Paula jumped up from her chair, her hands flying to her mouth in exaggerated horror.
“Oh, god!” she cried out, her voice piercing the room, trembling with fake devastation. Tears instantly spilled down her perfectly made-up cheeks. “I can't believe you’d do this to me, Victoria! You’re seducing your own CEO? Have you no shame? You knew we were together!”
The remote slipped from my numb fingers, clattering against the floor.
“Are you stupid?” he roared, the sound bouncing off the mahogany walls. “You couldn't even check the damn flash drive before you plugged it in? You just cost me three of my biggest investors!”
“I didn't put that video there, Brandon, and you know it,” I said, my voice dead. “But I don't care anymore. Keep the company. Keep Paula. I just want to leave.”
“Leave?” Brandon sneered, his grip tightening. “You think you can just walk away after what you’ve done? After you ruined my quarterly meeting? No. You are staying right here until I fix this. You aren't going anywhere until we get married again and fix this PR nightmare.”
“I’m not marrying you—”
My words were cut off by the sharp ringing of Brandon’s phone.
He snatched it from his pocket, his eyes never leaving mine. “What?” he snapped.
He listened for a second, and all the color drained from his face.
“What do you mean she had an accident?” Brandon demanded, his voice dropping into a panic. “Where is she?”
He hung up the phone and glared at me with pure hatred. “In her hysterics over what you did, Paula tripped and crashed through the glass display in the lobby. Her arm is shredded. The paramedics are saying she might need a skin graft.”
He didn't hesitate. He yanked me toward the door. “And you’re going to give it to her.”
I dug my heels into the carpet, fighting against his iron grip. “No! Are you insane? I will not do that!”
“You will do it!” Brandon shouted, his eyes wild with desperation for his first love. “You’ll do it for the sake of Paula, because you’re the one who ruined our family’s image today! You caused her to panic! If you don't do this, Victoria, I swear to God, you will never see the light again!”
I froze. My breath hitched in my throat.
I stopped fighting. I let him drag me into the private elevator, into his car, and straight to the VIP wing of his family’s private hospital.