Page 43 of Misdeeds of a Billionaire

She snickered. “Marco’s here, in D.C. I swear that guy stalks you.”

“Marco is the least of my concerns.” Stalker or not.

She shrugged. “Apparently, he’s dating a doctor that works at George Washington Hospital or something. Remember, she was at Le Bar Américain. Tristan’s sister.”

“Good for him,” I muttered. Marco was a friend and I wished him all the best, I just didn’t follow his life as closely as Billie apparently did. We’d touch base occasionally, but we all had our own lives to worry about. “Okay, wish me luck, soeur.”

Billie’s brown eyes sharpened. “You don’t need luck. Show them who the fuck we are. That fucker is lucky he knocked you up. He’s ugly. You’re beautiful.”

A choked laugh escaped me. Leave it to my sister to make me feel better, although Byron was anything but ugly.

Inhaling deeply, I stiffened my shoulders and steeled my spine. “Okay, I’ll meet you back at the hotel.”

Ten minutes later, I finally made my way to the top floor of the building. My heart thundered, and I held my breath as the elevator took me. Higher and higher.Ding.

I startled at the sound of the doors sliding open.

Stepping out of the elevator with feigned confidence, I made my way to the receptionist. Except, the desk was empty. I glanced around—left, right, left again—then made my way down the only corridor that held a large, gold “CEO” plate. Byron’s office had to be that way. My reading stated he was CEO of the Ashford empire.

I strutted down the fancy marble hallway with trepidation and smoothed my palms down my pink summer dress. The color was at odds with this black-and-white building. It certainly made me stand out. Albeit, I wasn't sure if it was in a good way.

I found the desk of who I supposed was Byron’s assistant and asked if I could see him. She said something about an appointment, but by then, faint voices reached me. Unease slithered through me, but I reacted too late. I turned on my heel to leave, and came face-to-face with Senator Ashford.

I froze. My eyes widened and my breath hitched.

This was not how I envisioned this going. I had the entire speech—or something resembling it—prepared in my head. For Byron. Not for his prick father. He pulled me away from the desk and out of earshot of the assistant.

“Well, well, well.” It wasn’t Senator Ashford who spoke. It was the woman next to him. I hadn’t even noticed her until now. She was breathtakingly beautiful. Designer clothing from head to toe. I didn’t care about brand name clothing, but my fashion-obsessed sister cared about them a lot. It kind of stuck. “What do we have here?”

With long blonde hair and big blue eyes, she looked like a perfect Barbie doll. Except, instead of a smile, this woman wore a sneer.

“This is Miss Swan.” Senator Ashford’s voice was cold, but it didn’t compare to his icy gaze. I shivered, wanting to fold up inside myself until there was nothing left of me. I fucking hated this reaction to him. “I’ll handle her.”

“Yes, please do. I don’t want anyone disturbing Byron today.”

I barely had time to blink and Senator Ashford was in front of me. His icy hands clasped around mine and he clutched them, his nails digging into my skin.

“What did I tell you, girl?” he hissed.

I pushed my shoulders back. “I have to talk to—”

He didn’t let me finish. “I delivered my threat. The hospital is gone. Your father’s gone.” A sharp gasp tore from my lips. It was one thing to know he was behind the hospital loss, but entirely different to hear him gloat about it. The room started to spin. I stumbled backward, trying to put space between us. Tears blurred my vision. I had to get away. I didn’t care about doing the right thing anymore. I just needed to get away. “Do you really want your sister gone, as well?”

His cold eyes and vindictive words felt like fresh needles piercing my chest. My heart burned like someone set fire to it. Every heartbeat, every goddamned breath hurt. I couldn’t drag enough air into my lungs.

He took my father from me. I couldn’t let him take my sister too.

“Let go of me.” I hiccupped, struggling to get air into my throat. I had to get away from him.

“I told you to stay away from us.” Senator Ashford’s voice was hushed, his expression dark. He pulled out something from his pocket and slammed it against my chest. “Here. Now be gone.” He flicked a glance over his shoulder to the woman. “These gold diggers will resort to anything and drain you dry if you let them.”

A stack of bills pressed against my chest, staining me. Without thinking, my hand flew through the air and connected with his face.Smack.

Someone’s gasp shattered through the air. Someone screeched. But I was too stunned at what I had done to react. Staring at the red mark forming on the senator's face, I stood frozen and wide-eyed. I had never hated anyone before, but I hated this man. With every ounce of my heart.

It was only then that I spotted the security guards. The ghost of a menacing smirk flickered in his blue eyes. Two brawny men in suits stomped around me, each grabbing me by an arm.

“Take the trash out,” the senator demanded. “My son’s orders.”