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As he stares at me, the text part of me autocorrects the silence in real time. I love you. I want you. I never want to let you go.
“Want to do this for you,” he says, “but this has to be your choice. Tell me.”
I swallow, wondering if he’ll agree, but it’s worth a shot. It’s a plan that goes right to the core of who Ralph is—an arrogant, unintelligent, sadistic narcissist.
CHAPTER 28
Ralph
In my desk, there they are—two pills. I pop them. My head is a mess after that Lexi bitch and her little friend pulled their little stunt. The Marinos—like I should give a damn. I could blow up that happy family if I wanted to by telling Ruby what a dog her sister is—all the barking, how pathetic. They think they can scare me?
Suddenly, my office door explodes. No, it’s knocking. My whole body feels like it’s been shaking ever since that giant, that asshole, that towering freak, got all up in my face and tried to scare me. This is a physical response—fight-or-flight. Who could blame a man for being stressed? But I wasn’t scared.
“What?” I yell.
Vanessa, my annoying-as-fuck assistant, says, “Uh, sir, Lexi’s here to see you.”
I touch my cheek. It stings from where she took her little rat chance to get in a semi-decent-for-a-woman hit. I remember the noise of the slap more than the pain, the sound of it, so look-at-me, so dramatic. Just like the yapping dog bitch she is.
“Bring her in, then,” I snap, as Vanessa stares at me so idiotically I want to slap her, too.
A minute later, Lexi is back, still wearing her work clothes. So she didn’t even have to get home to realize this was a mistake. She closes the door behind her as I stare, waiting for her to make a move, wanting it to happen this time. It’s the modern world, Lexi. She’ll realize who she’s messing with if she goes for me again.
She stops just on the other side of her desk. She looks nervous, bordering on terrified, just like when she was little. She looks down. “Ralph…”
“Spit it out, you bitch.” I can’t contain this anymore. When I saw her resume, I laughed because I knew it was the universe giving me another chance at her. I had a whole plan: act like it was a surprise, get her trust, twist her head. Why? Why the fuck not? That’s the question.
“I don’t want any trouble between us,” she mutters.
“Because you know what’ll happen,” I snap.
She blinks, on the verge of tears already, so fast, so pathetic. “Do you think releasing any videos would hurt me if they even exist?”
Ha, ha, so she’s bought the video thing. If I’d planned it better, I might’ve considered that, but I never thought I’d run into my first experiment again. “Say what you want. Say they’d send me to jail if you want, Lexi. Everybody would see and hear you.” I can’t help it. With a grin, loving that lost, stupid look on her dumb face, I go, “Yap yap, yap yap… Or wasn’t that very convincing, Lexi? Maybe I need some tips from the pro.”
Lexi starts to get that wannabe-tough look again, clenching her fists, acting all outraged. “So you recorded yourself torturing me?”
“Torturing,” I repeat, laughing. “That’s going a little far. I told you some lies, which you were stupid enough to believe, and you blindly went along with whatever I said. That’s not really torturing, is it?”
“You threatened my little sister. You made me degrade myself in front of you, and you verbally and emotionally abused me.”
I laugh, then cover my mouth. It’s worth it to see the oh-so-outraged look on her face. She’s going red like she’s about to pop. It’s so melodramatic it hurts.
“You think your little slap will change that? So cute, Lexi.”
“I slapped you because you abused me. Yes, partly, but it was mostly because you roofied Mia. You were going to take her to your car, and then what?”
I bare my teeth. She’s trying to act so tough it’s pissing me off. The pills are kicking in now, making my heart beat faster. I love the confidence-expanding effect they have, too. They fill a man with fire, letting him know he can do anything if he sets his mind to it.
“What do you think I was going to do?”
“You know who she is,” Lexi says.
“You think I’m scared because she’s a Marino? All I see, Lexi, you stupid dog, are packets of meat. That’s all any of you are. Packets of meat.” Suddenly, I move around the desk, getting closer to her, relieved when she cringes away. She understands, truthfully, who’s in charge here, but she keeps trying to convince herself otherwise.
“Do you think all that stuff with you was the end?” I snap. “I’m not the same person I was then. Do you understand me?”
