Chapter 4 #2
"Willow Montgomery," I say her name out loud. "Willow, Willow, Willow. You want a rich man, huh? I’ll give you a rich man." I slam her photo down on my desk again. This is the woman who’s broken my brother’s heart. This is the woman who’s driven him to another country.
Who stole his money. Made him quit his position on the board.
And she is already on to her next target.
This is the woman who has compromised my billionaire-dollar business deal—and she doesn’t even know it.
Or maybe she does. Maybe she’s part of a bigger sabotage.
Maybe she works for the Sandcastle Group, which wants to stop my merger.
Maybe she’s trying to ruin this deal for me.
Though I don’t think so. Sandcastle plays dirty, but they normally don’t go this far.
This woman was likely acting alone. Maybe that’s what she and her two besties do.
Maybe they find, manipulate, and seduce innocent, loving, rich men.
Men who are just looking for love. Men they knew they could destroy with lies and sex.
I pick up my phone and read the latest text messages from Sergio.
I’d never seen him this down, this upset.
I press my lips together. A part of me wants to fly to Thailand to be with him, to make sure he’s going to be okay.
But the other part of me wants to exact revenge for him.
And for myself and all the other men in the world who have been used by women like her.
A part of me wants to show Sergio that this Willow is not worth his time, his energy, or his heartbreak.
"I think I’m going to pay you a little visit, Willow Montgomery.
" I smile evilly at her photo. "And maybe I’m going to play your game. Maybe I’m going to make you fall for me.
Because there’s one thing in life that I know I can do—and that’s make a woman fall devastatingly in love with me.
" I smile to myself. She has no clue, but I’m about to ruin her life just as she tried to ruin my brother’s.
And I don’t care if it was intentional or not.
I don’t care if she knew how much she had hurt Sergio.
It’s obvious to me that any woman who can take ten million dollars from a man and then dump him is not worth the time of day.
She may look innocent, but I know she isn’t. I know that a woman like her has to learn a lesson. And maybe I’ll make sure she learns a lesson so harsh it will stop her friends, as well.
I pick up my phone and call Jack, who is always my sounding board.
"Hey, what’s going on?" He sounds out of breath.
"Are you fucking someone?" I ask him, chuckling.
"Why would you say that?"
I smirk. “You sound like you're breathing deeply.”
“If I were fucking someone, I wouldn't be picking up the phone.” He laughs. “I was just on the treadmill, getting ready for a marathon.”
“Oh, so you're out of shape.”
“I'm in better shape than you, old man.”
“Hey, we're both thirty-five, and I'm in the best shape of my life, so I don't know who you're talking to.”
He bursts out laughing. “What’s going on? I'm about to go lift some weights.”
“I may need a favor.”
“Oh? What’s the favor?”
“I found out who betrayed Sergio.”
“Oh? Who.”
“Do you remember the coat girl at the club?”
“Umm, not really?” He pauses. “I mean, she was a pretty blonde, but I can’t remember much about her.”
“Her name’s Willow Montgomery, and she’s in some sort of honeytrap ring with two friends. I guess they target rich men, go after them, and steal their money.”
“Oh, shit. Is that why she was at the club?”
“I think so. She’s looking for her next target, even though she just stole ten million from Sergio.”
“Shit. So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to pay her a visit.” I laugh. “I’m going to make her rue the day she ever messed around with Sergio.” I pause. “She wants a rich man, well, she’s about to get one of the richest men in the world.”
“Wait, what?” He chuckles. “You or me?”
I laugh, then. “I’m slightly richer than you.”
“Depends on the day.” He laughs. “So you’re going to do what, exactly?”
“I just wanted to give you a heads-up because I’m going out of town.”
“You heading off to Thailand?”
“No, I’m headed up to Whispering Haven for a short trip.”
“Whispering Haven?”
“She owns a bed and breakfast there. I’m going to be a tourist for a couple of days.”
“And what are you going to do?”
“I haven’t decided exactly what yet,” I say. “But let’s just say that two can play her game.”
“How did you even find out it was her?”
“Louisa got the information.”
“That was fast work.”
“She’s on top of it when she needs to be.”
“She’d like to be on top of you.”
“That’s never going to happen,” I say, laughing.
“Just be careful of her, Sebastian. I know you guys go back to your teenage years, but—”
“But what?”
“I don’t know. I don’t get a good feeling about her.” He sighs. “She’s calculated.”
“She’s fine. I think you just don’t know what to do with a woman who sleeps around as much as you do.”
“I don’t give a fuck who she sleeps around with. She could sleep around with every man on earth for all I care. She just gives me bad vibes.”
“Okay, well, noted. If she gives me any bad vibes, I will be sure to remember what you said.”
“Just be careful.”
“I will.”
“Oh, and Sebastian?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t do anything too illegal with this Willow girl.”
“Me? Do something illegal?” I start laughing loudly then. “Would I ever?”
“No. You play within the legal lines, but don’t be too cruel.”
“You think that I’m cruel?”
“No, I’ve never known you to be cruel, but she sounds like a nasty piece of work, so don’t do anything that will make me have to bail you out of jail.”
“I would never.”
“I know you’re the king of revenge.”
“I’m the king of revenge? I’m offended. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten revenge on anyone before in my life.”
“That’s not exactly true, is it, Sebastian?”
“What do you mean?”
“What about the Red Brown factories?”
“What about them?”
“Well, remember when you made an offer to Red Brown and he turned it down and then spat at you? And then you bought all his suppliers’ businesses and then stopped supplying to him, and then he went out of business and ended up bankrupt?”
“That wasn’t a case of revenge,” I say. “That was a business deal that just happened to screw him.”
“That was revenge, Sebastian.”
“Well, don’t worry. I’m not going to buy the Whispering Haven Bed and Breakfast and put it out of business.” I chuckle. “That would be way too easy.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Like I said, I don’t know yet. But believe you me, Willow is going to rue the day that she ever messed with a Laurence man.”
“I suppose sometimes, people don’t learn their lesson until they’re made to pay.” He sighs.
“Exactly. And this young lady is going to pay. Believe me when I say that. She’s going to pay with everything that she has.
” I smirk and then think out loud. “And you know what hurts more than money? Love. The most painful type of revenge plays with the heart. And I think that is how I am going to get her.”