Simone stepped inside my glass office, wearing a black dress with heels and a gold necklace. She had short blond hair, practically a bob. Her hair used to be longer when we were together. I wasn’t a fan of short hair, regardless of how pretty the woman might be. She had a yellow folder in her hand, like she had data to share with me.
I could hardly look at her without hating her more. She was the evil wedge between my brother and me, the family-wrecker. She was so greedy that she didn’t care how it destroyed our family. I didn’t feel bad for Coen because he deserved this, but at the same time, I pitied him. She had a knife in his back, and she twisted it to manipulate him. Now he was at her mercy, unaware of all the blood he was losing. “You have no business on my property. All I have to do is call security, and they’ll throw your ass out.”
She didn’t flinch at my hostility. She was too focused on her goal to let my anger defuse her determination. “Half of this building will be mine soon enough. Good luck getting me thrown out then.”
I’d never wanted to hit a woman in my life, but now I felt the urge—the strong urge. I wanted to grab her by the neck and slam her head into the glass wall. Maybe a little damage would put her head on straight. “You aren’t getting half of this place. I’ll make sure of that.”
“Even if you do, it’ll still be mine when we’re married. So unless you’re thinking of killing me, you’re screwed.”
“Not the worst idea I’ve ever heard…” I stayed in my chair and kept my desk between us because the surge of violence was too strong. She probably wanted me to hit her, just so she could sue me and come after every penny I had.
She smiled at the threat. “I’m here to make a deal with you.”
“I don’t make deals with the devil.”
“You should.” She crossed her arms over her chest, still holding the folder. “Because he’s the most powerful man in the universe.”
“I think you’re forgetting someone…”
“He’s too weak, too forgiving, to see what’s coming.”
Wow, this woman really was evil. What the hell did my brother see in her? When we were together, her true desires were muffled. She hadn’t emerged as the slithering snake just yet. But now, she wore her evilness like a billboard.
“Here’s my offer.” She came closer to my desk, her thighs touching the wood. “Stay out of my way, and I’ll make this a pleasant working environment. I won’t interfere with your business or change anything. You won’t even have to see me. But make my life difficult…and I’ll make yours a living hell.”
“You haven’t done that already?”
She didn’t crack a smile. “You’ve already done some pretty shitty things, and nothing came from it. You’re running out of options to make this stop. I suggest you take my deal.”
“I don’t negotiate with terrorists.”
Her blue eyes narrowed with ferocity, and I couldn’t believe I ever looked into those eyes when I fucked her.
“I’ll just tell my brother and my mother about this conversation.”
“Go ahead. Your mother might believe you, but she has no power to stop this. And Coen is far too loyal to me to listen to anything you have to say. All I have to do is turn everything around on you, and I’m safe.”
My brother was absolutely pathetic. I was grateful I’d never been so stupid with Simone. I was grateful I had a man’s sac instead of the boy’s balls he carried. “You’ll be found out eventually. Secrets and lies don’t stay buried for long.”
“And I don’t expect them to. They just need to stay buried for another month—until I get what I want.”
A FEW HOURS LATER, I made the rare trip to his office.
He was a few floors below me, having an office as spacious as mine. He had three secretaries too, all tall and pretty.
I wondered how Simone felt about that.
I didn’t bother checking in with the girls, and they didn’t stop me either.
They would be stupid to try.
He was alone in his office, so I opened the door and invited myself inside.
The second he looked up from his laptop, he looked pissed to see me. His eyes narrowed automatically and his jaw clenched, like he wanted nothing more than to punch me.
How ironic. The feeling was mutual.
“What the fuck do you want, Slate?” He sat back in his leather chair and spun a pen between his fingers.
“No need to be so hostile. It’s not like I fucked your girlfriend behind your back.” I would throw out that insult every chance I got, to remind him I was the one who should be angry—not him. I helped myself to the armchair facing his desk.
He sighed like he was sick of the jab. “It’s been five years—let it go.”
“Maybe I would if you apologized first.” I never had gotten any remorse from him. Just hints of guilt when I confronted him about it—along with a ton of excuses.
Coen was still behind his desk, watching me without even breathing.
Sometimes, I wondered if he cared about what he did. It didn’t seem like it most of the time.
“I am sorry,” he said. “But apologizing isn’t going to change anything. I’m in love with this woman, and I’m going to spend my life with her. Did you ever think that maybe she and I were supposed to be together, but she happened to meet you first? You really can’t let that go and let your brother be happy?”
“Don’t turn this into some bullshit fairy tale.” Even if that nonsense was true, it didn’t excuse what he did. “Take responsibility for what you did. You fucked my girlfriend behind my back—several times. Then you didn’t even have the balls to tell me. I had to find out online—along with the rest of the world. So don’t turn this into some stupid act of nobility. It would have been completely different if you’d handled it better. But you were a pussy—a pussy that fell for her stunt.”
“It wasn’t a stunt. She fell in love with me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Right before she snuck around with you, she pressured me to marry her. No, it wasn’t because she was in love with me. She wanted my company, and when she realized she wasn’t going to get it, she went to the man who owns the other half.”
“We’ve been together five years. That doesn’t add up.”
“Because she couldn’t find a richer bachelor to cling on to. It’s already become a public scandal, so if she made the moves on some other rich guy, he would know exactly what she was doing. You’re her last hope of getting what she wants.”
He shook his head. “You just can’t stand the fact that she wants me instead of you.”
It was so ridiculous that I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “Yeah…that’s what it is.” I was the one who’d turned down her marriage proposal. I was the one who’d stopped her from using me like a puppet.
“If we’re done here, you should go.” He turned back to his laptop.
I hadn’t even addressed the actual reason I came for a visit. “Coen, we really need to talk about this. This is a problem that’s not going to go away.”
“Simone isn’t the problem.” He looked up to meet my gaze. “You’re the problem.”
“No. She came to my office a few hours ago and told me to stay out of her way. If I complied, she wouldn’t interfere with my work. But if I opposed her…she would make my life a living hell once she acquires her part of the company.” I wasn’t the kind of man that lied or made shit up. I was always honest about everything, finding the truth to be masculine and noble. A real man wasn’t afraid to tell the truth because he wasn’t afraid of the consequences. My brother should know that since we grew up together.
“Why would she storm into your office and say that to you? It sounds like she’s putting herself at risk.”
“I have it on video if you want to see it.”
He stilled at the revelation. “You have proof, then?”
“I have evidence that she was in my office and we had an intense conversation. But I don’t have the audio.” I didn’t want to record m
yself talking to Max about the next virgin I would fuck at my hotel.
“Her coming to your office isn’t evidence enough.”
“Then why was she there?” I snapped. “Why is she coming to my office without your knowledge?”
“I don’t know. I’ll ask her.”
“Or you could just listen to your brother…” The very man who was threatened by that psychopath.
My brother had his head shoved so far up his ass that he couldn’t think straight—at all. “You need to drop this, Slate.”
Now I couldn’t feel bad for him. “I know I shouldn’t even bother…but I don’t want you to be humiliated, heartbroken, and scarred by this woman. She doesn’t give a damn about you. She only wants you for your money, Coen. I’m telling you, you’re making the biggest mistake of your life.”
He kept the same bored look on his face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Slate. I’ve been with this woman for the last five years. I think I know her better than you do.”
“Maybe,” I said, losing interest in this ridiculous argument. “But this is what I know for sure. Once a cheater, always a cheater. She stabbed me in the back—with my own brother. Imagine what else she’s capable of.”
My brother was silenced by that last statement. He stared at me with the same derision in his eyes, but he didn’t try to defend her actions.
I rose from the chair, knowing this was futile. I did my best to steer him in the right direction, to tell him how manipulative Simone really was, but he refused to believe me. If he wanted to live in ignorance, then I couldn’t fix that. “I really hope you see the light, Coen. For your own sake.”
I STEPPED out of the shower after my workout and quickly fixed my hair with my towel around my waist. It’d been five days since I’d spoken to Monroe, and I’d been too irritated to reach out to her. My week had been too shitty for company.
I turned on the music in my sound system while I shaved, and that was when my phone started to ring.
It was Monroe.
I quickly finished the last area on my face, turned off the music, and then put her on speakerphone. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Her feminine voice echoed off the walls of my bathroom, her trepidation audible in her tone. “How are you?”
I rinsed my face then patted it dry with a towel. “I just got back from the gym and took a shower.”
“Ooh…does that mean you’re naked right now?” she asked, flirtatious.
I saw my smile in the reflection. “I’ve got a towel around my waist.”
“Ooh…sexy.”
I chuckled before I patted the aftershave on my cheeks.
“But I asked how you are. Not what you’re doing.”
I ran my fingers through my hair as I adjusted it then pulled the towel off my hips. “It’s been a shitty week. I’ll leave it at that.”
“Would a blow job help?” she asked, a smile in her voice.
“It wouldn’t hurt.” But a good fuck would be better.
“Well, can I take you to dinner?” she asked. “Then maybe we can head to your place for dessert?”
I was still pissed about the conversation I’d had with my brother, so my mood was sour like an old lemon. I wanted to stay in my cave and drink until I went to sleep, but she managed to wear me down with her pretty voice and playful banter. “I’ll make a compromise with you.”
“Just dessert?” she teased.
“How about I take you to dinner instead?”
“I can afford it, Slate. Well…now I can.”
“That’s not why.” I didn’t ever want her to pay for anything. A woman like her shouldn’t pick up the tab. She deserved to be pampered, to be taken care of. Just because I paid her student loans didn’t mean she owed me anything. Well…except her virginity. “I want to take care of you.”
“You know, for being an asshole…you can be pretty sweet.”
“I’m only sweet to you. Trust me on that.”
MY DRIVER PICKED her up and drove us to the restaurant where we would be dining. She wore a red dress that had a strap over one shoulder and a deep cut up her thigh. It was a perfect color for her skin tone. With that deep brown hair, she looked stunning.
My bad mood disappeared the second I looked at her.
She leaned toward me over the middle seat and greeted me with a kiss. “Hey. You’re more handsome than I remember.”
I stared into her eyes as I kissed her, my hand tightening around her wrist. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
“That you think you’re handsome?” she teased as she rubbed her nose against mine. “I have to agree.”
She made me melt even more, made the ice around my heart turn to water. Those innocent eyes and that soft smile made me forget all the bullshit in my life. It was easy to get lost in her, to pretend everything was alright. “Good answer.”
We arrived at the Italian restaurant, and I was given a prime seat near the window in the corner. We approached the table, and I pulled out the chair for her before I sat across from her. I knew what kind of wine she liked, so I ordered a bottle for the table.
She picked up her menu and held herself perfectly straight. Her eyes scanned across the options, her lips pursed tight together like she couldn’t decide what she wanted. “Everything looks so good…”
“Not as good as you.” I would get the same thing I always did, something low in carbs and low in fat. It would be impossible to keep this trim figure if I ate the way she did. I wasn’t sure how she kept her figure when she inhaled her food every time we were together.
She rolled her eyes but smiled at the same time. “What are you getting?”
“Probably the—”
“Don’t you dare order a salad.”
I set the menu down and felt the smile stretch across my face. “I like salads.”
“But that’s all I ever see you eat.”
“Incorrect. I’ve invited you over for dinner—and I didn’t make salad.”
“Okay…that was the one instance,” she said with a laugh. “But anytime we go out to lunch, that’s what you order. How can a man your size stay so muscular if you don’t eat enough?”
“I eat enough. I have a big breakfast every morning, a protein shake, and I have a good dinner.”
“You just said you were going to get a salad.”
“It’s different at a restaurant.” I grabbed my wine and took a drink. “They use so much oil and god knows what else.”
She eyed my glass. “But you do drink like a real man, so I’ll give you that.”
“It’s my one weakness. I don’t have sweets—that’s the trade-off.”
“God, I could never give up sweets. You know those little Milano cookies?” She squeezed her fingers together, like she was gripping an imaginary cookie. “With the dark chocolate in between two pieces of shortbread? Oh my god…so good.” Her eyes moved to the back of her head like she was having an orgasm.
I pictured that look on her face as I was deep inside her, my cock hitting her in the perfect spot to make her writhe in pleasure. The last thing she would think about were those chocolate cookies she just described.
She grabbed her glass and took another drink, like her little performance hadn’t just made me think about fucking her. Whenever she took a bigger drink than she could handle, she always swiped her tongue across her bottom lip to catch the drops. She did the same thing when she finished swallowing my come.
Like always, she filled my dirty mind with dreams of sex.
The waitress came over and chased away my fantasies by asking for our orders.
We made our selections then passed the menus back. Now we were alone together, somewhat close to the other couples having dinner together after a long day at work. I stared at the woman across from me, the first lady I’d spent more than a night with since Simone. Being around her made me wonder what I saw in Simone in the first place. Simone was a beautiful blonde, but that was her only positive attribute. Monroe wasn’t just
beautiful, but smart, real, funny…and not obsessed with money. All she wanted was to be able to afford to live.
“What?” She drank her wine again, watching me stare at her.
I didn’t realize how long it’d been since I last blinked. “Just thinking about work.”
“Why did you have such a shitty day?” She propped her chin on her palm and looked at me. “Don’t forget, we’re friends. Friends tell each other these things.”
“I don’t know if I see you as a friend.”
She pouted her lips. “That’s a mean thing to say.”
“You aren’t supposed to want to fuck your friends.”
“Who says so?” she countered. “Aren’t people friends with benefits all the time?”
“But that’s not what we are. I paid you for a service.”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. When I first met you, I could barely tolerate you. But now, I actually like you…”
“But not enough to sleep with me.”
“Yet…” She poured more wine into her glass before she took a drink. “But you’re getting close.”
“I am?” I leaned forward, enticed by this conversation. “How close?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Just close.”
We’d been doing this for several weeks now. I saw her often, taking her to lunch and dinner, spending time with her while being a gentleman. Even when I picked up women at bars and the gym, I never put in this amount of effort. Maybe one dinner at the most. Then she was on her back and taking my dick. I’d only take out a woman twice if I were trying to fuck her in the ass. “So, you think I’m sexy. You like me. And you think I’m kinda sweet. What more do you want?”
“I’m not sure. I guess I am running out of reasons.”
“I agree.” It’d been weeks since I last slept with someone. I was being satisfied in the meantime with good blow jobs, but that was nothing compared to pussy, especially virgin pussy. The one thing that really rocked me was popping a cherry. That was my biggest fetish, my biggest turn-on. And that was what I wanted to do with the woman across from me.
“Maybe I just like spending time with you…”
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