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billionaire paranoia has excellent curb appeal

Author: Gemma Rykes
last update Petsa ng paglalathala: 2026-10-06 20:25:41

Twenty-three minutes after Gabriella had clapped her hands and treated the possibility of her family being kidnapped like a field trip, I was sitting in the passenger seat of Rafael’s SUV, wondering whether jumping out at a red light still counted as bad parenting if the car had come to a complete stop.

Sadly, we barely hit any red lights.

Rafael was driving himself, one hand relaxed on the steering wheel, his bomber jacket tossed onto the empty seat behind us, leaving the black Javier T-shirt
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  • Second Time, Mrs. Ricciardi   my therapist is going to love this

    Rafael led me onto the dance floor, one hand resting at my waist while my other hand settled on his shoulder. His movements were smooth and effortless, and he led so naturally that I didn't even have to think about where my feet were supposed to go next.“You're enjoying this,” I whispered as we moved to the music.“I'm dancing with my wife.”“And avoiding an interrogation.”“Two things can be true at once.”I scoffed.Rafael dipped his head slightly. “Still mad?”“Yes.”“Good.”I looked up at him. “Good?”“You're still willing to dance with me.”I stared at him.He smiled.I desperately wanted to smack that handsome face with my clutch. Sadly, I'd left it on the table.“You know what,” I said, “there are plenty of men in this room who'd probably be easier to talk to.”“Ramirez, for example?”Oh. I smiled slowly. “Axel is a great conversationalist.”“Apparently.”“And he's an architect. He has plenty of stories.”“The printer story was particularly impressive.”I laughed.Rafael shift

  • Second Time, Mrs. Ricciardi   some men lie. mine asks me to dance.

    I could practically hear the nonaggression agreements being drafted by their respective legal departments.“You're working on the restoration of this house?” Rafael asked.Axel nodded. “Part of it. The Whitcombs want to update the east wing without losing the building's original character.”“Good work.”“Thanks.”I glanced at Rafael.Hmm.A compliment.Another one.He seriously needed to get checked out.Axel turned back to me. “Anyway, remember when Professor Ellis called us both into his office over the printer incident?”I immediately laughed. “Oh, God.”Rafael looked at me. “Printer incident?”“It's a long story,” I said with a smile.Axel nodded. “A very long one.”“Does it require twenty minutes,” Rafael asked calmly, “or can it be summarized before dinner?”I nearly choked on my champagne.Axel paused for a moment, then smiled. “I can summarize it.”“Wonderful.”I turned toward my husband, who was looking at me with an expression of innocence far too expensive to be trusted.Oh

  • Second Time, Mrs. Ricciardi   the chandeliers have heard worse

    The Whitcomb mansion was just as beautiful as I remembered.The old Edwardian house stood behind black iron gates and rows of neatly trimmed trees, with stone steps leading up to the entrance, tall windows, and a backyard overlooking the city lights. Inside, there was dark wood paneling, family portraits worth enough to make an accountant cry, and antique chandeliers that had probably witnessed more affairs than an entire season of reality television.I loved it.Rafael got out of the car first, then waited while the driver opened my door. Three security guards spread out discreetly enough that most guests wouldn't even realize they were part of the same team.“How many people did you bring?” I whispered as I took Rafael's arm.“Enough.”“Rafael.”“Not as many as you think.”“When your answer involves the word enough, I immediately picture an entire platoon.”He gave me a faint smile and led me up the steps.Inside, Mrs. Whitcomb greeted us in a burgundy gown, oversized pearls, and th

  • Second Time, Mrs. Ricciardi   a gentleman, against all medical odds

    My phone buzzed again, but I was too caught up in what was on Marie’s laptop to bother checking it.On the screen, a blonde woman was climbing into the back of a black car, her body caught by a vehicle-mounted camera for less than two seconds before the footage cut off. We'd replayed those eleven seconds over and over, zoomed in on the frames, checked the timestamps, and spent so much time discussing camera angles that I was starting to consider a career change to private investigator.I would've loved to have my nervous breakdown in peace, but apparently GALA had other plans, and being the boss meant I couldn't even fall apart without checking my schedule first.I grabbed my phone and found a calendar reminder I'd completely forgotten about.WHITCOMB FOUNDATION PRIVATE DINNER. 8 PM.“Oh, you've got to be kidding me.”“What?” Dianna looked up from the email she was finishing at the end of the table.I showed her my phone.She read the reminder, and her expression changed. “Oh.”“Right

  • Second Time, Mrs. Ricciardi   someone wrote the path in advance

    Its five p.m when Marie came back into the conference room with her laptop in hand.Most of the staff had already gone back to work on their respective floors. Dianna was on the phone with a client, Jemima was correcting the vendor schedule on the big screen, and Rafael was still sitting beside me, reading the security documents Theo had just sent over.“Boss.” Marie approached me.I looked up. Something in her voice made me put my pen down immediately. “What?”“I found an additional file in the archived vendor folder.”“An invoice?”“No.”“A contract?”Marie shook her head.I pushed my laptop aside. “Okay. What is it?”She set her laptop on the table and opened the folder Vela Meridian Logistics had previously used to upload delivery documentation during Project Glass House.There were several ordinary documents.Vehicle schedules.Equipment handover.Delivery confirmations.And one video file.The filename told me absolutely nothing, just a combination of letters and numbers with an

  • Second Time, Mrs. Ricciardi   all the ways he gets under my skin

    Six hours later, I discovered that a human being could apparently survive on one espresso, two bottles of water, and half a turkey sandwich eaten while reading access logs.That didn't mean anyone should live like that.I’m simply testing a theory.Conference Room A was now covered in fresh printouts. There were four laptops, two chargers tangled together beneath the table, and a whiteboard where I'd mapped out the access structure for Project Glass House and how it connected to our current client's workspace.IT had managed to secure the audit logs and shut down the compromised credential. Several other folders had also been checked, but so far, there was no evidence that the entire client database had been accessed.Which was good. Not good enough to make me relax, but at least I didn't have to start considering a career as a full-time socialite just yet.I’m comparing two metadata exports when the conference room door opened.“Boss?” Dianna called from behind me.“What?”“Your husb

  • Second Time, Mrs. Ricciardi   The Wife

    The small pan hissed softly as the oil heated, the sharp scent of roughly crushed garlic already filling the kitchen before I realized I was humming. Fuck.A Shakira song.Wildly off-brand for this morning’s mood, which had gone to hell at five twelve a.m. sharp, when Arsen, the technological basta

  • Second Time, Mrs. Ricciardi   Glass Mansion, Soft Monsters

    Five Years Later.“AL, STOP PULLING MY HAIR, I’M A PRINCESS!”“UGLY PRINCESS!”Something small, warm, and heavy slammed into my waist. Then something else landed on my stomach. I didn’t wake up because of an alarm, but because two tiny bodies decided I was their personal playground.“Oh God,” I ras

  • Second Time, Mrs. Ricciardi   Sunlight and Divorce Papers

    I woke up because the sun slapped me in the face. White-gold light speared through the thin curtains, landing directly on my eyelids that had never volunteered to become solar panels. I blinked slowly, trying to gather the pieces of my soul scattered across the sheets.The clock on the nightstand r

  • Second Time, Mrs. Ricciardi   He Never Chose Me

    “Wow,” I said at last, closing the door behind me with a soft click. “I thought you were still busy having a reunion with your ex.”His gaze dropped for a second, traveling down my body. From the thin heels, to my bare legs, to where the dress cinched at my waist, to the neckline that was bold enou

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