Page 140 of The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée

Marvin comes in and shuts the door, frowning, looking between me and her. He’s in a beautiful suit with a red tie. His blond hair is expertly tousled, but he doesn’t have the sunglasses propped up on his head for once. “What is this?”

“Answer the question,” she says. “Have you ever seen the inside of a prison cell?”

“No,” Marvin says, stunned.

“You wanna?” she asks. “You wanna see one? You want to have the chance to decorate your own prison cell? Because fraud is a funny thing. Federal fraud, securities fraud, postal fraud. It’s a very serious conviction. You can stretch those charges long and wide as the Mississippi.”

Marvin frowns at me. “What bullshit has he been filling your head with?”

I take the opportunity to give him a big smile, wishing Tabitha were here. She’d be bursting at the seams with excitement. I know the exact smile she’d wear, or more, she’d be biting that lower lip, and there’d be a glow on her face.

I check the time on Gail’s big ol’ clock. Still early. I can still get to her with time to spare.

“Don’t look at him, look at me,” Gail says. “You’re going to want to come clean to me.”

“Are you threatening me?” Marvin asks.

She pushes the DNA test across the table.

Marvin picks up the sheet, studies it, brow furrowed. I’m already thinking about how I’ll describe the moment. “You tested me?” He looks up at Gail. “What right…”

“I tested you,” I say. “I did it.”

“Youdid?” Marvin barks at me. “How did you get my DNA? That’s an invasion of privacy. It’s anactionableinvasion—”

“Priorities, Marvin,” Gail says. “Tell me your story or I call the cops.”

A heavy hush settles over the room. I can see the gears going in Marvin’s head.

I wait. This is the tricky part. Gail knows what he’s done, and she could send him to jail. But the publicity will damage the Driscoll brand, and Marvin knows it.

“What are you really going to do, though?” Marvin asks, clearly recognizing this as the game of chicken that it is. “Press charges? Put it in the papers? If I go down, you’re going to look pretty gullible.”

Gail folds her arms, cool as a cucumber. “I don’t have to tell you what I’ll do. That’s the beauty of being in the position I’m currently in, and that’s the danger of the position that you’re in. I don’t like the publicity, but then, it’s just a matter of spin.”

Marvin’s expression is guarded. “You’re bluffing. You won’t jeopardize your beloved fucking brand just to get a confession from me. You’ll be a laughingstock. Here’s my thinking. I’ll just walk out of here and let bygones be bygones,” Marvin says. “We call it even. No harm, no foul.”

Marvin’s smart. Of course, he knows Gail well by now. He knows how she protects her company, her family.

“Will you take your chances withme?” I ask him coolly.

Warily, Marvin studies my face. “You’re not that vengeful,” he says. “You’d burn too many bridges. It would hurt the Driscoll brand. It’s not who you are.”

“You think it’s not who I am?” I smile. “Let me ask you this—did you ever imagine that I’m the kind of man who knows how easily DNA results are manipulated? Did you ever imagine I could be the kind of man to break several laws to secretly obtain DNA samples from unwitting subjects and have them tested? Because apparently I might just be that kind of man. You don’t think that level of vengeance is me?” I don’t mention Tabitha’s involvement. No way am I throwing her under the bus.

Marvin blinks. It really is outrageous—it’s outrageous that I would’ve thought of the scheme, and it’s outrageous to follow through on that testing.

I’m not that kind of man, of course.

Stefano DiMera fromDays of our Lives,though, he is that kind of man.

I let my voice go silky. “How do you think I got your DNA material? I’ll let you think about that a little.” I smile. He has to know I broke into his cabin to get his DNA. That, too, is outrageous. It makes me look like an unhinged, calculating, vengeful villain.

Marvin goes a little ashen. He’s not loving this.

I can feel Gail staring at me. She didn’t think I was that kind of man, either. Which is, admittedly, not ideal. But I lost the chance to regain her business when I showed her the test.

Marvin snorts. “Fine, I’ll tell you what happened…if you’ll sign something that you won’t press charges.”

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