. James ran the place with his wife and daughter. The daughter had been a waitress at the horrible restaurant. Cute, shy thing, but he wasn't really paying attention. Maybe she had his money. Or maybe she just came to beg for him to stop sending his sharks down to their apartment, threatening to break her father's legs.

"Tell her I'm busy," he stated, as he leaned up against the table, waiting for Jimmy to make a shot.

"Yes sir," Raymond replied, as he exited.

It only took less than ten minutes for Nic to beat Jimmy again. Jimmy stood there scratching his head over the fact that Nic had managed to whip him in three straight games. He never could beat him, but one day...he'd figure out a way. Eddie sat over in the corner laughing at him.

"Fuck you, you four-eyed bastard," Jimmy yelled. "I mean, they have contacts nowadays, why the fuck are you still wearing those goggles?"

Eddie never got rattled. But he also didn't really have a personality. As a true accountant, he cared about numbers and that was about it. They had even brought over a hot girl once to show Eddie a good time, one that Nic kept in his mental rolodex, but she left the bedroom only about fifteen minutes after going in, with a confused look on her face. When Jimmy asked her what went down, she said they never had sex.

Instead, he started talking to her about the importance of numbers and how they keep the universe in order. She told Nic she didn't come here to get a math lesson. So Nic took her to his room instead...and gave her the lesson she had come looking for. And more.

"They make me look more distinguished, you overweight idiot," Eddie said, while cleaning his glasses.

Nic laughed and hung up his cue stick. "So Eddie, this month, are we good?"

Eddie placed his glasses back on. "Yes sir, we're really good. Here are the figures," he smiled, while pulling them out of his briefcase. Nic nodded a few times while he examined the documents.

Raymond entered again. This time his face was flushed and he seemed irritated. He stood there waiting for Nic to acknowledge him.

"What?" Nic asked, when he finally looked up from the papers in his hand.

"Sir, she won't leave. She said if she doesn't get to talk to you, she'll start making a scene in front of the customers."

Nic's eyebrows shot up. Who the fuck did this little girl think she was? He'd have to teach her a little lesson in respect.

"Okay, see her to my office," he said, as he flicked a lighter and started burning the documents.

Victoria didn't know what to expect. She wasn't sure if he was just a rich crook, or if he had actually killed people before. She remembered how scared her father had been the day the bank seized his restaurant. He was more scared of Mr. Andretti finding out, than he was of the prospect of his family being broke and out on the street. But Victoria was determined that she wouldn't be afraid of him. She wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing her sweat.

She sat in his office, staring around the large, cold area. She couldn't believe that something this chic would be located in the back of a restaurant. Everything in his office was black and white, including the art work on the walls. She assumed one of his paintings was probably worth more money than she made in a year. He didn't have any personal pictures on his desk like a lot of businessmen do. Or at least how they portrayed it in movies. He actually didn't have a desk. It was just a large glass table with a fancy chair on the opposite side of her.

She jumped when she heard the door open. She quickly stood up and faced the men entering. She recognized the first man that entered. He was the security guard who kept giving her a hard time. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she rolled her eyes back at him. The next man that came through the door, she didn't recognize him. He was a tall, round guy. He had dark hair and even darker eyes. He glanced at her and flashed a predatory grin. She wondered if he saw her shiver.

The last man to enter was tall also. He brushed right past her and sat down in the fancy chair, before he acknowledged her presence. This was Nicolas Andretti. She remembered him from the day he came into her father's restaurant a few years ago. She had tried not to look at him then, as her father, Nicolas and one of his men went into the kitchen to discuss business. The other guy stood on the outside, daring anyone to enter the kitchen. She had just caught a glimpse of Nicolas, but she had been completely thrown off guard about how young and handsome he looked. She had been expecting some old craggy-looking fellow, like a godfather or something.

And now looking at him, he hadn't changed at all from that first day she had seen him. He had beautiful, shiny black hair that he kept pushed away from his face, but it was longer than she remembered. If it were wet, it would probably fall to his ears. But the way he styled it kept it away from his face, made him appear menacing and handsome all at the same time. It also gave her a perfect view of his icy blue eyes.

He had a straight attractive nose, nice lips and a strong jaw line. She could also tell that he had a nice body underneath his suit, judging by the way he walked with his shoulders upright and his chest out, which...wait, she needed to seriously pull her mind together. What the hell was wrong with her?

"Mr. Andretti, I just wanted to..." she started, but he placed a finger to his lips...his small order for her to be quiet. She immediately shut her mouth.

"Victoria, my security guard, Raymond, told you that I was busy, correct?" he asked her.

Victoria nodded her head.

"What? I didn't hear you," Nic said.

Victoria wanted to roll her eyes at his arrogance, but she knew she had come here to ask a favor of him. Better to play the nice card.

"Yes," she answered.

"I thought so. So, you should have come back or called to set an appointment like everyone else does, instead of interrupting me."