not willing to continue discussions with a Neanderthal. Be warned, Ms. Fontaine. I tried to be nice, letting you off the easy way. I have other means to get rid of you, and I’ll make sure you’ll suffer as you go down.”
Her sentence wiped the smug expression off my face and set a lump in my throat. I couldn’t take the threats of a billionaire lightly. I had nothing to hold myself against her. She could ruin my life and send me away if she wanted to. Heck, she could hire someone to kill me by tomorrow, or at least my imagination thought so. I was starting to regret how brash I had been when talking back, but I couldn’t change my mind now.
“I’ll see you next time, Ms. Fontaine,” she said, spinning around on her heels. She strutted off as her assistant followed closely.
I swallowed my saliva in fear.
I had just waged war with a powerful billionaire.
***
Kristie sat next to me, biting her nails with a deep frown cut into the center of her forehead. “You have to tell the twins.”
“What if they agree with their mother?”
“You’re still going on about that? Getting rejected is better than getting killed!”
I nodded. “I know, but how am I supposed to bring it up to them?”
“Tell it straight to their faces. Tell them their mother is up to something. Seriously, keeping secrets isn’t worth the risk of getting screwed over for the rest of your life.”
I covered my mouth with my hand and took a deep breath. “I’ll try.”
“You have to.”
The twins were timely. My cell phone trilled just as Kristie insisted I spilled everything out. The screen flashed Riley’s name.
“I’ll have to go now; Keith is probably waiting for me. Remember what I said. You've got to start being more open." My best friend gave me a tight hug.
"Have fun at your date."
"I sure will."
I picked up the phone as she walked to the exit. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's Riley."
Hearing his voice cheered me up. I hadn't realized how much I missed the twins until now. Their flight would arrive home in a couple days. The mansion felt too big without them around.
But hearing him also sent an aching need to my core. Just the thought of them whispering next to my ear while taking me from behind managed to send my panties into a bunch.
"How is Paris?" I asked.
"The negotiations are going well. I think we might've tied in a deal with their director. We're going to open a few more joint ventures there."
I smiled. "That sounds good."
"How are you doing?"
I thought about their mother's visit and what Kristie told me to do. "I'm great, really."
"Did Kristie come over?"
"She just left, actually. She really enjoyed your pool." Until your mother interrupted her.
"Good, good." I could imagine him nodding beside the phone. "I can't wait to get home. Ryan and I miss you so much."
My heart started to throb against my ribcage. His sweet words pained me, but it was a good kind of pain. The kind that came up because of excitement. They truly might've loved me, but I wasn't going to raise that subject until they got home. I wanted to hear the answer, regardless of whether it was positive or not, in person.
"Do you?" I asked. "I miss you, too. Where is Ryan, by the way?"
"He's taking a shower. I want you all to myself now."
That possessive side of him had started to show. My lower belly always tightened whenever I sensed it.
"I want to see you," Riley said. "Turn on the web chat."
"My laptop is in the bedroom."
His voice took on a darker tone, and it started to sound breathier. "I can wait. Call me on the chat when you get upstairs."
"Okay."
He had something planned; I could tell from the way he sounded. I ran up the steps and briskly walked to the bedroom.
***
When he answered the video call, I knew the more aggressive side of him had taken over. No longer was Riley in his usual sweet and sensitive mood.
He didn't look as amazing as he did in person, but he was still a damn fine piece of art, pixelated or not. His steely, green