Page 4 of Rival to the Billionaire

Her green-amber eyes are calculating as they peer over at me as Julian and I chat, drinks in hand. They greet each other, Julian kissing her lightly on the cheek before joining her side.

But just as soon as that's over, her hazel eyes are back on me.

Sharp and hard.

It only makes my smile grow bigger.

“Forde,” I say, extending a hand to her. "You look stunning." Her eyes move to my hand. “It’s good to see you. I had no idea you knew Julian Sabado." She takes my hand and I shake it lightly. Her hand is small and soft and cold, like she's just walked in from an arctic tundra.

"I—We've recently become acquainted, yes."

"Acquainted?" I sip from the bubbly in my hand. "Yes, I heard." I turn. "Julian here's a good guy. A bike guy like me. We've met a couple of times at a few shows."

Julian laughs, his Cuban-Spanish accent lilting easily. "Ah, yes. That we have—Ryder and I. Me? I'm a Harley Davison guy. Ryder here is obsessed with his European motorsports. He loves those German racing bikes. I can never understand why." He takes a sip of his sparkling water. "Just too cool for school, if you ask me."

"Ah, for sure, that's true." I nod. "But just because I like BMW and Porsche doesn't mean I don't…appreciate the other fine cars on the market. I'm a man of varied tastes. In cars, I mean." I shift the drink in my hand. "Some of us don't like to be boxed in. We like to be free to explore our options…right, Julian?"

Jenny stares. "Oh, we're all very familiar with how well you explore your options, Mr. Anderson." Her eyes drop to my left hand where my ring finger is bare of any wedding band. "How generous of you to be humble when you know so, so much."

My lips spread wide into a grin. "I do what I can, Forde. I like to share my wealth of knowledge with everyone I meet. But if there's one thing I know a lot about, it's you." My grin widens as I glance over at Julian. "You know, I've known Miss Forde here since we were practically in diapers. I was even a fan of hers at the second-grade’s talent show. You should've seen her dance. I'll never forget how she performed that amazing rendition of 'Wannabe’ by the Spice Girls."

Jenny's spine locks into a ramrod straight line, her every muscle rigid.

Julian looks confused. "Uh, Spice Girls? Who? I'm afraid I've never heard of this group."

Jenny glances at him. "Ancient history," she says. "A long time ago." Her eyes flick back to mine. "Back when Ryder was trying to hit puberty. I see he still hasn't gotten there yet. I suspect it'll be any day now."

I chuckle loudly. "She's something, isn't she, Julian? Always like this. Classic Forde.”

Julian stares, frowning. "You two went to the same school?"

Jenny and I share a meaningful look. Her eyes are cold. "Yes, that's right. In fact, all the same schools until we were eighteen. We even graduated high school together."

Julian still looks confused. It's adorable how slowly his brain is working.

"We did, yes," I agree. "And now we work together." I hold the bottle of champagne up to the sky for a sec. I lower it, taking a sip. "Well, if you could call Miss Forde trying to sabotage my new plans for our reading app 'working together'—because let's face it, nothing says 'teamwork' like sabotage."

Jenny's eyes hold mine, a flicker of anger passing through them. "Is that what you think this is, Mr. Anderson?"

"Isn't it?" I sip again, slow and easy. "Exploring your options, Miss Forde?"

Julian shakes his head, still frowning. "Pardon me, but I'm still confused. Mr. Anderson, I thought your company was a book publisher, not a reading app."

I cock my head. "One and the same, Mr. Sabado. When you attend the Next-in-Tech conference next week, you'll see. I'll be there, with all our demo partners. And we're all very excited to announce the upcoming roll-out of our entire technology category. Without Miss Forde's help, of course." I look her up and down. "And I think you're going to enjoy this one, Miss Forde. Even if you're too busy to take it in. You'll remember it, I'm certain." Reaching for her hand, I press her knuckles to my lips. "See you around, Miss Forde." I nod at Sabado. “Julian.”

I smile at them, finishing my drink in a few big sips.

I can feel Jenny's heated eyes on my back as I turn and head for the bar.

I can tell from the look on her face she had no idea we'd be soft-launching the app at the Next-in-Tech conference next week, mere days away.

Forde will be forced to face me and my tech proposal.

And I can't wait.

There were two ways to play this.

I chose the way that makes her so mad she can't see straight. The way that will finally convince Jenny Forde that she doesn't belong.

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