Page 19 of Most Eligible Billionaire

Brett’s gotta be thinking it, too. I don’t look at him. How’d I peg her so wrong?

There might be a team behind her, but she’s alone now.

I step up the pressure. “Here’s the thing, Ms. Nelson,” I say. “It’s the four point five million,pluswe don’t use the very considerable resources we have to destroy your life and quite possibly ensure that you end up rotting in a prison cell.”

Her eyes shine. They’re the warm brown of a beer bottle, fringed with dark lashes. I wish I could read her thoughts, her emotions—I can see she’s having them. I tend to be good at reading women.

Why can’t I read her?

“I don’t know if you’re working with people, but if you are, they can’t protect you. And they won’t go down for this. You know who goes down for this? You. You go down, and you go down very hard. Very publicly. Very painfully.” I lean in. “And you will stay down.”

She watches me with growing disbelief. The wronged and totally innocent woman, shocked at this entire thing.

I smile. “What, did they get you from central casting? Don’t bother staying in character on my account.”

The dewy skin on her throat goes pink as she straightens her spine. “I'mnotacting.” It’s a good delivery. Vulnerable and fierce at the same time. Raw, even.

“Of course you’re not. My advice is you take the money I’m offering in the next ten minutes. Because ten minutes is about how long you have, given rush hour traffic for our good friends on the police force to get here.”

She frowns back down at the number but she doesn’t come back with another. Why not?

I watch her, curious. Her neck pinkens more, as if heat and emotion roil right below the surface.

I don't need her to make sense; I need her away from the company I love. The company I’d sell my soul to protect.

“Everyone has a price,” I say. “Especially you.”

Her face flares full red—her tell for high emotions, I’m thinking. “I told you I’m not a scammer.”

I step in closer, full-on intimidation mode. My skin tightens with the nearness of her. “Take the money,” I growl, “or I will fuckingbury you.”

Something new comes over her face. It’s as if a switch flipped deep in her soul. She glows with energy. No—it’s more than that—it’s pure, white-hot loathing. She’s incandescent.

And so alive.

The sense of her prickles over my skin.

“That a no?” Brett growls, bringing me back to myself.

“The offer goes poof in two minutes,” I say. “Now or never.”

Brett shoots me a glance. He doesn’t like the idea of an ultimatum, and usually I don’t, either, but I have this sudden perverse need to push her.

“You don’t want to feel our power turned against you.”

She swallows. “Well here’s the thing, Henry Locke.” Her voice shakes, but she holds her ground, stands right up to me. “It’s not up to me.”

My blood goes cold. So she’s working with a team, after all.

I try not to react, but this is very, very bad. A good team could hack apart the company and extract billions in the process. I’m suddenly imagining a man in the wings, running her, directing her. Maybe even a boyfriend or husband. I bristle at the thought.

I exchange glances with Brett. He furrows his brow just slightly. Desperation. Why not bring them in? Unless they have a long game. Dismantle the firm. Sell off the pieces before we can stop them.

I swallow.

I turn back to her. “Who’s it up to, then?” I ask, cringing inwardly. For the first time I’m thinking about the mob.

“Who do you think?” She glows at me again, bright with loathing.

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