“I hate you,” I finally responded, fixing my dad with a cold, hateful gaze.Calm the fuck down Prince, he’s just pissed because you totally screwed up the Chinese deal,I reminded myself.
“I can live with that. This is for your own good,” he answered smoothly.
“How soon is ‘as soon as possible’?” I asked forlornly. My head was bent toward my table, my hands locked together under it. I felt like a little boy who had just been reprimanded and sent to my room. The thought of my status being revoked bruised my ego completely.
“Aren’t you listening? Three months. That’s enough time to put things in place, all things considering. And you will, of course, include your mother in your plans. She has long been yearning for this particular occasion,” my father said.
I ignored his scolding.
“Does she know of your plan to take everything away from me? Doesn’t she have sole control over the trust fund? Was she consulted on this?” I asked in an attempt to call my father’s bluff. I’m certain my mother could intercede on my behalf. She wouldn’t be party to this plot to leave me high and dry.
“I assure you that you do not want to move my hand with further provocation. You will leave her out of this.” My father’s back stiffened and he eyeballed me with a look that said,‘Try me.’
“Draper and I agree that freezing that trust fund is in your best interests. We have been friends for years, and I trust his judgement. He saw reason for the necessity of discretion.”
Of course, I thought. The prick lawyer in charge of the trust fund was in my father’s pocket. People often remarked on how Drew Walker had gathered an impenetrable wall of allies where other persons with his power and influence would have gained more enemies than friends.
I was distraught, without that trust fund I had nothing to fall back on. It had not really mattered before because I’d made enough as the head of the company. I would have liked for it to go to my children if I ever decided to have any. I wanted to talk to Andy. I stared at my father’s mouth, not hearing anything as more hurtful words fell from his lips. I wasn’t listening anymore. My head was spinning. I want this man out of my life.
My father must have had enough of me reeling and unable to pay attention to more complaints and cruel comments about me. He rose to his feet and walked out of my office. If he made any parting shot at me, it was totally ignored.
Chapter 3
Angelique Delavigne
Astring of messages buzzed on Angelique’s phone where it lay on her bedside table, and she rolled over to reach for it, fumbling. At 9.30 am she was still half-asleep, but the cocktail party the night before had gone on till the early hours of the morning. Industry hobnobbing. It was good for her career, but her agent – aka Mommy Dearest – would freak out if she got bags beneath her eyes. She rubbed her face as she peered at the screen, then stifled a grin. She was looking at a string of photos of her own butt, clad in black lace – La Perla, if she was not mistaken.
Hottest ass on the planet,the message read.
Yours is pretty hot too,if I remember correctly,she texted back, pushing a swathe of dark hair away from her face.
Ha ha, I wouldn’t know. Don’t spend much time looking at men’s asses,the next text came back.
Another image arrived on the screen. She recognized her own breasts with a man’s hand cupping one, a thumb over her pert nipple. She remembered when they’d taken these pics. The weather outside had been cool, snow drifting down passed the tall windows of their suite. They’d opted to stay in the hotel room all weekend, calling in for room service rather than heading out into the cold.
They’d made love on every surface – the coffee table, the bathroom counter, the overstuffed chair in the corner of the room.
God, I could use another trip to Paris,Angelique thought, as she clutched her sheets closer to her chest, suppressing the urge to slide her hand between her thighs.
I need to see you again,a message appeared on the screen, and she swallowed hard.
I need to see you too. So badly,she replied. The memory of their time together had her skin tingling. It had been too long. She clutched her phone against her chest and stretched out beneath the sheets, minutes ticking by as she let her mind wander for a bit.
By the time the next message came through, her hand was cupping her mound, fingers slipping in and out of herself as she remembered how his mouth and hands had brought her wave after wave of ecstasy. Her cheeks were flushed with the rising pleasure her fingers had drawn from her body as she relived those moments with her lover. His strong, beautiful body between her legs…
She glanced at the screen through a lust-filled hazed, anticipating some more of his sweet words to get her blood even hotter. Then she stopped and frowned as she read the new message.
Dinner later? Need to speak.It was from Prince.
Speak? What now?she wondered. The request had the effect of a bucket of cold water, and she sat up, pinched her lips together as her ardor cooled, and responded with a “thumbs up” emoji.
Prince. Not Dmitri. She sighed and got out of bed.
∞∞∞
Prince Walker
Jane Russet walked into my office and went over to the clear glass counter that served as a minibar. She took out the bottle of cognac and poured some into it.
