DLD.

Chapter Seventeen.

I ran out of time and options. What did that mean? Well, see by now I thought I would've already conjured up a massive plan to pull the wool over Ace's eyes. Greatness doesn't happen overnight, yet I truly believed in myself enough to have an ah ha moment and show my husband's spiteful brother who was really in charge. Unfortunately, that didn't come to pass due to me being an active wife and living in the moment with Alaric. When I stepped away from my confrontation with Ace last night, I went straight back into happy mode acting as though I was living my best life. I wouldn't dare reveal to Alaric what was truly bothering me, so instead my husband and I danced, talked, laughed. I was genuinely so blissful, that even side eyes and haughty looks from my siblings and mother couldn't get me down. I pushed everything negative to the back of my brain for the remainder of the night, and now I was paying the full price by having to succumb to this bullshit ass meet up with Ace and whoever his new cleaning lady was.

Pissed off was an understatement for how I was really feeling, as I slammed the door of my G wagon with pure fury. Showcasing any kind of defeat was not in my DNA, and I hated that my husband's brother managed to pull my strings like this. Inhaling the cold air, I breathed out slowly and calmed myself before I officially met up with that scumbag Ace. I needed to think and do something fast, this for damn sure could not go on. As of right now Ace might have won this battle, but he sure as hell wasn't winning the war by a long shot.

Huffing with great agitation, I tighten my Burberry trench coat and pushed my Celine glasses more firmly on my face. Despite all the tom foolery that I was now subjected to, I smirked to myself as I noticed my reflection upon entering the warehouse's door. Dana Benjamin was looking fly as shit on this chilly yet lovely morning. Why just be a mad bitch when I could be a bad bitch too? Tapping in the security code Ace gave me for this place a while back, I strolled in the secretive den lackadaisically only to be caught off guard by Alyssa's unanticipated presence as she stood alongside my biggest opp.

"Ah, Dana!" Ace brightly announced. "How nice of you to finally join us. Any minute later and I would've sent out my own version of a search party."

"A little too early for the threats, Ace." I sassed, hefting my Chanel bag from one arm to the next. "Let's get on with it."

"Getting under your skin is never my intent, D. It's just business, don't take it so personal." Ace replied after a small sigh. "You remember Alyssa, right? I introduced you guys at your husband's promotional party."

This motherfucker Ace was on one. Shit, he's gone past that at this point, but I refused to feed more into his bullshit. Extending my hand out to greet this naive, poor soul, I smiled gently at Alyssa when she embraced my peaceful gesture. This young lady had no idea what she was about to get herself into, and that only made me madder at Ace for involving such an obtuse amateur into his illegal mix. I prided myself on being able to read people well, and from the looks of things Alyssa seemed so lost in the sauce it actually made me feel extremely bad for her. She was putting up a fantastic front, yet I knew and felt otherwise. Within seconds I made it my duty to protect her as best as I could, I had to. Nobody deserved to be sucked into Ace's damaging, worsening world unknowingly.

Before Ace could continue yammering on, his phone suddenly began pinging incessantly. Analyzing his facial expressions as he reached for his device, I could sense his demeanor shifting which brought me total satisfaction. Something wasn't sitting well with him, and I hope whoever was on the other end of his phone was stressing him out tirelessly.

"I gotta make some calls." Ace spoke after a few moments. "I'll be in the dinero room if you need me. Dana, you're familiar with where that is. Educate Alyssa on everything she needs to know. I'll be back shortly, and we can recap to make sure everybody's on the same page."