[Juliette’s POV] Holding my eyes, the CEO said firmly, “Here at Lux Corp, decisions are made based on calculations—not wild guesses. Am I right, Ms. Juliette?” He was hinting that I had no proof, and he hit the bull’s eye—I really have none. Shit. He got me. I drew in a silent breath but refused to look away. “You said we can’t rule out all possibilities so we have to keep an eye on you too, Mr. Ralph.” The atmosphere was stifling as the rest of the team watched in awkward silence. Ralph sank in relaxation in his chair and flashed a nonchalant expression that made me look like an idiot. “By all means. If it’s for the greater good, I’d be happy to share the details of my schedule and names of the people I met.” Surveying his audience, the Mafia King added, “Until there’s proof that I’m behind these complaints, we have a potential food poisoning case to tackle. So far, I heard that no one was hurt.” All of a sudden, some tension left the faces. It seemed that we were too c
[Juliette’s POV]The Mafia King’s version of ‘deskbound’ is as mafia as anything I’ve seen. Looking up from the iron cuffs around my ankle, I stared in shock at Ben. “You gotta be kidding me!” The man snapped the other end to one leg of the desk and stood with a huff. “The boss doesn’t do kidding. You know him.” “I don’t think I do.” I crossed my arms in vexation. “I thought you said, he can’t make you do anything you don’t want to.” Ben shrugged. “Well, I’m on Ralph’s side for this one. Seriously, Juliette, why would you think of him like that? He loves Lux Corp more than anything.” I jerked my gaze away and asked sourly, “He told you?” “Honestly, it wasn’t hard to guess.” He glanced at the door to the CEO’s office as though Ralph was standing there. “I’ve got you to thank for that—.” He shifted closer and lowered his voice. “Your complete lack of faith in us.”The clown does know when to bite, and he bites like a fucking cobra. But I’m not a fucking sheep either. I snorted a
[Juliette’s POV]In one stride, he grabbed the sides of my face and crashed his lips onto mine. I squeezed my eyes tightly to push away any resistance inside me and welcome him with parted lips and eager tongue. We kissed as though we hadn’t seen each other for decades, our tongues caressing and rubbing urgently as we sucked on each other’s lips. As he lifted my chin to drive deeper into my mouth, his fingers stroked my nape and I let out a soft moan, which sounded much like his name. He tore his lips away and I already missed them. “Why do you hate me so much?” he breathed as he drank the nectar from my neck. I grabbed my wrists behind his neck and hugged him closer, feeling the tickles of his moist lips on the side of my throat and sighing in content. “You hate me as much.” I didn’t realise we were shifting backwards until my ankles bumped against the bed and we fell onto a cloud of sheets. He inhaled at the base of my neck and muttered softly, “What can I do to make you tru
[Ralph’s POV]“Satisfied?” I whispered into the damn woman’s ear, maintaining my smile so Juliette wouldn’t see through the disguise and ruin it. This woman flips her mind like a coin and is highly unpredictable when she gets upset. Jewel widened her grin and slipped out a satisfactory giggle. Then, she turned to me and said, “Not enough.” And gave me the look. With an inside groan of reluctance, I turned to Juliette and said, “The security will be here to escort you out.” From the corner of my eye, that psychotic bitch lifted her lips in a tiny smirk. But the purple eyes in front of me widened in a renewed surprise. Then, they grew feisty. “So this is it, huh? Everything that we’ve had boils down to this.” I swallowed and tucked my hands into my pockets to show that I do not give a damn about the ‘everything’ she pointed out, and replied, “You know I give a fuck more about this company than you.” Seeing her squint in puzzlement, I hastily added, “So we’re done. You don’t even
[Ben’s POV] That son of a bitch Ralph… His plan worked. I watched silently as the heiress found her way back to the main walkway. She was half-right: Jewel is smarter than she looks—that gorgeous, sexy babe, with legs for days. But Ralph's wits are above hers. Two days ago, after telling Andy to send Juliette back to the Lux mansion, he returned to the Virtus mansion, alone. I found him there scrutinising like a madman, through every sheet of paper regarding that dumb tuna can. Then, she came like a storm—the bombshell. She wasted no time in admitting that she was the one behind the whole damn thing, and, on the spot, struck a deal with Ralph, who looked as though he wanted to kill her with his bare hands. The opportunist in him sprung into action—he would go with the flow and see where it’d take him. Well… I stared at the poor heiress pausing just at the side of the walkway to answer her phone. It takes one lovesick idiot to know another: the rich girl is defini
[Juliette’s POV] The car zoomed past the snow capped mountains skirting the valley of green forests veiled by a thin layer of gold from the evening sun. Inside, I was trying to keep my mind off Ralph and the reality of our divorce. Of course, I wanted it. I just… didn’t think that it’d happen this soon. “I don’t think he operated alone, J.” Luke suddenly said. I swung a surprise look at him as he stared ahead at the road. Then, calmly, I returned my gaze to my side of the road. “I agree. Five hundred per cashier for each of the sixty people—someone must’ve sponsored him.” Luke tapped his finger on the steering wheel. “I wonder who that could be.” I frowned at the ribbon of grey concrete stretching as far as my eyes could see. I know who the hell it is. Jewel Virtus. That’s why she knew how to stop this farce. “You’re thinking it’s Jewel Virtus, aren’t you?” Luke glanced at me and then back ahead. “J, you said that I’m your partner. This is the reason why I don’t feel so.
[Juliette’s POV] Fuck… fuck, fuck, fuck. I miss that jerk. Mr. Patterson continued in a light-hearted manner. “I didn’t want to admit my feelings for her cause… you know, I didn’t want my parents to say those magic words—Told ya.” He slapped his lap and laughed. “Yeah, that’s what they’d say.” The old man lowered his gaze to the ground. “So poor Gertha suffered.” I watched the old man, superimposing Ralph in his position. Was Ralph hurt when I refused to tell him how I feel about him? Pfft! He made me say it when we had sex. That slimeball. Mr. Patterson blinked a few times then lifted his face back at me and they were solemn again. “But eventually I told her I love her and we have a beautiful daughter together. A ball of sunshine when I first saw her in my arms.” I smiled warmly. “That does sound like a lovely experience.” I couldn’t imagine holding a tiny person in my arms. The child of mine and Ralph’s. Crazy ol me started chatting with him more about his daughter and
[Juliette’s POV] Sex is truly the way to forgiveness. “You like this, kitten?” He slid in and out of me, slowly and steadily, stretching me wide and good. I swallowed to catch up with my racing heart and mewed, “Yes….” I was in the driver’s seat, naked to bare skin, my back against the expensive leather, arms pinned on the headrest, knees lifted to each side of my breasts, thighs spread to their widest, and ankles dangling to each side of Ralph’s shoulders. This position is highly erotic, keeping me turned on and my breathing heavy and hard. Delighted moans and gasps thickened the space inside the car. The temperature grew warmer as the air grew humid. “Am I forgiven?” he whispered as I felt him sliding in again, this time drilling all the way to that sweet end. “Yes!” I gasped to the glorious feeling. Devil… he knows that I can’t resist him and he does this to me all the time. Fuck, I’m so—shit, this feels fucking good!—I’m so goddamn useless! A vibrating sound pierced