Page 45 of The Vow Thief
“What I get,” he said,“is consolidation. You are volatile. Beautiful, yes, but reckless. That combination needs structure. Together, you create balance, my power, his discipline, and your ability to draw attention. The board will see a legacy secured. The press will see control restored.”
His tone darkened, calculated.“With the Thompsons and the Macons aligned, the Holloway Group loses its footing."
I stared at him, disgusted.“You’re turning my marriage into a merger.”
“Of course I am,” he said.“What did you think marriage ever was? Holloway has been leaking your affair with Matt to my board members for months. At one time, Jim ran my PR, as well as the Macon Defense and Intelligence's Crisis PR. Now, he is stabbing me in the back. Not the first time. I should have seen it coming. This marriage forces our investors to remain loyal. It puts Holloway on the defensive while we rebuild every alliance he tried to poison. Within six months, they will be too weak to compete. That is the point of this union. Not sentiment. Strategy.”
I looked at Sean. He didn’t flinch. His posture was easy, but the confidence in his face said everything I needed to know. He wasn’t trapped in this either. He was in on it.
My voice came out quiet, almost detached.“And what does he get?”
Sean answered before my father could.“A seat.”
That single word carried weight.
He took a slow step forward, the air bending slightly around him.“Your father controls one of the largest private security portfolios in the country. My company provides most of its intel operations. This marriage gives me a permanent seat at that table, along with a share in his global contracts. In exchange, I keep his daughter in check.”
“In check?” I repeated, my pulse spiking.
He met my eyes evenly.“You are a beautiful liability, Lily. Brilliant, unpredictable, and dangerous to anyone who underestimates you. I don’t plan to underestimate you. I plan to use that.”
My father nodded, pleased by the audacity.“He understands value. You should learn from that.”
I laughed, though it came out broken.“So that’s it. I’m a bargaining chip. He gets power. You get control. And I get to smile on cue for the cameras.”
“You get to watch Jim Holloway break. And Matt Taylor. Although he is an unfortunate casualty of the Thompson family. It's the way business goes."
I looked between them. Two men who spoke about me like I was an asset with teeth.
Sean’s eyes never left mine. "It's a partnership."
My father lifted his glass.“To partnership.”
I smiled thinly, picked up my wine, my hand tightening around the stem of the glass.“To power,” I said.“Since love never got either of you anywhere.”
Chapter 22 - The Velvet Bruise
Sean's POV
Lily took a long drink from her wine glass and tossed it behind her as she left her father’s office. The sound of glass shattering made Elliott grind his teeth together. She slammed the door behind her.
“I have never met two people more alike in my entire life,” I said, grinning.
Elliott moved to clean up Lily’s mess. I guess you could say that was their relationship. She broke things, and he cleaned them up.
He straightened, a razor-thin piece of glass between his fingers. The corner of his mouth twitched.
“I am going to the Velvet Bruise to have a few drinks and tie up a few women. Care to join me?”
He dropped the shard into the wastebasket with the rest of the mess and poured himself another drink, all without so much as a glance my way.
I thought about it. The Velvet Bruise was a secret hideaway for the elite. Men and women indulged their kinks there behind layers of anonymity. But I wasn’t going anywhere near that place tonight.
“No, you go and have fun,” I said.
Elliott glanced up, a faint smirk on his face.“Whipped already, I see.”
I smiled but didn’t answer. I just wanted him gone so I could deal with the hurricane that was his daughter.
