CHAPTER 2

Susan’s POV

“We’ll be back with our lawyers. Enjoy your last days as CEO, Mark.”

She pulled me into the hallway, into the elevator, and into the car. I looked at her as she tried to start our beat-down Chevy.

The car sputtered and coughed but it would not start. My mother hit the steering wheel with her fists, causing my heart to thump.

She stopped struggling with the car and turned to look at me.

“I thought you wanted nothing to do with it,” she hissed, “but you acted just like the bitch I raised you to be.”

There was only anger and perhaps a tinge of hatred when I looked into my mother’s eyes.

“I want none of this,” I said, “if my father did not want me when I was alive, no amount of wealth is going to make up for it.”

She slapped me hard across the face.

I had seen it coming but I had not stopped her.

Trying to stop her from doing anything, only made life worse for me.

“Do you have any idea how hard I have worked to provide for us until now?” she spat angrily, her eyes blazing fiercely as she looked at me, “you ungrateful wench.”

I looked at my mother, the woman who had raised me, and wondered not for the first time if she had really given birth to me.

“You want to live in that shitty apartment forever? Scraping by on freelance work? This is our chance, idiot. Our one chance to have everything we deserve,” she continued angrily.

“I never asked for—”

“You never ask for anything! That’s your problem!” She lit a cigarette, blew smoke at the window. “Richard Cuban owed us. He promised to take care of us and he lied. Well, now we’re taking what’s ours.”

I stared out the window at the city passing by and wondered how my life had turned into this nightmare.

Two days later, my mother announced she was going to see our lawyers.

“We should have heard news from them,” my mother said, “it feels like I’m paying them to do nothing.”

I said nothing as I watched her leave the house. I left the house myself thirty minutes later and took a cab to Cuban Industries. I wanted to tell that bastard who was my half-brother that he could take all of our father’s money and shove it down his fucking throat. I did not care about any of it and I was going to leave town the following week.

I had received an offer from my old professor to do a fellowship programme at the university. I could teach and work to get my PhD. It was not going to give me millions of dollars like the Cuban estate would, but it would make me comfortable and I would reserve my dignity.

My mother did not know about it yet and I had no intention of letting her find out.

I headed right to the topmost floor when I got to the impressive building in the middle of Manhattan. His office was not hard to find, but his secretary told me at once that he was not in it but in a conference meeting. I walked out and found the conference hall adjacent to his office.

I walked in, holding my head high like I had a right to be here. I watched with glee as Mark’s face reddened when he saw me walk in. His twelve or more executives turned their heads to look at me.

“Why are you here?” he demanded from me, his hands balling up in a fist.

“Really?” I asked, “You want us to do this here?” My tone carried my contempt.

“Everyone leave,” Mark’s deep voice filled the room.

I could see the hesitation on the faces of his employees, but they did not question him, they did just as he said.

I stood close to the door as the room emptied. Mark stood up and walked towards me, his heavy steps I knew were meant to intimidate me. He was standing nose to nose with me as he looked into my eyes trying to break my spirit.

I stared right back at him, proving to him that he did not scare me one bit. But I caught myself inhaling his pinewood aftershave instead of glaring at him. I cleared my throat and took a single step backwards.

“My mother is determined to take everything,” I said, tearing my eyes from his intense gaze this time as I looked around the conference hall.

“And I believe that she will,” I continued, “it would be best to settle with her out of court before she destroys everything your father built up.”

His gaze hunted me, but I did not look at him.

“I’m leaving next week,” I said, skirting around him so I could be out of his orbit, “she doesn’t know that yet.”

“Why would you tell me that?” he asked. I could hear the amusement in his tone, I looked up to meet his eyes and they had the look of a hunter. It sent chills down my spine.

“I know what you billionaire bastards are capable of—”

“In this case, you are the billionaire bastard,” he cut me off, emphasizing the last two words.

“I do not want to be caught in the crossfire,” I tried to rein in my anger.

I was looking at his face and he had a sickening smile on his lips, like he was enjoying my torment.

“That means you do have something to lose,” he said, his tone dangerously low as he closed the space between us.

“You’ve made a grave mistake, little sister,” he said, lowering his head to whisper at the nape of my neck.

“You’ve exposed your weakness to me, and I intend to use it fully,” he continued, his hot breath tickling my neck.

I closed my eyes involuntarily and gasped as I felt my nipples harden underneath the cotton shirt I had on.

Mark brought his face to hover over mine. My eyes were still closed, but I could feel his heavy hand on my shoulders and the bridge of his nose rubbing mine.

“You know what I think little sister?” his voice was a whisper that sent shivers through me, “you’re putting up a performance.”

My eyes flashed open and he was too close to me, dangerously close—so close that I was aware of the chemistry that ran like a current between us. It made me gasp again, leaving my cheeks flushed as I leaned into him involuntarily.

We were going to kiss, I could sense it as our lips drew closer—

The door slammed open with a crash that made us both jump apart.