Page 137 of At Her Pleasure
He was a trained fighting man, so he got the message. He went still.
Hector hadn’t moved, and Rodriguez was watching the scene with a neutral expression. Mick stood calmly, but he’d moved his hand to his gun.
“Our relationship is a good one,” he told Hector. “She represents a lot of money. Be patient.”
Cyn gave Hector an icy smile, then glanced down at the man. When she pressed the hand back another half inch, a grunt broke from his throat. “Do I look like that naked piece of ass over there, a sheep you can fuck without permission?”
“No.”
“No, what?”
“No, señora.”
“All right, then.” Cyn released him with a shove and returned her attention to Rodriguez, ignoring the man and Hector. “I represent clients, Señor Rodriguez. I head up my own operation. I didn’t suck a dick to get here, and if this nest of machismo can’t behave like they would toward any other client, then several other operations are interested in my business. The Chinese market is your biggest competitor, and they’re very respectful.”
Rodriguez raised his brow, glancing toward Mick. Mick nodded, confirming she wasn’t bluffing. Which meant they thought Mick was pretty much their man, even if he’d been willing to come to her aid.
“Ms. Greenwood, you are an intelligent woman,” Rodriguez said. “I am sure you recognize a test.”
“I do. Doesn’t mean I don’t get tired of the shit. Now, I assume you were going to pour me a drink.”
Rodriguez gestured to the seat across from him and picked up the decanter. As he filled the two empty glasses, Kat Greenwood and Mickey Cosgrove sat down to talk business with him.
* * *
Mick took the lead, injecting subtle cues Cyn used to guide the conversation and get Rodriguez talking. She eased from ballsy bitch into business associate, with the right dose of mysterious strong female with a killer body. Her direct glance wasn’t diluted by the green contacts he'd provided her. The confidence was all her own.
She’d made it clear she could be this, and her story had convinced him of it, but it was unsettling, how well she shrugged on the role. He knew what it cost, having to play this part in such a way that it wasn’t play, and she’d been born into those circumstances.
He hated having her here. He was used to having to stand by while the defenseless suffered, keeping his eye on the end goal, but there was a reason he kept this world strictly separate from whatever personal life he could maintain. If he didn’t, it caused a bloody car wreck in his psyche.
When they’d tested her with that rear attack by one of Hector’s thugs, it was all he could do not to lunge forward or overreact. She’d handled herself well.
But if her credentials had been doubted, it wouldn’t have been a test. She would have been overpowered and taken down. With Rodriguez here, Hector wouldn’t take chances.
Once they sat down, she was pure corporate executive. She discussed high level details of her client base, the kind of “product” they were seeking. She ably answered Javier and Mauricio’s questions, with a few careful inputs by Mick, and confirmed the protections her network had in place, to keep things from coming back to bite them in the ass.
The seamless way she let Mick fill in information on the “nitty gritty” when she was sipping her drink had to be drawn from how she and the other TRA women worked together to impress a new client with a marketing package.
“I am not one to tell you your business,” Rodriguez said, “but be aware that Soong, one of those ‘polite’ Chinese distributors, has diversified into the baby trade. He collects women with the right physical characteristics, and inseminates them to produce highly marketable infants. Twenty to thirty at a time.”
At Cyn’s disinterested look, he spread out his hands. “I did not want you to do business with him blind. While he may have other services compatible with your interests, a child trade operation that extensive carries much higher risk of law enforcement exposure in the States. I myself find the idea of selling children reprehensible.”
Mick could only imagine what was going through Cyn’s mind, after the information he’d shared about this operation. Probably something along the same lines of what went through his own. You fucking hypocrite. You may not sell them, but you’re happy to use them as blackmail. Or sell them once they reach the ripe old age of twelve.
“I appreciate your concern for my operation and clients.” Cyn put the right touch of sincerity and cynicism in the response. He bet she’d been a champion car salesperson.
Rodriguez rose. “We will see the product now. If this selection meets your requirements, we will handle the wire transfer and transportation arrangements for them.”
Cyn stood and tilted her head toward Mick, an imperious gesture to “follow along.” As he and Hector fell in behind her and Rodriguez, Hector chuckled and spoke low.
“I think she has you sucking her dick, mijo.”
Mick snorted. “Stroking egos has its rewards. You know that. But I draw the line at sucking dick. Eating pussy is a different matter.”
Hector sighed. “You should have been here when this group was prepared. Sweet, young and tight.”
“You know I don’t stick my dick in merchandise.”