A Double Dose of Billionaire: Part Three Page 2

  Riley placed the envelope on his desk. "If you want to leave, fine. It'll take two weeks to process." He sat on his desk and turned his head aside. Look at me, I thought. I didn't want to be rejected again by men I put too much faith in. Not by the two most wonderful men I'd ever met.

  I placed a fist to my heart, trying to control how hard it throbbed against my ribcage. "Can we shorten the resignation process?" I couldn't bear looking at them any longer.

  Riley scowled. "Is that what we've meant to you all this time? Just another sexual endeavor?"

  I gasped softly. "I thought that's how it was supposed to be like from the start." Having Riley say it aloud chilled my chest.

  "I'm disappointed," he said with a sullen face. "I thought we meant more to you. Two weeks is the minimum I need to process your resignation. TTA international is coming soon; we need you. We can't afford to let you resign so quickly." He emphasized the word need, and the emotional part of me hoped he didn't mean that in a company context.

  I darted my eyes to a corner. "Of course you mean more to me," I choked out.

  Ryan cupped my cheeks with his hands. "Can you honestly tell me you don't want to stay?" He forced me to look into his green eyes again. They danced over my features, embodying something alluring. Not now. I couldn't fall prey to them now.

  I held back my tears. "No."

  "Then why?" His lips were so close. I could just tiptoe and kiss him, forget about everything I just said, and live in my fantasy for a little while longer. The memory of his mouth was fresh in my mind—sweet and sensuous, like an addiction I could never have enough of.

  It took everything in me not to let my fingers rake through his silky hair. "It's the better option. It's safer. The paparazzi will start to leave me alone. My parents' reputation won't be tarnished. Your—" I stopped as I was about to tell them about what their mother said to me. Now that I was leaving, there wasn't any need to pit them against her.

  Ryan kissed me. I didn't pull back. "We'll miss you. Was it last night? We were stupid, Scarlet. We got too carried away. We forgot that you are new to this, and we let ourselves go too far." I reveled in the light brush of his lips, the sweetness of them leaving too quickly. Why did he have to let go? His fingers traveled to my waist. I shuddered under his touch. Was it because of fear? Pleasure?

  "It's not just last night, Ryan." I shifted my jaw from side to side nervously, not sure how to explain it to them. I wasn't sure if I could explain my reasons for leaving to myself. "It's... the things that have been happening. And... and I'm afraid I'm nothing but a plaything to the both of you. You made it seem pretty clear yesterday."

  Riley pinched his nose. "Damn it, Scarlet. It's not like that."

  "Then what is it like?"

  "It's our fault, entirely. We forgot. We had... other girls come into that room before. They were experienced—they had done these things before. It's no excuse, but we saw you at the landing yesterday, looking so beautiful.” Knowing they were attracted to me sent a tingling to my chest. "We wanted you so badly. And then, we forgot. You always came off so strong, so independent. We thought you could handle it, but we forgot that you weren't used to such things." The sides of his lips curled down. "We had a rough week. We shouldn't have caused you to suffer because of that."

  Jealousy grabbed me by its sticky claws. "Was I always like one of them? Like those other girls?"

  "No!" He paced closer to me, studying me with his gaze, causing my pulse to quicken. "You were never like one of them."

  "You're special to us, Scarlet," Ryan said. "We've never met another girl like you." His face was so close that I could feel his breath on my neck. "You are daring, strong, and everything we could ever ask for. Perfect."

  I let out a nervous laugh. "That sounds like a confession."

  "It is."

  My jaw tensed. What should I make of this? It felt like everything, and all I ever wanted, was just handed to me on a plate. But it was too good to be true. Too perfect to even make sense.

  They waited for my response as their eyes examined mine. Entrancing, dangerous...

  Too perfect.

  Not knowing what to do, I cried, then laughed. Was this some kind of cruel prank they were playing on me?

  "Why are you crying?" Ryan said, concerned. His thumb trailed across my cheek, wiping a stray tear aside.

  I shook my head. I was supposed to be strong, dependable, the A student, the quintessential modern day woman. That person was whom my parents raised me up to be and who I wanted to be.

  But here were the twins, bending me like pliable straw under their strings, playing me like a puppet, sending me to tears like the weak woman the modern age taught me not to become.

  I bit my lower lip in frustration. "You guys are the worst."

  "We love you," Ryan said, wearing a dark look. He didn't sound like he was pleading, or needy. He said it as a challenge. He wanted me to succumb and accept.

  I shook my head and backed against the wall, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. "I don't know." I shook my head. "I don't know what to do."

  "Are you still resigning?"

  "I'm not sure," I murmured under by breath.

  Apparently, Riley heard me, because he responded, "We'll give you as much time as you need to think about it. I'll withdraw or process your resignation as soon as you're ready to give an answer."

  I was thankful he didn't press me on our relationship any further. I should have been the happiest woman alive after having that confession from the two most eligible bachelors. But how could I be after what happened last night? I couldn't trust them with telling me the truth. I put faith in them in the bedroom, and they nearly suffocated me to death.

  They might have been weaving a huge lie to keep me in the company. After all, the directors of TTA international were arriving. I read the brief today—our company had a big party planned, and it'd be troublesome for the twins not to have a personal assistant to help with organizing the event.

  What if, after the whole event was over, I found them in bed while lying next to some other blonde girl?

  If that happened, I wanted to be able to walk away without being the brokenhearted girl who gave up all her feelings to men she couldn't trust.

  "Are you tired?" Riley asked. "You can stop for today. There aren't any important meetings."

  I nodded. "Yes, please." The emotional part of my brain had been thoroughly fried, and I felt more nauseous than I'd ever been. I figured another bout of vomiting was nearly due.

  "I'll call Tyrone up. He'll wait for you in the lobby."

  "Are the both of you coming home?"

  "We have some work to wrap up."

  I turned on my heels and stalked to the metal door.

  "And, Scarlet," Riley called. "Don't forget about what we said. We meant every last bit of it."

  Without even giving them a glance, much less a reply, I pushed the door open and made haste to exit.

  I needed to talk to Kristie, but what was I supposed to tell her?

  Oh, the twins confessed their love to me, but I don't want to get together with them because they like, you know, gagged me and tied me up on a bed, causing me a massive panic attack—definitely not something to tell a friend.

  I walked out of the washroom, the pounding in my head threatening to smash through my skull. I had just vomited into the toilet again. Maybe my period was arriving soon. Speaking of which, it was supposed to arrive four days ago.

  Four days wasn't a huge biggie, right?

  In the midst of my making a smoothie—because smoothies were my cure for every ailment—my cell phone rang. I hoped Kristie was calling. I needed some of her bubbly magic.

  But it wasn't Kristie. I couldn't recognize the number appearing on my screen.

  I tapped on the green button. "Scarlet speaking."

  "I'm sure you've heard the news about your father?"

  A woman was on the other end of the phone. Who else but my mother and the twins would know about my
father losing his job? I hadn't had the time to tell anyone else, yet. Not even Kristie knew.

  I turned off the noisy blender. "May I know who this is?"

  "We met a few days ago. I didn't think you'd forget who I am so quickly, whore."

  At the mention of that last word, a series of clicks occurred in my mind. The pieces added up with a domino effect. My dad's company wouldn't get rid of a skilled, contributing individual for something as shallow as his daughter's relationship. Somebody else must have played a part in it—a spiteful individual who bought her way through everything using money. I recognized the woman the minute she called me a whore.

  "Hi, Mrs. Crawford," I said, my voice steely. The acid in my gut seemed to burn against my stomach walls. Anger seeped through me, but at the same time, helplessness. My dad was fired because of this bitch, and I couldn't do anything but complain to the twins. Even then, would the twins be able to stand up against their mother?

  "I can give your dad his job back. I can have him promoted, even."

  My shoulders stiffened. "Thank you for your offer—"

  "If you leave the twins."

  "—but I must decline."

  "I thought you would. Stubborn, greedy people like you don't back down easily. I managed to find out where that friend of yours works. Kristie, is it? Studied in NYU with you for four years. Double major."

  I let out a steady breath. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "I don't think she would like getting fired... or evicted. As you know, Crawford owns many properties. She happens to be staying in one of our apartments."

  No. Not Kristie. I didn't want to pull her into this. She didn't deserve any of the trouble I caused. "Why the fuck are you doing all this? The twins are grown men. They can date whoever the hell they want."

  "I don't like you," she quipped.

  I paused, waiting for her to elaborate, but after a few awkward seconds, I realized her answer was simply that. "Really?" I replied disbelievingly.

  I heard her sigh. "I don't like you, and I like getting my way. You're an eyesore, Scarlet, and me having my way would be to have your life completely ruined."

  The taste of vomit in my mouth got stronger. This woman was utterly insane. "You have too much time on your hands. Leave me alone."

  "I do, and watching you crumble is entertaining."

  "You're not going to have any of that, bitch."

  I pulled the phone from my ear and immediately hung up. I couldn't be bothered wasting my minutes with a total jerk like Mrs. Crawford. She didn't seem to be backing down, and I wasn't so crippled to the point where I would start begging her for forgiveness and mercy.

  I had to warn Kristie, but what good would that do? I didn't want her out in the streets. Maybe I could ask the twins for a favor. They could give her a job, like they did with me. I scowled. I didn't want to ask the twins for any more favors. I just threatened to leave the company for God’s sake.

  I poured the smoothie into a cup and finished it quickly before putting the cup into the sink. I needed to sleep. The news had completely exhausted what little energy I had for the day.

  I paced my way to my room, which was right next to the twins, thinking about wrapping my fingers around their arms. I wanted to sigh into their necks while they drew circles on my belly.

  Gritting my teeth together, I steeled my resolve to be mad at them. But we hadn't cuddled since the Paris trip. It had been a downward spiral of drama since then. Going back to last Wednesday, when everything seemed perfect, sounded nice.

  Anxiousness gripped my heart. What if we could never go back?

  I should have washed my makeup off, but I was at that point where all my reserves had been drained and rinsing my face sounded like too much of a chore.

  I changed into a loose t-shirt; their loose t-shirt, and wrapped myself underneath the blanket.

  I hadn't fallen asleep so quickly in a long time.

  ***

  The sound of the door creaking open woke me up. It was still dark. I couldn't have slept for that long.

  Rubbing my eye as my vision cleared, I saw the silhouette of one of the twins standing at the doorway.

  "I didn't mean to wake you," Riley said. He walked over to my bedside.

  Still feeling disorientated from waking up, I momentarily forgot about how angry I was. He hadn't changed out of his suit, looking like my perfect corporate prince charming. The lighting made his jaw appear even more chiseled than normal. I had to hold myself back to not reach out and run my fingers on his jawline. "You look wonderful," I said, smiling a half-smile.

  What the actual hell? Was I drunk? I started thinking of ways I could retract my foolish statement. Nothing came to mind. That statement was too blatant.

  Thankfully, Riley acted as if he didn't hear it. He put his hand on my forehead. "Are you feeling better?"

  I opened my mouth and shifted my jaw around, testing my headache. It had more or less disappeared. "Yeah." The atmosphere had become uncomfortable again.

  He took my hands in his. His hands were so big, coarse, and masculine. Gently, he brought my fingers to his lips and trailed them across his mouth. He studied me as he did, and my eyes watched him carefully.

  "Where is Ryan? I need to talk to the both of you." I tugged myself away. The disappointed expression lacing his features made me regret my action.

  He frowned. "He's back in our room. He's not taking your rejection very well."'

  Was Riley bothered by my searching for Ryan? It caused happiness to boil in my chest in a strange way. He was cute when he got jealous.

  "Your mother called me,” I said.

  The frown cut deeper. "And why would she do that?"

  I licked my lips, wondering whether I should spill everything. If all the implications fell squarely on my shoulders, I might have kept everything to myself without batting an eyelid, but my dad was just fired and Kristie was next in line. "Your mom... she hasn't been very nice lately."

  Riley groaned. "What the fuck did she do this time? Did she offer money for you to leave us?"

  "How did you find out?"

  He palmed his face. "She does this all the time. That stupid mother of mine." Unexpectedly, he bent down and gave me a hug, one that felt like relief. It was tender, yet strong. I didn't push back, soaking in the sincerity of the hug, and being a little stunned at the same time.

  As he squeezed me tighter, he said, "Thank God, you're still with us."

  "Why wouldn't I be?"

  He pulled back. "Every woman my mother met got the same offer. We used to wonder why they'd leave without a word sometimes, and then finally, one of the girls told us about our mother, right before she left."

  "Why would she want to keep doing that?" I bit my tongue as I coaxed myself not to get jealous over the fact that there had so many women who had been in the twins' bed before.

  "To torment us." The words hissed under his breath.

  Raising a brow in confusion, I stated, "But she's your mother."

  "Not all mothers love their children."

  I squinted my eyes, not quite understanding him. "But she's your mother," I repeated.

  "Don't be fooled by the way she treats us. She hates us." His lips pressed together as he thought over something, presumably his past. "She's a little messed up in the head."

  I didn't prod further, not wanting to bring up unwanted memories. Though, there must have been some sort of misunderstanding between the twins and Mrs. Crawford. No mother would purposely torment their child. It sounded an awful lot like a lack of parent-child communication.

  "She called me after I got home," I said. "My dad got fired because of her."

  I paused to let the information sink in, and then continued, saying, "Kristie is going to lose her job if we don't do something about it. She might even be kicked out of her home."

  Riley cursed under his breath.

  "Those girls who didn't take the money... what happened to them?"

  His lower jaw tig
htened. "You're the first who hasn't."

  Surprised, my eyes widened. "None of them stayed?"

  "They were all only flings, sticking around for the jewelry and designer goods we gave them. So when my mother offered them a huge sum of money, they fled as soon as they could. We didn't care much. They were there for fun anyway."

  I forced myself not to smile. Knowing I meant more to the twins, compared to their chain of ex-girlfriends, made me contented.

  He lightly brushed his lips over my forehead. "I'll talk to Ryan about this. We'll think of something. Don't worry about it."

  "Can you do anything?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean, she's your mother and all. Can you guys stop her?"

  He chuckled. "We can. Don't underestimate us." The velvety sound of his laugh was like music to my ears.

  I felt as if a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. All this trouble with their mother had been stressing me out so much—maybe that's what resulted to my feeling sick.

  "I'll leave you to bed," Riley said, stroking my temple with his thumb. "You seem tired."

  I nodded. "I am."

  "Goodnight."

  As he walked out of the room, leaving me to the darkness, I tried my hardest not to call out and ask him to join me. He was suddenly so caring and comforting—nothing like the cold creature he had turned into yesterday.

  But I decided against it.

  Right before stepping into the hallway, he turned around and said, "Hey, Scarlet?"

  I responded a little too hastily. "Yes?"

  "About what we said this afternoon, do you have an answer?"

  Slowly, I shook my head. "Not yet. I'm not saying no"—I didn't want to—"but I need time to think."

  That response seemed to be enough for him. A faint smile curved at the corner of his lips. "That's good to hear. Rest well."

  "You too."

  He shut the door behind him, drenching the room in a lonely black.

  ***

  Kristie invited me over to her house. She sounded panicked.

  "Scarlet, I need to tell you something," she said over the phone.

  I nearly died there on the spot. "Is it bad?"

  "I want to tell you in person." And then she hung up the call.