Chapter 4

Charlotte

The banging on the door jerks me out of my sleep. I shoot up in bed, blinking at my strange surroundings. Where the hell am I?

"Who the hell is that?" A man's deep voice growls beside me.

I jolt in the bed, head snapping to the side to stare at the gorgeous man in surprise. The memories of last night come filtering in slowly. The divorce, heading out to the club and going after my ex husbands's step brother.

The man rises to his feet, and my mouth goes dry. Last night, things had been a little murky, but in the clear light of day, I have to admit that the man is built like a viking.

Tall, muscled, and large... everywhere.

Dear God.

He grabs his pants slung over the bedside lamp and drags them on, then marches out to go see who's at the door.

As soon as he's gone, I scramble out of bed, flying into the bathroom to see how much damage he had done. I look like someone who's just had a wonderful night. But then again, five orgasms in a row would do that to anyone.

Grinning, I take a hasty shower.

As I'm stepping out of the bathroom, whistling, a familiar voice reaches me.

"You're not welcome in this city. There's nothing here for you."

I freeze at the sound of my ex husbands voice. What the hell is he doing here? Oh well, I was going to wait to start dishing my revenge, but I guess I've changed my mind.

Kicking my dress from yesterday away, I shamelessly toss on Rhys shirt, drag my fingers through my curls and step out of the room.

"Rhys, baby, who is that? And why are they screaming this early? " I step into the living room, sparing Kevin a brief glance before moving to the side of the dark haired man.

"Charlotte!" He roars, eyes wide. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You know her?" Rhys looks confused, gaze flying between the both of us.

"What are you doing with my wife?" Kevin snarls.

"Ex wife." I correct immediately. "As of eight pm yesterday, I became your ex wife. The question should be what are you doing here? Are you stalking me?"

"Stalking you?" He spits. "Are you out of your mind? What are you doing here with this good for nothing bastard! You better come here right now." He points to a spot at his side, expecting me to toddle over like a good, obedient dog.

If there was any doubt that I need to give Kevin a taste of his own medicine, that doubt is gone.

"And why would I do that? You lost all control over me when I signed those divorce papers."

Kevin looks furious, but the fury gives away to a smug smile. "Stop the games, Charlotte. I know all about the apartment you paid for me with my money. As we are speaking, I've had my accountant revoke the payment. Which means, the house isn't yours anymore. You'll have to go back to the streets where I picked you from."

Panic washes through me at his words. I don't have a problem being homeless, but my mother is supposed to be discharged soon. I can't keep her on the streets in her weak condition.

"Get out!" Rhys growls, advancing on Kevin. "Leave before I call security and make this very embarrassing for you."

My ex rolls his eyes, unaffected by the threat. "There's only one option left for you, Charlotte. You're eventually going to come back crawling when you realize that my step brother is nothing but a loser. And when you do come back, I'm not going to make it easy for you."

Laughing, he spins on his heels and walks off, leaving the threat hanging in his wake.

"I have to go," I say, turning to rush back to the room and get dressed, but Rhys grabs my arm before I can leave.

"You knew who I was before you came after me last night, didn't you?"

I nod, then shrug. "What's your point? Are you going to accuse me of using you?"

He looks thoughtful for a moment, then finally, a small smile curls his mouth. "I came back to New York to rain hell on the Anders for what they did to me. I have a feeling that we're both on the same side here."

"You're right. I want to ruin them. But I need money and power to do that."

"I have money and power. What I don't have is inside knowledge."

I step forward, my voice dropping to an intimate whisper. "I know for a fact that the foundation of Anders incorporated isn't as solid as they are making everyone believe. They need investors. They've been trying to gather investors, and as a matter of fact, Kevin is supposed to meet with the board of a company today to discuss a partnership."

"Which company?"

"Your company, Vertico." I tell him. "I don't think my dear ex husband knows that you're the CEO."

"Kevin never cared about doing research. He's always been a careless fool, eager to jump into situations feet first." Rhys says.

The thing about Kevin is that he grew up with every single door opened for him just because of his family name. He's gotten so used to having everything he wants at his finger tip that the idea of even working hard for anything is absurd to him.

Now that he's taking over, I won't be surprised to hear that the company is crashing.

"That fool is going to wreck the Anders legacy." Rhys sounds annoyed, bitter.

"Let's help him wreck it then." I purr, holding out my hand. "Together."

He takes my hand in a firm handshake. "Together."

"Well, now what?" I ask him. "What's our first move in this alliance?"

"You need a place to live first," he says. "I'll arrange for my secretary to get you a place. Second, you need to get dressed, we have somewhere to be."

"Where?" I ask, surprised.

"To a board meeting with Kevin Anders of course."