Page 93 of Beautiful Revenge

“I’m not desperate, Harlow. I’m fucking livid. The shareholders know your father is dealing with health issues, but they never knew he was close to his last breath. I’m the one who managed to keep the company on even footing. You can’t waltz in and undermine what I’ve done all this time.”

Wait...

There’s no way.

It can’t be.

“Janie updated you on Dad’s condition?”

“Janie’s distraught,” he bites. “Patrick is her husband. If he’s awake, she needs to be by his side. If he’s of sound mind, I need to be there to bring him up to date on Stonebridge.”

“Where is Janie?” I ask, even though I know where she’s headed. My stepmother doesn’t have the connections to make a flight go off grid like Devon does. She boarded a Stonebridge plane an hour before we did. It’s headed straight to Miami. Maybe she located an attorney.

“I’m not telling you where she is. You threatened her.”

“I had no idea you and Janie were so ... chummy,” I note.

Again, he ignores me. “Where the fuck is Patrick?”

“He’s awake,” I say, confirming something he already knows. “But you’re not getting anywhere near him, and neither is Janie. At least not until he says he wants you there.”

“You can’t do this?—”

“Watch me,” I interrupt. “Until I can discuss this with my father, consider yourself on vacation.”

It’s his turn to pause to take in my words. “What did you say?”

“You heard what I said.”

“I’ve worked for your father for almost two decades. You have no fucking control over me.”

“But I’m the heir. If something happens to Dad, the controlling shares of Stonebridge are mine. I absolutely have control over you and everything else when it comes to my father’s empire, I’ve just never exercised it before.”

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re doing!” he bellows.

“You’re wrong. For the first time in a long time, I know exactly what I’m doing. Enjoy your break, Allen.”

“Don’t you dare?—”

But I don’t hear anything else he says. I hang up.

Devon tosses his laptop to the sofa beside him and turns to grab my hips. The next thing I know, he twists me until I’m straddling his lap as I search my contacts for another number. His hands disappear beneath the hem of my sundress and slide up the sides of my thighs. “Is your father’s business always this theatrical?”

I shake my head and hit go on one more number. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m not taking any chances. Allen was defending Janie. If that’s not a red flag, I don’t know what is. After that, he waved a couple more. I’ve never liked him, but I’ve never had a reason not to trust him. If I’ve learned anything through this, it’s that I don’t trust anyone.”

He gives me a yank and pulls me in tight until my sex is pressed against the bulge of his cock. “Anyone but me.”

I bite my lip. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

Devon lifts his hips to press his cock into me as his hands cup each globe of my ass. “Is there anyone else I need to dealwith on your behalf? The list seems to be growing by the day.”

I’m about to take him up on that, but the receptionist at the main desk answers. “Stonebridge Capital, how may I help you?”

I put a finger up to tell Devon to hold that thought. “Hello, this is Harlow Madison.”

“Oh, Ms. Madison. What can I do for you?”

“Could you please put me through to the head of human resources? I don’t have his number on me.”