Page 63 of My Brother's Billionaire Best Friends

“I took the reins. I kept the board together. I updated our tech systems, expanded our international contracts, and cleaned up the tabloid trail your husband left behind like a chemical spill.”

“I never asked you to do all of that.”

“No. You just handed me the keys and told me not to crash.”

Vivian stands, fast. “We did what we had to do. Wesurvived.”

“And you’ve spent every day since trying to control every woman who walked through our doors so that none of them would ever make headlines again.”

She stiffens.

“You want to know what Parker’s real crime is?” I ask. “It’s not her résumé. It’s that she didn’t beg for your approval before being good at her job.”

Vivian says nothing.

“You don’t get to sabotage her because she didn’t kiss the ring.”

“This isn’t abouther.”

“Of course it is.”

“No,” she snaps. “It’s aboutyou.Letting your hormones compromise your leadership. You’ve gotten involved with someone you can’t protect. Not forever.”

I step back. There it is. The core of it. The threat.

She’s not just scared of Parker. She’s scared of what Parker represents—an emotional vulnerability she spent her whole life trying to train out of me. If I care for someone else, she loses her power over me.

“Well,” I say. “We’ll see about that.”

Vivian narrows her eyes. “If you let her bring this company down, I will not bail you out.”

“You won’t have to. Because she’s not going to.”

“She’s reckless. She doesn’t understand who she’s dealing with.”

“She’s handling your bullshit better than most of the VPs you’ve handpicked in the last ten years.”

Her eyes flash. “You’re making a mistake.”

“No,” I say. “I’m correcting one.”

She grabs her bag off the chair, fast and clipped. “If this blows up in your face, don’t come crying to me.”

“Come to you for emotional support? Wouldn’t dream of it.”

She storms to the door.

I wait. Then I add, loud enough for her to hear as she grabs the handle, “And if you’re really this bored in retirement, you should get a hobby.”

She slams the door hard enough to rattle the glass.

I let out a slow breath. My hands are shaking—but just a little. I go to the window, watching her cut through the main office floor like a warship slicing through fog. She doesn’t even glance toward Parker’s desk this time.

Smart. Because if she did, I’m not sure I’d let her walk out so easily.

Vivian’s departure is only a win if it sticks, and it never does. She’ll be back. With softer claws and stronger allies. Heather was the right place to start, but I know this game. There’s always another hand.

Still. It felt good to finally say it.