Page 9

9

BILLIE

TWO DAYS LATER

A fter I grab my coffee, I make my way to my office. It’s impossible for me not to notice the brand-new sign taped across Banks’s window.

It’s two banners, one stacked on top of the other.

Disrespectfully …

You lost.

“What the fuck?” I whisper, staring at it with creased brows, wondering how long it took him to write that and then hang it.

My door swings open, and Harper balances her laptop on her arm as she moves toward me. She sets it on my desk and points at the headline. I don’t like the expression on her face.

I read it.

Banks Advertising and Marketing Firm signs a multibillion-dollar contract with Lustre.

One billion dollars a month for the next quarter.

There’s a picture of Banks and Josh together, smiling, both looking handsome as hell.

“This is a nightmare, right?” I sink into my chair with my hands clasped tightly into fists. “He’s actually working with him,” I whisper with an exhale.

“Which one are you shocked about? Josh knows how much you hate Asher so I don’t know which one is worse. Asher and you have always hated each other, but you’d think Josh would respect you enough not to work with him.”

“He cheated on me, Harper. That man wouldn’t know respect if it was tattooed on his forehead. Fuck! This is unbelievable.”

Rage soars through me because I didn’t think Banks would do this. Since he’s friends with my brothers, I thought he’d show me a dash of compassion. Yes, we hate each other, but did we not have a mutual understanding? Assuming that is on me.

Bastard.

“We’re screwed,” Harper says, shaking her head. Then she sees the sign and screams as she reads it. “We are so fucked! I wish you had a thirteen-year-old vendetta against anyone other than him.” Her voice is elevated as she moves around to the front of my desk. “I went to art school. Sometimes, I don’t know if I’m cut out for this. I want to draw pretty clothes and play dress-up while making a ton of money. Is that too much to ask?”

“Proof that men ruin everything.” I close my eyes, massaging my temples, searching for a solution. Our hole is deep, and I don’t know how we’ll dig ourselves out, but we will with time. “What are our immediate options?”

She shuts her laptop. “Other than finding you a husband, I’m out of ideas. Maybe we could pitch a new TV series to Hollywood. We’ll call it Dating a Calloway . By the end of three months, we’ll have you a husband and enough money for us to open a second location of Bellamore.”

“Finding a husband will be harder than beating Banks and Josh at this. No one wants me, Harper. I scare men away because they’re too intimidated.”

I roll my head on my neck and dial Hannah’s extension. She answers on the first ring. “Please cancel and reschedule my meetings today. Any other time this week is fine.”

“Yes, Ms. Calloway,” she says, and I end the call.

“You know who’s not intimidated by you?” she asks, sitting in front of me.

I meet her eyes, and she glances behind me.

“Yeah, I know. He’s so fearless. So scary. I’m fucking sick and tired of everyone telling me that. This is our industry, not his. Ours . We do it because we love it. Josh does it for the money and power. Even if we were broke as fuck, we’d still design. We’d still make clothes.”

“You’re right. I just don’t want the bad guy to win,” she says.

“Josh won’t. Not this time,” I tell her, growing more determined with every passing second.

“Why did you cancel your meetings?” Harper asks.

“I’m taking a mental health day. I had the urge to drink mimosas and get a deep tissue massage. Maybe a manicure.” I look at my nails, which are cut short. It’s usually a sign that I’m stressed. “Coffin-shaped ones so I can gouge Banks’s eyes out the next time I see him.”

Those honey-brown eyes …

She glares at me. “I can’t with you. It’s the wrong time to be making jokes. This is very serious.”

“Oh, I’m not joking. I want to gouge his eyes out,” I say with a sigh. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes, of course. And I know you have the best intentions and wouldn’t do anything to ruin us. I also know Asher’s taken down larger and more established companies than ours. We’re at a major disadvantage, and we’re barely making a profit. Our empire is on the brink of collapse. ”

“Then we prepare for war. Ruining them together would bring me so much satisfaction,” I admit.

“War?” She lifts her brows.

“Our goal is to survive,” I say, looking back at Banks’s office.

He’s standing, tossing a ball upward, laughing about something as he chats with his half-brother Nick.

“What have you heard from your stepbrother?” I ask Harper.

After her dad married Nick’s mother they became better friends. However, Nick has known Harper for a long time since he was besties with her older brother Zane. The two of them were never strangers.

“He said good luck.”

I groan. “Did you know Banks is staying at his townhouse in Midtown? I know he held a party there, but I didn’t realize he’d returned.”

“He moved back there last summer. I thought you knew.”

“I didn’t. I must have done something awful in my past life to deserve this.”

“Me too,” Harper says and bursts into laughter. “I wouldn’t want to bankrupt a company with anyone else.”

“Me neither,” I admit with a smile. “Anyway, I’ll let you know what my brothers say.”

She exhales. “Okay. Are you stopping by this weekend? Weston is having a get-together on Saturday.”

“Really? I wasn’t invited.”

“He told me this morning in the lobby of Park Towers. Maybe he hasn’t gotten around to it yet,” she says.

Harper lives there, along with Easton and Lexi, and Weston and Carlee. I have a place there, but I prefer my Midtown penthouse loft. It feels more like home, and I’m surrounded by celebrities and musicians instead of the wealthy elite I like to avoid. I grew up around them and know they’re not my crowd.

“We can’t allow our family to rescue us financially, Billie. That was our agreement when we started Bellamore,” she reminds me .

“I know. I just need them to give me some lessons at Petty University. We’ll take their advice and execute without anyone’s help. It will be the greatest comeback story in fashion history—the things those who come after us will talk about.”

She nods. “Okay. I’m on board. If you have hope, I have hope. Don’t forget, we have to finalize the fall line very soon. I’ll continue forward with the design team. Business as usual?”

I lower my voice. “We have to ensure our upcoming designs don’t get leaked before we announce them. If Josh doesn’t know what we’re doing, we can regain our share of the market he temporarily stole.”

“It’s not our concept artists. I can promise you that,” Harper insists. “They’re pissed. No one wants to be plagiarized like that. Lustre doesn’t have a creative bone in its body. He continuously changes their release dates to match ours, as if no one notices. Everyone does. At first, it was cute; now, it’s just pathetic, desperate behavior. I’m so happy you’re not with him anymore.”

“And everyone wonders why I have trust issues,” I say with a huff. “Going forward, keep everything locked tight. Nothing regarding the line should be discussed over email or by messenger, only in the drawing rooms. I want fake concepts created, something we’d never manufacture. Final drawings and approved concept styles will only be seen by us. Me and you only. No more storing things on the cloud. Communication gets locked down immediately.”

“Great. You’re mega paranoid,” she says.

“No. I’m protecting us. It’s not a virus, Harp. Our leaks are internal. I want an entire line of fake designs created, ones that are so awful that Josh’s team won’t touch them. Have marketing create promotional material with specific color palettes for our real designs, but give them nothing else.”

She grins wide. “Do you think this will work?”

“It’s worth a shot. Banks may be smart, but he’s dealing with a literal man-child who doesn’t know shit about fashion. My mother modeled when she was pregnant with me and I was born to do this. This is our world, not theirs. He’s been floating from our designs for nearly a year. I’m fucking done and fed up with it. We tighten it up, starting today. And if I ever find out who’s responsible for this, I will fire them myself without regret.”

“Okay, I can handle that,” Harper says. “And you thought you needed lessons on how to be petty.”

I move past her. “Weston is a thousand times worse than me. And Easton makes him look soft.”

She smiles, and it’s the first time I’ve seen her do that since this started nearly two weeks ago.

“You know, I really didn’t think Banks would work with Josh. You know the old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend ? You’re now their common denominator.”

I give her a small smile, and she follows me out of my office.

“I won’t go down without a fight. We’ve worked too hard over the past decade to let two assholes take this from us. Pity Banks inserted himself, but he’s just a distraction. Our real issue is with Lustre. We control what we can.”

“I agree,” she says as I step onto the elevator.

The doors close, and a few angry tears spill from my eyes. I quickly wipe my cheeks, overly frustrated and exhausted by this. Before I reach the bottom floor, my face returns to stone. While I seem unbothered to the public, I’m livid.

As I leave my building, photographers rush me, and I try to ignore them. My eyes scan across the golden letters for Banks’s Advertising and Marketing before I slide into the waiting car.

I never could’ve predicted any of this would happen.

I just want these dark-haired billionaires to leave me the fuck alone and mind their business. Instead, they’re forcing me into a competition I never wanted to join.

As soon as I enter the Calloway Diamonds Corporate office, I’m greeted like I’m royalty. My credentials allow me access to the top floor, where their offices are located.

Weston and Easton’s secretary tries to stop me, but I enter Easton’s office without pausing.

As soon as I walk in, I realize they’re in a meeting.

“Billie?” Weston asks, his jaw clenched. “We’re not finished. Ten minutes.”

“Apologies,” I say, moving back to the waiting room.

Their executive assistant shakes her head. “They’re going to be pissed at me now. Thanks a lot.”

“I’ll make sure you don’t get reprimanded. It’s an emergency. Weston will understand,” I explain.

Right on time, the men in suits exit the office, and I stroll in.

Easton stands with his arms crossed over his broad chest, and he glares at me. “What the fuck, Billie? You don’t just barge into someone’s office like that.”

“What’s going on?” Weston asks.

My brows knit together, and my nostrils flare. “It’s an emergency .”

“What’s going on?” Weston asks.

I move to his computer and show him the article that Harper forced me to read before I left the office. Easton moves beside me and reads it.

“Worst-case scenario for you,” Easton mutters, breathing out.

“It’s not that bad,” Weston offers.

“Really?” I ask.

“No, it’s really fucking bad. I’m just trying to let you down easily.” He laughs. “You should be flattered they chose you to fuck around with,” Weston says, leaning back in his chair .

“Do I have a chance? Can I survive this?” I ask, glancing between my brothers.

“No,” Easton says without hesitation.

I ignore him and focus on Weston.

“I think so.”

“I came to claim my big favor,” I say to Weston. “The one I earned for stealing Carlee’s laptop. Now, let me be very clear. I don’t want either of you to bail me out. I have to do this on my own, but you’re both cutthroat. Teach me and guide me. Make me their villain.”

Weston and Easton look at each other and smile wickedly.

“We’ll make you a monster ,” Easton warns. “The way Dad always intended.”

“Everyone already believes I’m one anyway. No more playing small,” I state. “That’s nearly bankrupted me.”

“You’re ready then,” Weston confirms. “Just know that if you play with pigs, you’ll get dirty.”

“I’m prepared, and so is my publicist,” I explain. “Alyssa and I spoke on my way here.”

“Great,” Easton says, taking a sip of his coffee. “Fill us in on Bellamore and tell us everything about Lustre that you know. Don’t leave out a single detail.”

Weston picks up the phone on the corner of the desk and dials an extension. “Cancel the rest of my and Easton’s meetings for the day. Reschedule where you can.”

The call ends, and my brothers stare at one another for a brief second, holding a silent conversation before turning to me.

“I’m sorry. You don’t have to do that.”

Easton shakes his head. “No one messes with our little sister.”

“What he said,” Weston says with a laugh. “No one.”