At first, rissa didn’t say anything. I watched her, hands still tucked in my pockets, as she strutted toward her desk, where I noticed the boxed wine sitting on it.
“You know, someone got me this,” she muttered, opening it up and pulling the bottle out of it. rissa uncorked it slowly, as if my fury wasn’t filling the fucking room. “A friend from back in high school. You probably wouldn’t know him.”
She raised her gaze to mine as her lips twitched. “Very sweet vintage. It’s a thoughtful gift<b>, </b>don’t you think<i>?</i><i>” </i>
My nostrils red at the same time the bottle popped. “I asked you a question, rissa.”
“I know,<i>” </i>she murmured. “Oh, fuck. I don’t have any sses here. You wouldn’t mind drinking directly from the bottle, would you? You used to love that-”
“I did note here to drink,” I gritted out, stepping toward her desk. Toward her. rissa’s brows drew together, and for a second, she actually seemed confused.
“You didn’t?”
I simply arched a brow.
Her eyes glinted with mischief. “I assumed that’s why you came here. Thought you’d like to… you know, drink.” Her head tilted slightly. “Like I told Meadow we did.”
A dreadful shiver shot down my spine and I clenched my fists harder inside my pockets. “You what?”
What the fuck did she really tell my wife?
rissa raised the bottle to her lips and took a sip, letting out a tiny moan that made me want to wrap my hands around her neck and strangle her until she took her final breath.
It was hard to believe that I used to love this woman–then again, she wasn’t always like this.
She swallowed, and then sighed. “God, that is good wine.”
My nostrils red again, and I stepped forward, stretching my hand out for the bottle. rissa arched a brow, seemingly surprised that I was about to take her on her offer to drink.
But I wasn’t.
The moment I took the bottle from her hand, I flung it across the room, smashing it into pieces. Red liquid spread across the wall onto the floor.
rissa’s gasp was loud as she shot me a re. “What on earth is the matter with you? Do you have any idea how much that paint job cost?” She stormed toward me. “These are new floors, ric!”
“Stay back,” I said firmly when she was only a few feet away from me. “Come any closer and I’ll ruin much more than your floors and walls.”
She halted, clenching her fists at her sides. And for a moment, all she did was narrow her eyes at me, as if
I was at fault. As if all this couldn’t have been avoided if she had answered my question.
It wasn’t a big deal, of course. I could get her new walls or floors or whatever the fuck she wanted. And
she knew that.
rissa heaved a sigh, looking away from me as she ran a hand through her hair. She leaned against the
edge of her desk. “Don’t you ever get tired of being so…. moody and violent with me all the time?”
My jaw ticked. “Don’t you ever get tired of being a meddling, avoidant bitch?” I countered, shoving my
hands back into my pockets. “What did you tell my wife, rissa? That I drank with you?”
She pursed her lips. “Hurts so much that I’m not the one you call your wife.”
I gave her a nk stare until she finally folded, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms in front of her
chest.
“You two are so pathetic, you know that? Meadow would rather die in silence than tell you that she was
with me, all because she doesn’t trust you enough to tell you about what happened to her family.<i>” </i>She
chuckled, shaking her head. “But of course, you already know what happened to her family because
you’re the one who ruined it-”
“Clint Russell ruined his own fucking family when he killed my father,” I cut in, taking a step closer to
rissa. “And whether or not I tell Meadow is none of your goddamn business. I said…” Another step
closer and I was directly in front of her. “Tell me what the fuck you said to her that got her upset.”
Meadow didn’t want to tell me about her family, not because she didn’t trust me, but because she was
ashamed. Ashamed and terrified of being associated with the things that had happened to her.
I didn’t need her to tell me that. And I definitely did not need rissa trying to manipte me into
thinking that Meadow didn’t trust me. She did. Inexplicably.
rissa swallowed, her gaze dropping to my mouth, and I took a few steps back, away from her.
“I so much enjoy riling you up like this,” she said smoothly. “Fine then. I may have hinted at the fact that
we were in Vegas together… and I also may have… exaggerated some things.”
I stopped breathing. My gaze narrowed. “What things?” I asked slowly.
rissa shrugged. “Long story short, your wife thinks I was the one who convinced you to release
Juniper.”
216
“Convinced?” Red hot anger threatened to burst out of my chest. “You fucking ckmailed me to…‘”
I trailed off. All of a sudden, it all made sense. Meadow’s defiance, her subtle anger. She put the receipt in her bra because she was upset with me. Because of the lies rissa fed her. Because there was no other way to talk to me about it without letting it slip that she was with her.
I never got drunk with rissa. I never even fucking got drunk at all. I’d only summoned her to the penthouse after she threatened to tell Meadow everything that I was keeping from her if I didn’t release Juniper. And I gave her a strict fucking warning to stay away from my wife.
A warning she obviously didn’t heed.
“You told her I got drunk with you and let you convince me to release her sister? I don’t even get fucking
drunk.”
“Yeah, but she doesn’t know that, does she?” She stepped closer, gaze narrowing. “Come to think of it, what does your wife even know about you? Gosh, there’s so much to say, so much to tell her but you—”
Before I could stop myself, my hand reached for rissa’s neck and I backed her up against the desk.
A gasp tore from her throat, and her fingers reached for my wrist as my grip tightened around her dainty
throat.
“I asked you,” I started, keeping my voice low. “To stay away from her. And you just had to cross me, didn’t you?”
rissa’s face started to redden, and she red at me, still trying–to no avail–to p my wrist away. But her words were ever sharp. “Or what?” She choked out augh. “You’re not going to hurt me. If anything, I’m sure you’re enjoying the feel of my warm skin on your fingers.” Her voice lowered. “You don’t have to
pretend to hate me if you want me, baby. You can touch me all you want.”
I let go of her neck like it was on fire, and I stepped back, running my hand over my mouth. rissa was a master maniptor. She had always been. But now, it seemed as though her tactics had be even worse. She doubled over to catch her breath,ughing while at it.
“What do you want, rissa?” I asked after a moment had passed. “What is it you want?”
Her brow arched and she walked behind her desk, taking her seat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, ric.”
I tilted my head as my gaze narrowed. “You tell me you don’t want me hurting her, and then you go out of your way to do the exact same thing. What game are you ying?”
“Honestly, I just wanted to watch you squirm, looking for ways to fix the issue I created. Also, I just wanted to give you a little push, you know? So you’d be forced to tell her the truth about us.”
“I can’t imagine you’d want anyone to listen to the story of how you cheated on me with my brother.”
rissa flinched. “It was a mistake. Besides, you forgave your brother. Why is it so hard for you to forgive
me too?”
She was the second person asking me this. The first was Mutti. And my answer would always remain the same. I did it for my family. And my brother already punished himself without me even having to do it.
But rissa was…. different. “You know what the mistake really is?” I muttered, leaning forward with my
hands on the table. Amusement swirled in her eyes as she shook her head.
I smirked. “You.”
The amusement died down instantly, turning into a re, but I wasn’t done. “Meeting you, loving you-
those were all mistakes, rissa. But you know what won’t be a mistake?”
I didn’t wait for her to answer. “Taking away this business from you before you even think of opening-”
“You can’t do that!” She started to rise but I stopped her.
“Sit down.” She did. “And yes, I can. I know my mother has a hand in your business affairs, rissa. I’ll have you know that I can easily put a stop to it, and there’s nothing my mother or you can do about it.”
rissa’s eyes turned ssy. My lips twitched. I’d hit a nerve.
“I have my own money,” she gritted out.
“Do you?” My brow arched. “Or are you going to keep pretending you didn’t use your own niece’s trust fund to revive a business that was already failing?”
Like I said. Dirt.
Dirt was fucking important when dealing with the enemy.
She mmed her hands against the table. “Meadow wanted nothing to do with the money, ric. I simply… used it.”
I hummed. “And when are you going <i>to </i>tell her that?”
She swallowed nervously, looking away from me.
Pushing away from the table, I stood to my full height, brushing off invisible lint from thepels of my
jacket.
“You have no idea what I’ve done.” Her voice shook. “What I’m doing just to survive.”
“Frankly, I don’t care.” I shoved out a breath. “I couldn’t be bothered enough to look into what you did with the inheritance your parents left you, because I already got all I needed. I don’t need some fucking sob story. I’m just simply reminding you that you shouldn’t mess with me.”
It was funny and damn satisfying to see rissa so speechless, without a word to spit out.
“Careful, rissa,” I murmured. “And stay the fuck away from my wife.” And then I tapped the surface of the desk twice–I felt nothing. “Send me the bill for whatever you need fixed.”