With polite nods and brief handshakes, I greet the men on either side of me and settle on the pew.Edgar Williams, the interim CEO of a company I almost bought a few weeks ago but didn’t because it had too many internal issues and not enough potential, checks his watch before twisting toward me and propping his elbow on the back of his seat to watch the back of the church.
The man on his other side nudges him with his shoulder and smirks.
“Man, your secretary has you whipped, doesn’t she?”he laughs.
“I love it when they play hard to get.I haven’t had this much fun since that bitch in college,” Edgar says.
Disgust adds fuel to my frustration, but I grit my teeth and ignore them as best I can.
“Didn’t your wife just have a baby?”the other guy asks.
“Yeah, the broad popped out a girl two days ago.Thank God I’ll have a few months before I gotta try to knock her up again.She’s like a dead fish—”
The first notes from the organ vibrate through the chapel.Edgar doesn’t notice my side glare as he cranes his neck toward the back.
I hate men like Edgar Williams.He’s too much like my father: a chauvinistic asshole who thinks it’s his right to prey on the weak.Edgar became the interim CEO through textbook nepotism.If his father wasn’t forced to step down for medical reasons, the arrogant idiot wouldn’t have the chance to hold power.
The back doors open, and everyone turns to watch the procession.My pew mates have the decency to keep their voices down as the officiant, groom, and paired groomsmen and bridesmaids walk down the aisle, but Edgar’s pal breaks my reprieve when the best man and maid of honor appear in the doorframe.
“Isn’t that the jerk who cockblocked you last week at the conference?”he asks.
Audrey and the taller man she was flirting with begin their slow march down the aisle.
My vision narrows on my baby doll.She’s gorgeous.Her red curls blaze in the light, highlighting her bright green eyes and pale, freckled face.I long to kiss her full, red lips and worship her slim curves.My hands itch to pull her close and hold her against me.
Red colors my periphery as I note her arm woven within the man’s.Her delicate fingers rest on his forearm.
“Yeah.If he wasn’t Matteo’s right-hand man, I’d have taken care of him already,” Edgar says.
I bite back an animalistic growl as fury roars through me.
She’s clinging to Liam Brunswick.Matteo Ricco’s legendary personal assistant.A man I’ve heard a lot about but never met in person.
Edgar doesn’t have the power to touch Liam.
But I do.
I’ll crush him and ruin everything he holds dear for flirting with my baby doll.
Audrey is mine.
“He won’t always be there to interrupt.I’ll fuck her before the end of the week,” Edgar says.
Rage boils in my veins, but I loosen my fists and breathe as Audrey and Liam approach the pulpit.I log every infraction as Liam guides her to her spot.His hand lingers on her arm too long.Her smile is too sweet.She watches him walk away with too much affection.
“Send her my way once you’ve had your fill.I bet she’s feisty with all that red hair,” Edgar’s pal says.
I swing eyes full of deadly promises to the mouthy asshole and enjoy his pathetic shrinking back before shifting my attention to Edgar.
“No wonder your company has lost several investors the last few weeks.You’re a piece of shit, Edgar,” I say.
His sputtering gains the attention of everyone nearby.I meet Liam’s stoic eyes and pour my fury into my glare.When he doesn’t back down, I lift a brow in challenge.
The organ changes songs.I rise with the rest of the congregation but hold Liam’s stare until he turns his attention to the end of the aisle.
I lock stares with my little stepsis.
Audrey’s wide, startled eyes fill my vision.The slender column of her throat shifts as she swallows.Her knuckles turn white around her bouquet.When I realize she’s afraid because of me, shame dampens my anger, but the bride squeaks and a bundle of flowers streaks across my periphery.
