The Price of Scandal

by Score, Lucy

  She laughed again, and the sound of it was lighter than it should have been given the circumstances. “What about Flawless? What about the board and the IPO?”

  “It ends today. This is what I want.”

  “I know it is,” I said.

  “Shut up. You do not,” she argued, playfully slapping me in the chest.

  I caught her hand in mine and pressed a kiss to her fingers.

  “You’re a bloody brilliant genius,” I told her.

  “Did you know you say ‘bloody’ when you’re drunk?” she pointed out.

  “I’m hungover now, not drunk, darling.”

  “So what do you say?” she asked, bringing her hands to rest on my shoulders.

  “Partners?” I pressed.

  “All the way around.” Her fingers toyed with the ends of my hair.

  “I know it’s not exactly worth much right now,” she said. “And it might not seem like an even trade or even a good investment. But I promise you—”

  “Shut up, love. You’re Emily Fucking Stanton, and that’s all I want.”

  She cupped my face in her hands tenderly. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Her lips danced over mine softly. But I couldn’t take soft or tender. Not with relief and hope burning so bright.

  I took over the kiss, demanding her surrender. But Emily never surrendered without a fight.

  It was aggressive and wild. No holds barred. Just the way I loved her.

  Her tongue swept into my mouth. It tangled with mine, making me forget about the hangover and the heartache.

  I loved this woman fiercely. And I’d do anything she asked.

  “You should have told me about Lita.”

  “I should have tried harder to tell you about Lita,” I countered.

  “You can’t protect me from things by keeping me in the dark,” she said.

  When I made a move to speak, she pressed her palm to my mouth. “Let’s skip the part where you remind me that I wasn’t open to any critical truths and focus on how to get even.”

  I tugged her hand away from my mouth.

  “I need you to know that nothing happened between Lita and me. I know how those photos look. But they were staged. I didn’t… I wouldn’t…”

  The realization hit me. If Emily believed that I’d come on to Lita, she’d have kicked me in the balls and kneed me in the face. There wouldn’t be any early morning break-in and coffee.

  “You already believe me,” I said.

  She made a “duh” face. “Of course I believe you. I had to fight my way through the initial mad. But you’ve made it very clear how you feel about me.”

  “I have?” I kissed her again.

  “Tell me again anyway,” she said, pulling back.

  “I find your mind endlessly fascinating,” I said, nipping at her neck.

  “Mmm.”

  “Your body is my perfection, my playground,” I breathed, darting my tongue under the scoop neck of her shirt to taste the curve of her breast.

  “Gah.”

  “As for your time, I’m not willing to settle for anything less than all the days of your life.” I slid my hand up under the hem of her shirt, coasting my palm over her warm, flat stomach and higher until my fingers brushed the edge of her bra.

  “Is there anything else you want?” she asked breathlessly.

  “I want to feed Steve.”

  “Only residents feed Steve,” she whispered with the ghost of a smile playing on her swollen lips.

  “That doesn’t sound like a problem to me. Wouldn’t Cristoff enjoy cooking for two?”

  “Are you sure?” she asked, her eyes hopeful.

  “Positive.”

  Contorting herself, she bowed back and snatched the second contract off the table and slapped it to my chest. “Then sign this.”

  “Are you sure this is what you want?” I asked. She’d built it. She’d continue to build it, and we both knew Emily Stanton didn’t do anything half-assed.

  “I want you to have fifty percent of AHA. That includes the building and the equipment, which isn’t really anything right now. But there are future patents. And before you accept, you should know that I have plans for—”

  I cut her off and pressed the contract to her breasts, signing with a flourish of the pen. It needed to be signed now before I heard whatever brilliant plan she had for her new path in life. She needed to know that I trusted her implicitly. That I loved her without a fortune or a company.

  She was too quiet.

  I met her gaze.

  “And now we’re partners,” I said quietly.

  She nodded and bit her lower lip. “Fifty-fifty.”

  “You and me.”

  She nodded again.

  “How are your intestines holding up?”

  She shook her head and laughed ruefully. “Nothing gets past you.”

  “Nothing.”

  “Surprisingly well for a woman about to lose her billion-dollar company and the last fifteen years of her every waking minute.”

  “Eh. Win some, lose some.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. The motion had her sliding down my thighs to settle against me.

  “You should do that every day for the rest of your life,” I told her, stroking my hands up her waist under her shoulder.

  “What? Laugh? Or this?” She rolled her hips against my groin.

  I gritted my teeth as my dick throbbed.

  “Take your fucking pants off now, Emily, and let’s make a real commitment.”

  “Oh, because signing over fifty percent of our companies wasn’t enough?” she teased.

  But I was yanking her shirt over her head and pressing my face to her breasts. “Show me how much you want to be with me,” I demanded.

  Together, we wrestled her pants off. They landed over the lampshade. Probably a fire hazard, but she was gripping my shaft and freeing it from my sweatpants. And I didn’t care if we burnt down Miami.

  I held my breath and her hips as she guided the crown to the apex of her thighs. Wet. Heat. Love.

  The sky was getting lighter through the windows. A new day was dawning. Full of possibilities. And then Emily was taking me inside her on a low moan. I held her to me, my mouth fastening on one pert, pink nipple. This was right. This was terrifying. This was real.

  “Show me, Emily. Show me how you feel. What you want.” My voice was broken glass. “Show me while I tell you.”

  “Derek,” she gasped as she began to move.

  “I love you,” I said. “I love you.”

  I told her over and over again as she rode me fast, hard, until we were both lost. Until she came and dragged me over the edge with her. I erupted, my release hollowing me out even as it filled her.

  All our broken pieces. They melded together, forming something new. Something unbreakable.

  “I love you, Emily,” I whispered again against her breast, damp with sweat.

  She was quiet for a long moment. Still trembling with aftershocks from her release. “I know.”

  I growled, squeezing her hips hard, and she laughed.

  “I love you, Derek.”

  48

  Derek

  Every director seated at the table was exhibiting their current dental health. The mouths of all twelve members were wide open.

  “I beg your pardon, Ms. Stanton,” said the eighty-three-year-old financier in Hugo Boss. He was the first to break the silence. “What do you mean you’re declining our offer to resign?”

  “Exactly that, Warren,” Emily announced. “Flawless is my company. I am the majority owner, and unfortunately for you, you can’t just turn me out, I’m afraid. I would always have a say in company policy.”

  “The SEC won’t approve the IPO if you are at the helm,” the carefully coiffed app developer executive said, tapping her manicured nail on the conference table in a staccato beat.

  “I am aware,” Emily said with a humorless smile.

  “There’s no need to make this ugly, slugge
r,” Byron boomed over the rumble of confusion.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Emily said. “That’s why I’m making a counteroffer.”

  I stood with Jane, each of us flanking the conference room door, and watched badass Emily Stanton eviscerate the board of directors that had turned against her.

  “This is how it’s going to go…”

  She laid it out for them, and I had the pleasure of watching pasty complexions go ruddy. She had them by the balls, and I couldn’t be prouder.

  “That is a very big ask,” one of the directors said, mopping his forehead and the back of his neck with a handkerchief.

  “I’m not asking,” Emily said.

  “I’m straight, but she’s never been more attractive to me than she is right now,” Jane whispered.

  “Same boat,” I agreed under my breath.

  She was magnificent, and I couldn’t wait to get her home and say just that as I kissed every inch of her body.

  “If you want that IPO, and I know you do, this is the only way you’ll get it.”

  “We need time to discuss this,” one of the directors began.

  “You have five minutes,” Emily said.

  I was so turned on I was afraid I was going to embarrass myself with a boardroom hard-on.

  She glanced over her shoulder at me, and my heart fell out of my chest into my guts. This was love. Whether it was being in her corner and watching proudly as she kicked ass or fighting a battle for her.

  “I have one more condition,” Emily announced while the board was still reeling.

  “What’s that?” Imani asked.

  “Lita Smith will never again hold a position in this company. Not even at the drugstore makeup counter level.”

  * * *

  “So this is what it feels like to not be a billionaire,” Emily sighed, linking her arm through mine as we exited the conference room, leaving chaos behind us. Her attorney Jenny was doling out paperwork and pens and snapping orders.

  “Do I still have a job, or is this volunteer work now, boss?” Jane asked from behind us.

  Emily raised an eyebrow over her shoulder. “I think seven hundred million will still support your salary.”

  She’d blackmailed her own board into a buyout. A very attractive one. I was going to marry this woman, I decided. I just wasn’t sure how to con her into it.

  “Can I have a raise? And a drink?” Jane asked.

  “After this, we’re going for brunch,” Emily decided. “A booze brunch. They didn’t ask for my corporate card back yet, so it will be a farewell gift from Flawless.”

  We stopped outside Emily’s office. Valerie and Easton rose as one.

  Emily grinned. “Today is my last day.”

  Their faces showed varying degrees of shock, confusion, concern.

  “Are you shitting me?” Easton demanded.

  “I’m afraid I’m not shitting you. The board bought me out, and the company will be under new leadership. And as soon as you two pack up all my things, you can take the rest of the day and the corporate card and go for drinks. Lots of drinks. Your jobs are safe. You’re both getting raises and an extra week’s vacation. And the good news is your next boss might be nicer.”

  Valerie, teary-eyed, threw her arms around Emily’s neck. “You are my hero.”

  “Wind beneath my wings,” Easton piped up.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Emily patted them awkwardly on the back. “Pack up. Go drink.”

  She turned to face me and rubbed her palms together. “Ready for round two?”

  “Please tell me I finally get to use the stun gun?” Jane whined.

  I was rather hopeful on that point, too.

  “Let’s do this. I could go for an omelet,” I told her.

  Grinning, she raised on tiptoe and kissed me hard on the mouth. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  When she tried to pull back, I stopped her. “I love you, Emily.”

  “I am aware of this.” She grinned.

  I squeezed her butt, relieved the requirements of office propriety were dead. “Go kick some more ass, love.”

  “Go make us reservations,” she said with a wink.

  49

  Emily

  I propped my feet up on the desk and admired the aggressive point of my shoes. I’d probably be spending more time in Nike than Prada in the future. Or completely naked if Derek had a vote.

  A lot of things would be different. And the only thing standing between me and that wide-open future was walking in the door in Givenchy couture. The kind of dress you’d want to be photographed in when you were named CEO.

  Lita stopped short when she spotted me behind her desk but recovered quickly.

  “Emily? What are you doing here?” she asked, pulling off her oversized sunglasses and scanning the room.

  “I’m just here to congratulate my very best friend on her new promotion,” I said. “CEO. Are you sure you’re ready for it?”

  All innocence and feigned confusion evaporated like a snake shedding its skin. “I’ve been ready for it for years. So has the rest of the company. You have no vision, no drive.”

  “Oh, and you do?” I laughed. “You work maybe twenty-five hours a week, and that’s if I count your ‘working’ lunches. Your team does all of the heavy lifting. You’re lazy. You’re entitled. And you have no loyalty.”

  “That’s rich,” she laughed mirthlessly.

  I felt like I was in some overly dramatic soap opera.

  “I’ve done more for this brand than anyone else, including you. You’d still be in the lab playing with pipettes if I hadn’t gotten you out of there.”

  I rolled my eyes. “So you’re a delusional backstabber? Fun. Tell me, did La Sophia actually expect you to work for them, or were they just buying my formula with a salary and a fake title?”

  “They paid outright for the formula. A salary and title were the bonus,” Lita said. She dropped her bag on a console table and rummaged through it, producing a compact. “But that’s peanuts compared to being CEO of Flawless. You really should be going, by the way. I have a meeting with my board.”

  “Yeah, about that,” I said, offering up a fake wince. I took my feet off her desk and rose. “That meeting is going to go a little differently than you expected.”

  She stopped lining her lips long enough to sneer in my direction.

  “Now, what little fantasy world are you living in? I know they asked for your resignation. You don’t believe that you’re still in charge, do you?” She pouted. “Boo, so sad.”

  “Oh, I’m not in charge anymore, Lita. At least not after this last little task. The board gave me one more thing to do before I leave.”

  “What’s that? Pack your things? I’ll take those lovely little chocolates so you don’t have to carry them home.”

  “You’re fired, Lita. Flawless no longer requires your ‘services.’”

  Her eyes went hard. And for the first time, I saw her. Really saw her. Beneath the extensions, the fake lashes, the makeup. She was plain. That would have grated on her.

  “Just for fun. What did you hate me for the most? That I always got the attention when we went out? That I had a trust fund? That I made straight As? Because I know it didn’t start with Flawless. You’ve always hated me.”

  Efficiently, she capped her lipstick and tucked it back in her bag.

  All masks gone. “You don’t deserve a damn thing,” she hissed. “You think just being born into a trust fund makes you worthy or interesting? It doesn’t.” She took a step toward me, and I crossed my arms so I wouldn’t belt her one.

  “You could have had so much more. All you had to do was work for it. Earn it. But you didn’t. I gave you a title and a team, and you still couldn’t do the work. You’re no better than Trey, just expecting a handout everywhere you go. It’s pathetic.”

  “Pathetic? Fuck you, Emily. Pathetic is you locking yourself in a lab or an office and living and dying by data. You don’t deserve your fortune. It’s wasted on you.
”

  “Hard work is never wasted. You barely made it through college. Without my help, you would have failed out. And without my generosity, you certainly wouldn’t be where you are now.”

  “Generosity? You reminded me at every turn that you thought you were better than me. I hate you,” she hissed.

  “That’s a shame. Because I really cared for you.” I had. And I’d mistaken her consistency in my life for loyalty.

  “You don’t care about anyone or anything,” she accused.

  “That’s not true. I care about Derek.”

  “And I took him away from you,” she said smugly.

  “No, you didn’t. You can’t destroy real loyalty, Lita.”

  “Do you know what he whispered in my ear when he fucked me?” Lita said, taking another step closer. We were eye-to-eye, and, oh, I wanted to break that surgically straightened nose of hers.

  A movement behind her in the door caught my attention. Derek, face full of fury, hovered in the doorway. I shook my head slightly, but he didn’t budge. Then Jane was pulling at his arm. Pushing him. And when that didn’t work, she jumped on his back and clamped an arm around his neck.

  I almost laughed. Almost.

  “See, Lita. You can’t even be bothered to do your own homework. I know Derek didn’t sleep with you.”

  “How can you ever be sure? How can you ever know that he’s not lying to you?”

  I leaned in, gleefully. “He doesn’t whisper anything in bed. He’s very vocal. And you’re not his type.”

  Lita scoffed. “You just keep telling yourself fairy tales. I’ve taken men away from you before. Why would Derek Price be any different? You saw the pictures.”

  “My attorney also had a conversation with the photographer you hired to take those photos. Oh, and she spoke with Nina Nowak who had a lot of interesting things to say about you and your ‘generosity.’ Derek’s team tracked down all of those helpful college classmates from the articles. They all had suspicious deposits to their bank accounts. Ten thousand dollars each? Isn’t that a little light for a soon-to-be CEO?”

  “Go fuck yourself, Emily,” Lita spat. She was losing her cool, her confidence. And that’s usually when she lashed out.