Page 38 of Suddenly Desired (APEX Billionaires’ Club #2)

ELLIE

Ellie’s head spun, her heart pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat. She stared at David, his smug smile spreading across his face like oil over water, staining everything it touched. Beside him, Michelle crossed her arms, her icy smile cutting through Ellie like a blade.

She turned to Josh, hoping against hope that he would laugh, say this was all some sort of joke. But his wet grin was all the confirmation she needed.

“You’re disgusting.” Ellie’s voice trembled with rage. “You’re all disgusting. How could you do this?”

“I’ll happily take you back, Ellie, if you beg me.”

Blake was on the move before she even knew it. He towered over Josh, his arm raised, his fist clenched, ready to pound him into the dirt.

Ellie grabbed Blake by the shoulder and pulled him away.

Josh squeaked, scampering back. “I’ll sue you,” he whined. “I will, just you try it!”

“Sue me for what?” Blake said.

Josh looked for a moment like he might be about to hurl another insult at Ellie, but suddenly she was standing right in front of him. Then she slapped him across the cheek, hard enough for the sound of it to echo around the room. He dropped on to his knees, howling.

“You are the very worst person I know,” she said. “The weakest, most despicable excuse for a human being. You deserve everything that is coming to you.”

“Oh, save the outrage,” Michelle sneered. “You were careless. You didn’t protect your precious idea. That’s on you, sweetheart.”

Ellie clenched her fists, her nails biting into her palms. “You can’t just steal my work.”

“Actually, we can,” David said with infuriating calm. “And we have. Josh here was kind enough to supply us with everything we needed. The code, the concept, the pitch — it’s all ours now.”

Ellie turned to Blake, whose face was a storm of fury and pain. His jaw was set so tightly it looked like it might snap. She saw his hands tremble for a moment before he balled them into fists at his sides.

“This is illegal,” Ellie snapped. “You can’t just take someone’s intellectual property. It’s theft!”

“Prove it.” David spread his hands wide as if daring her to argue. “You didn’t copyright it. You didn’t trademark it. You have no leg to stand on. And before you think about a legal battle, remember we have the resources to bury you.”

Blake took a step forward, his broad frame towering over David. “You really think this is going to work?” he growled. “You think people won’t see through you?”

“They won’t,” Michelle said, her confidence unshaken. “And even if they do, it won’t matter. Perception is reality, Blake. You of all people should know that by now.”

Blake’s shoulders heaved as he took a deep breath, and Ellie could see the war raging inside him. She placed a hand on his arm. “We’ll fight them,” she said, her voice steady. “We’ll take them to court.”

“Sure,” David said with a chuckle. “Fight us. Drag this through the courts for years. By the time you even make a dent, we’ll have rolled out LifeWrite as part of Heartbook, and you’ll both be bankrupt.”

Ellie’s gaze darted back to Josh, who was hanging at the edge of the room, looking less sure of himself now. His smirk had faltered, replaced by a furrowed brow.

“Wait a minute.” He stepped forward. “You never said LifeWrite would be a part of Heartbook. You promised me CEO, a board seat. You said I’d have a say in—”

“Oh, Josh,” Michelle interrupted with a laugh. “Sweet, stupid Josh. Did you really think we were going to let you anywhere near the decision-making table? You were a means to an end. Nothing more.”

Josh’s face flushed and he clung to the back of a chair to keep him upright.

“Enough,” said David, losing his patience. “Sign it now, Blake, or face the consequences.”

“I won’t,” he said. “Not unless LifeWrite is off the table.”

Michelle let out a sharp laugh. “You’re not in a position to negotiate, Blake.”

“I’m not signing,” Blake said, his voice a growl. “Not now, not ever.”

David’s smile turned wolfish. “If you don’t, we’ll move forward with LifeWrite anyway. We’ll copyright it under Heartbook. Once that’s done, Ellie won’t just lose her company — she’ll lose her reputation. We’ll make sure the world knows she tried to steal from us.”

Josh let out a noise like a dying mouse.

David pressed the papers closer. “You have a choice, Blake. Sign and walk away with your dignity — or let us destroy her.”

Ellie’s heart shattered at the look in Blake’s eyes. She stepped closer to him, placing both hands on his arm. “Don’t do it,” she said. “Don’t let them win. I’ll figure something out.”

“You won’t have time.” Michelle’s tone was gleeful. “We’ve already started the process. If he doesn’t sign, Ellie, your name will be dirt.”

Blake looked down at Ellie, his expression softening. He reached up, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “This isn’t just about me anymore,” he said softly. “This is about us.”

“Blake, please—”

He held up a hand, silencing her. Then he turned to David, his jaw tightening. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll sign.”

“Blake, no!” Ellie grabbed his arm. “You don’t have to do this. We can fight them together.”

“I can’t let them ruin your reputation,” he said. “I won’t.”

David held out the pen and Blake took it.

He moved the papers to the table and Ellie glanced at the mess of her ideas strewn next to them, the code she’d been showing Blake only moments earlier now sitting redundant on her laptop.

Blake’s hand hovered over the pages and for a moment Ellie thought he might change his mind.

But then he picked up the pen and, with deliberate strokes, signed his name.

Each movement felt like a dagger to her heart.

When it was done, Blake dropped the pen and turned to David.

“That was almost too easy,” his old friend said. “You’re even more pathetic than I thought.”

“Come on.” Michelle walked out of the room, her heels clacking on the wooden floor. “I’m sick of the stink of this place.”

Josh followed, still rubbing his cheek and throwing Ellie a venomous glare, but she refused to flinch. Let him scowl , she thought. He deserved worse.

David lingered, his smugness faltering slightly as Blake spoke.

“You’ve taken everything from me,” he said, quietly. “But don’t think for a second that this is over.”

David hesitated, the smallest flicker of something — guilt, perhaps — crossing his face. For a moment, Ellie thought he might say something human, but then Michelle’s impatient throat clearing echoed from outside.

“I hope you find your freedom. You were a good friend, David. I’ll miss you.” Blake’s words carried a weight that pierced Ellie’s chest.

David’s jaw tightened, his hand flexing at his side. Then, as if something inside him snapped, he turned and strode out without a word, slamming the door behind him.

Ellie let out a shaky breath, her pulse thrumming in her ears. She turned to Blake, who stood staring at the closed door, his shoulders tense.

For a long moment, the only sound in the room was the faint hum of the helicopter outside, its rotors beating the air in a cruel, constant reminder of everything that had just happened.

Ellie crossed the room and slid her arms around Blake’s waist, pressing her forehead against his back.

His body was rigid, coiled with tension.

“Are you okay?” she asked, listening to his heartbeat.

Blake didn’t answer right away. His hands came to rest over hers and he sighed, a deep, shuddering breath that seemed to release some of the weight he was carrying.

“Yeah,” he said finally. “I think I am. But I’m sorry for what they did to you.”

He turned around and pulled her close. “He had no right to do that to you.” He kissed the top of her head. “We can fight it in court. We can get LifeWrite back.”

“We don’t need to,” she said, breathing her words into him.

“Why? Of course we fight. It’s your idea, they’re not going to just steal it out from under you.”

She opened her mouth to explain, but faltered as her gaze dropped to his lips. Before she could think better of it, she stretched up on her toes and kissed him.

Blake responded instantly, his arms tightening around her as he deepened the kiss.

Everything else faded away — the betrayal, the anger, the lingering humiliation of Josh’s smug grin.

All that remained was Blake, his warmth, his strength, and the way he kissed her like she was the only thing keeping him anchored to the earth.

When they finally broke apart, both of them breathless, Blake’s hands framed her face.

“We fight,” he said again, his voice softer this time, but no less insistent.

Ellie’s lips curved into a grin as she shook her head and pushed her glasses back up her nose. Her gaze flicked to the table, and she nodded towards her laptop and the little red light still blinking away.

Blake followed her line of sight, his brows drawing together in confusion.

“It’s still recording,” Ellie said, her grin widening.

Blake blinked, then barked out a laugh — a real, deep laugh that made Ellie’s chest swell.

“You’re serious?” he asked, a slow smile spreading across his face.

Ellie nodded, unable to suppress her own laughter. “Everything they said. All their lies. It’s all on the laptop.”

Blake looked at her like she’d just handed him the world.

“You’re brilliant!” He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Absolutely brilliant.”

Ellie shrugged, a playful glint in her eyes. “I mean, I didn’t do it deliberately, but I’ll take it.”

“Let’s make sure we’ve got everything.” Blake stepped over to the laptop.

Ellie watched as he bent to check the file, his movements careful but quick. Her heart swelled with a mixture of relief and something else — something deeper. Whatever happened next, they weren’t going to give up. They were going to fight back.

And this time, they were going to win.