CHAPTER 79– AFTER THE FIREBRANDY'S POVThe world literally stopped.Not in the poetic, romantic way people wrote about in novels. No, this was the kind of stop that knocked the air out of your lungs, that froze your skin and made your blood feel like it had turned to ice. Every nerve in my body was screaming, every sense heightened... and yet, everything had gone still.The movement between my legs ceased instantly and the hand that had been squeezing my breast froze. I felt the warmth that had been pressed against my neck vanish like it had never existed.His entire body went rigid, and if there was a word beyond “rigid,” that was me.I was utterly still beneath him. Not a twitch. Not a breath. The fire that had consumed us just seconds ago evaporated, replaced by a cold, crystalline panic. The passionate, reckless man who had been devouring me with heat and hunger was gone. It was like watching someone snap into stone.He pulled back slightly, just enough to see me, and I swear the
CHAPTER 78– CLAIMED AND CONFUSED LARRY'S POVHer lips were soft, so impossibly soft, and carried the bite of the Cabernet we’d been sharing. The shock of it smacked the chaos out of my head. For one blessed second, there was no Maya, no guilt, no haunting... just the warm, urgent pressure of Brandy’s mouth on mine like she owned the moment, and damn if I didn’t let her. I groaned into the kiss, a raw, “don’t-mess-with-me” kind of sound that I didn’t even know I had in me. My hands, long freed from their death grip on the table, went rogue... one tangled in the silk of her hair, the other cupping the back of her neck like I was claiming territory.I hooked my arms around her waist and hauled her out of the chair, straight onto my lap. She didn’t fight it... not even a little. Just melted into me, a soft, perfect weight with her arms looping around my neck. The chair protested loudly, screeching against the floor, but I didn’t care. Neither did she. The kiss deepened, turning from so
CHAPTER 77 – THE HAUNTING OF US LARRY’S POV“Maya.”The name alone... hit me like a hammer to the chest. I froze, fork dangling like a forgotten baton, wine glass halfway to my lips, caught somewhere between ‘eat’ and ‘run for cover.’ I suddenly felt a knot in my stomach, like the air had been sucked out of the room. And my mind… it went blank, then overloaded all at once. Maya. Why now? Why here?I hadn’t heard her name in weeks, hadn’t wanted to. And yet here it was, sitting at the table between Brandy and me like a third guest. Of course. I should have seen this coming. Brandy had always had a sixth sense about the things that mattered... the people who mattered. And Maya mattered too much. My heart started thudding faster than it should, and for a moment, I wanted to run. Or hit something. Or maybe just drink until the world faded.I didn’t answer. Didn’t even look at Brandy. I just stood slowly, letting my chair scrape back across the floor, and reached for the wine bottle. My
CHAPTER 76– NOT SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE THIS LARRY’S POVI left Davenport Holdings walking taller than I had in months. The city air never smelled so clean, the traffic never looked so manageable, and for the first time in a long while, I didn’t feel like the world was pressing its boot into my throat.The drive home felt different tonight. Usually, I sat in the back seat half-drunk on exhaustion, replaying deals that went south or numbers that didn’t add up. But tonight... tonight my chest was lighter.I had a deal.Not just any deal... the deal.For the first time in months, I had leverageBy the time I pulled up in front of the house, I was still buzzing, high off a deal that had teeth and claws but finally gave me breathing room. I wanted to laugh, scream, drink champagne straight from the bottle. Instead, I stepped out, loosened my tie, and I walked through the front door smelling roasted garlic and grilled chicken, and all that reckless excitement found a softer landing. The kind
CHAPTER 75– THE OTHER MRS.LARRY'S POVI’d never really pictured myself as the type to sit across a table, waiting to be judged. I was always the one doing the talking, the convincing, the bluffing—never the one measured like a schoolboy in front of a headmistress. Yet here I was, walking into Davenport Holdings, clutching more nerves than sense. Walking into the Davenport Tower was like stepping into another universe. A forty-story glass-and-steel tower gleaming like it had something to prove. Impressive, if you hadn’t seen the view from my own penthouse office, which by the way, stretched higher than this building even dared.I’ll hand it to Davenport... she knew how to dress a building.The chrome doors glared back at me, spotless and sharp, the kind of shine that hurts your eyes if you stare too long. And an entrance wide enough to swallow a Rolls-Royce whole... Davenport clearly enjoyed the art of first impressions. Everything screamed money, ambition, control. Most people would
CHAPTER 74–FIRST LADY IN WAITING BRANDY'S POVI was rubbing serum into my cheeks when I hit dial. The phone barely rang once before Richard picked up.“Good morning, Richard,” I said, lightly, dabbing serum along my cheekbone.“Hey, Brandy. What’s up?”“I’m fine, and you?” I grabbed my moisturizer.“Good.”I arched a brow at myself in the mirror, smoothing the moisturizer into my skin.“I thought you said you and Larry were going out and coming back late.”“Things happened,” Richard replied. “He decided to go back home and think.”Think? Seriously? I rolled my eyes. Men and their dramatic ‘thinking.’“Think? About what?” I pressed, though my tone was more amused than worried.“Oh, he didn’t tell you?”“No, he didn’t.” Typical Larry. Always keeping the fun part to himself.“Well…” Richard paused, like he was about to drop a bomb. “Mrs. Davenport has agreed to sign the contract with the company. On one condition.”I stopped mid-stroke, cotton pad hovering over my skin. “Condition?”“Yea