[Juliette’s POV]“They were Don Ralph’s projects?” asked Janet, her eyes widened in disbelief as I leafed through the report. “Perhaps, they weren’t good enough?” I read through Papa’s notes and chuckled dryly inside. Not that they weren’t good enough. Ralph’s projects were going to reap profits that were twice as much as Lux Corp’s current investments. If these projects weren’t approved by Ralph, they wouldn’t be off the list. But I can’t say all this to Janet. The tightness in my chest warned me. So I smiled and agreed. “What does a Virtus know about business.” A thoughtful pause later, I purposefully added, “But they could get us twice the profits. I wonder if it would be a good thing to pass them up.”“Shall we counter propose to the Chairman?” “I better draw up the projections. God knows what that Virtus fraud did to the records.” Ignoring Janet’s second display of disbelief and surprise at my remarks, I added, “In fact, I better look through all the financial records right
[Ben’s POV]‘Tell the others.’ The Don huffed calmly.Ben inhaled knowingly, clearly aware that ‘the others’ referred to those like Agio—the same people he had advised Julie against inviting to the anniversary party—, and kept his gaze on his best friend as he patted his face with a towel. ‘They ever act on their own again,’ said Ralph in his slow, threatening pace. ‘I’ll fucking bury them with my own two hands. But don’t worry.’ He turned to Ben and chuckled dryly. ‘Their families will be well taken care of.’ ‘Consider it done,’ replied Ben. Now is not the time to nag. It will only poke the bear and cause more chaos. It’s already a good thing that he’s stopped thrashing things. *****[Juliette’s POV]Tommy had calmed down after a long bath and a nice dinner. By the time Papa returned, he had already been put to bed, and, just like the good old days, we had our dinner at the dining area and chatted about our day. Somehow, since Papa’s return, the air between us felt increasingly
[Mickey’s POV]After what seemed like an eternity of cries and grunts of pain from his men, Mickey finally found himself surrounded by a sea of bodies heaving hardly like marathon runners.Ralph Virtus had knocked them all out like a fucking pinball. Swiftly, the Devil grabbed him by the collar and dragged him across the ground once more. This time, all alone with his defences completely numbed, for the first time in many years, Mickey felt fear. Raw fear. He kicked and screamed, cursed and swore. It seemed to work. Ralph Virtus disappeared. And then—SPLASH!Ice cold water pierced through his skin like a thousand needles, and he howled in pure pain. The Devil cast the container away and squatted before his spurting self. ‘I’ll let you continue your little operation here in my hood—.’ Mickey spat at that sickeningly handsome face and screamed in a crazy high pitch, “FUCK YOU!! THIS PLACE IS M—-!” His hand slammed hard against the concrete—he could almost hear a crack in his sk
[Harold’s POV]‘She’s hiding something,’ exhaled Harold, after his lawyer ended his call. ‘Julie?’ There was genuine surprise. ‘First was an accident. Second was a coincidence.’ The business king couldn’t stop the hint of worry in his chest from growing. ‘Third.’ He turned to his friend with a solemn look. ‘Is a sign.’ Jerry wasn’t convinced. ‘It’s Julie we’re talking about. Your daughter. The one who’d stand by me when I said her father’s the smartest man to walk the face of Earth. Why would she hide things from you? She can’t tell a lie. We both know that.’ ‘That was before she got together with the Virtus filth.’ ‘Maybe she thinks this is her job?’ Jerry settled back in his seat. ‘You know how much she yearns for your praises. I talked to her after her press conference—she asked for your opinion first, as usual. It’s always ‘what did Papa say?’. No one else matters.’ Harold chuckled lightly but it was hard to tell whether he was convinced or not. ‘She’s the same old Julie, i
[Juliette’s POV]‘Papa, you wanted to see me?’ I strode into the Chairman’s office, luxuriously decorated with the finest mahogany. Without looking up, he muttered, ‘Yes. Sit.’ As soon as I sat, my mind completely on the time, worried that I might miss the meeting with the tech company from one of Ralph’s projects, a file was thrown in front of me and a disappointing sigh punched my chest. ‘You’re meeting Sound Proof?’ Papa threw his glasses on the desk. ‘Yes. In thirty minutes.’ ‘Cancel it.’ He took another file, moving on to the next order of businessNot again. I took a deep breath to steady my irritation and asked, ‘Why?’ The hand paused midair and then retracted, and a hard look lifted at me. What did you just say to me? Those eyes demanded. ‘It’s not nice to cancel on someone after you’ve given them your word. So I want to know why—.’ ‘Am I not good enough a reason?’ He snapped, his face unable to hide his discontentment. But I had enough of this. Though shaking inside
[Juliette’s POV]Papa looked like he had just seen a ghost. But in the blink of any eye, he was smiling again, cordially. ‘Have we met?’ he asked, his eyes straightforward. There was a commanding tone in his voice that would usually intimidate me—and many of the staff. But Ben remained unfazed—much like Ralph. For some reason, I felt as though Ralph was standing before me, not Ben. ‘You might have missed me, Sir.’ Chuckled Ben and took a sip from his wine glass. ‘So you’re the CEO of Smith Corp?’ Papa was scrutinising Ben for a clue to make sense of Ben’s presence. And Ben gave a toast to the air between them and replied, ‘Indeed I am. And you look like you’re about to call the cops on me.’ The men fell into a polite chuckle, seemingly to diffuse the tension, but their wary gazes made the air colder. Jewel and I couldn’t stop staring at each other. I was trying to find a way to get a word of Ralph, wanting to find out how he was, while Jewel looked like she was deciding betwe
[Ben’s POV]The giant, crazy-ass, punching machine was finally himself this morning. Sitting in bed, staring out of the window, Ben couldn’t hold back a sigh and strolled into the bedroom. ‘Your plan worked,’ he said quietly. ‘How long was I out?’ ‘Not long.’ Ben moved closer and sat on the end of bed. ‘How long?’ Insisted the deep voice. ‘Two days.’ Ben observed his best friend closely as silence fell between them once more. ‘You look the pinkest of health,’ he joked. But Ralph remained non-responsive. Ben cleared his throat lightly, his brain churning furiously for the next thing to say, and then a spark connected. ‘Harold Lux believes that we’re enemies now. Our company is free from his scrutiny.’ ‘How’s the party?’ asked the beast in a quiet tone. Ralph never cared for any parties so Ben knew that he was truly asking for Juliette. But Ben wasn’t sure if Ralph was ready to hear the name once more. ‘Sickeningly posh, if you know what I mean.’ Ben chuckled, hiding his conce
[Juliette’s POV]‘What are you gonna do?’ asked Agatha, her hand rubbing the back of my head in a coaxing way. We were in my bathroom with hot water running into the bathtub. Her voice lowered with solemn concern. ‘Are you gonna keep it?’ I pulled back and wiped the back of my hand across my eyes, then took the towel from Agatha and blew into it. Then, I stared at the tiled floors as my thoughts gathered themselves. Agatha waited patiently, checking the water temperature and adjusting it with the taps. Once I was naked in the bath, everything became clear to me. ‘I’m keeping it,’ I whispered tinily, still feeling a little afraid of what might come. But the thought of having a mini-Ralph, one whose childhood would be filled with ordinary sunshine and rain, gave me a greater nudge than I expected. ‘I’ll raise it.’ I repeated more firmly, feeling so much better. I leaned against the back of the tub and sighed, closing my eyes to figure out the Math of this. ‘Papa mustn’t know.’ Ig