Page 1 of Scorned Queen

Part One

Chapter one

Damion

MyfatherandIstare at each other, and the silent battle we wage on each other is no less fierce than two boxers in the final round of a championship match.Because that’s what this is, but the battle is not for a belt, but rather controlling interest of Mary Morrison’s company.

My father thinks showing up at the table where Alana and I are wining and dining Mary to win her trust, will destroy my plan to save her company rather than gut it and sell it off, like he would dictate it to the board.It will not.The board is on my side, ready to go from sharks who gut businesses to a company that develops success and takes a piece of the profit for helping it happen in a long-term fashion that ultimately means more profit.

He’s a raider, pure and simple, a “man” who makes money by destroying people’s dreams and hard work.The worst of it is that I almost let him turn me into his mini me, but no more.I’m not like him.I will not operate on his terms.Never again.“You’re not invited, father,” I say.“Leave.”

“Did you really think members of the board wouldn’t tell me you planned to out me?”he asks, all cool and calm, a hint of amusement in his voice.“Did you really think what they said to your face is what they meant?I thought I taught you better.”

The problem for him, I think,is they didn’t just say it, they signed off on it.I glance at Mary.“Nothing has changed.”

“And yet, it has,” she says, shoving her chair back from the table and standing, her long gray hair draping her shoulders.“We’re done here.”Mary rotates and starts walking.

Alana is already on her feet, tracking Mary with rapid steps, as they both head in the direction of the door.“She can’t save Mary for you,” my father states, drawing my sharp gaze to his as he adds, “but you can save, Alana.”

A chill as icy as an artic breeze slides down my spine at the obvious threat, and I go stiff, doing so because I know things my father has done.Bad things, horrible things, you don’t come back from, and he doesn’t care.

The fact that my father is sitting here, at this table is meant to panic her and check me.I’m beyond being checked.I’m beyond being caged.Mary is another story.She took his bait, and she ran with it, ready to drown in the muddy waters of his bullshit.

My father thinks he’s won, but he hasn’t.

Now it’s my turn to be amused.I smirk and meet his stare.“Who’s going to save you, father?”I ask.

“I thought I already made that clear.The board.You don’t own them.”He leans in closer.“I do.And you’d be smart not to forget that.”He pushes to his feet and walks toward the door.

I don’t move.That’s what he wants.A reaction.

We both know he’s walking toward the door where Alana could end up his target, but despite everything inside me that makes me want to place myself between him and her, it would be a mistake.If I allow him to see her as a delicate creature that I’ll protect with a proverbial shield and sword, my father will see blood.

Alana’s blood.

And this, right here, this night and the target it’s put on Alana’s back, is why I stayed away from her, but that ship has sailed.She’s mine.And she’s strong enough to stand beside me against my father and my enemies.But she needs to believe that herself.That means she needs to know I believe in her.

I force myself to count to twenty and then I flag the waiter and hand him my credit card.I’m cool on the outside, but inside I’m pure fury ready to be unleashed.And if my father steps wrong where Alana is concerned, I’ll show him that the cold, ruthless part of me he created isn’t dead.It’s just waiting on him.

Chapter two

Alana

MyheartfluttersasI race after Mary, desperate to reassure her that Damion is on her side and that he’s legitimately eager to aid her quest to save Morrison Enterprises.Adrenaline is not my friend, as my knees wobble a bit, and I worry as much about what is happening between Damion and his father as I do about what’s before me with Mary.I don’t know what is in the past between them fully, but I remember the way he manipulated and controlled Damion in his youth.I know even if it’s been glossed over by Damion, that he became something he isn’t proud of, followed in his father’s footsteps, and became a version of a man he never wanted to know as himself.

I exit the front door of the restaurant to find Mary standing to my right, her back to me, while she runs fretful fingers through her long, gray hair.

“Mary!”I call out, and rush toward her.

She whirls around, her face etched with shadows, her eyes bloodshot, in a way that tells me the brilliant, tough-as-nails CEO is on the verge of tears.And why wouldn’t she be?Damion’s father means to rip all her hard work apart and destroy her baby.I’ve closed the space between us only to have her hold up her hands in a move that reads both protective and defensive.“I have nothing to say to you.”

“I swear to you, Damion intends to do right by you.He has the board.This is a manipulation tactic by his father and nothing more.He only wins if we let him win.”

“I know Erick, and he’s not here to intimidate.He’s here to gloat.And the reality here—which I’d like to think you’re too naïve to see—is that Damion is his father’s son.By luring me into his big plans to save my company, he made me look away.I have no back-up plan.”

I reject her point of view as emotional and incorrect.“None of what you just said is true and, on some level, I know you know that.I swear to you—”

“You already said that, Alana.Stop and open your eyes.Damion has a track record of being as cold as his father.Don’t marry that man.”

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