Verity:

I was furious.

The moment I felt his fingers dig into my ass, I knew he intended to squeeze harder if I let him.

So I scratched his hand as hard as I could.

He winced and let go.

The release only gave me a moment, but it was enough.

I straightened my back, spun around, and prepared to run.

Before I could get away, he shot out an arm and pinned me against the wall.

Both of his hands landed on either side of me.

He had caged me in.

"You know, women like you should never be put in suits or any decent clothing," he rasped.

"Your body was made for Alphas."

His hand wrapped around my neck.

I felt his dirty fingers brush against my skin.

I knew he was finding pleasure even in that small moment.

Meanwhile, I simply glared back at him.

While he was mentally undressing me, I was mentally torturing him in ways that would make his skin crawl.

"By midnight, if you don’t come to me and spread your legs, I’ll ruin you."

He stepped closer, making me clench my fists tighter.

I wanted to hit him.

But right now, I had to focus on getting revenge for my brother.

That was the only reason I was holding myself back.

Still, I knew there was a limit to my self-control.

Once I crossed it, things would be out of my hands.

So I stayed silent and prayed the old man would leave.

I shouldn’t have come upstairs.

Knowing a predator had his eyes on me, I should have been more careful.

If I couldn’t fight back, I should have gone into defense mode.

How many times was I going to make the same mistakes?

"You’ll come to me at midnight, or I’ll get you fired."

His grin widened.

"I’ll tell your Alpha King boss that you’re a traitor. I won’t even have to work that hard."

My stomach dropped.

"All I have to do is use the laptop my royal beta confiscated from you. He’ll draft a few nasty emails and send them to the Alphas. We’ll make it look like you’re trying to turn them against the Alpha King."

As soon as he said it, my heartbeat started racing.

He couldn’t ruin this for me.

How the hell had he gotten his hands on my laptop?

That was why he had wanted us to come here.

Not only was he obsessed with women, but he was also trying to get back into the Alpha King’s good graces because he knew he’d messed up.

Then Ragnar crossed my mind.

Honestly, Ragnar wasn’t exactly known for being fair.

I’d seen that before.

Which meant I was trapped in a very fucked-up situation.

"Now go," he muttered.

His hand tightened around my neck before he shoved me backward.

Pressure shot through my throat.

I stumbled, but quickly regained my balance and straightened my posture.

"Remember, midnight," he warned, wagging a finger at me.

Then he turned around, adjusted his coat, and started walking away.

The moment he did, I hurried past him.

I think I heard him grunt as I swiftly brushed by him and made my way back to the second floor, where the event was still in full swing.

Once I was surrounded by guests again, I headed straight for the bar and decided to order myself a drink.

I kept a hand around my neck, gently massaging it.

He had squeezed my throat so hard that I was convinced he had left bruises behind.

After setting my bag on the counter, I opened my purse and pulled out a compact mirror.

The moment I looked, I froze.

There were visible marks on my neck.

I hated them.

But I decided not to cover them up.

None of this was my fault.

I snapped the compact mirror shut and slipped it back into my purse.

Then I pressed a hand to my forehead.

As soon as the waiter handed me my drink, I emptied it in one go.

I was terrified.

I was stressed beyond belief.

It felt like everything was about to fall apart.

That old man had ruined everything for me.

Then, like any ordinary person, questions started flooding my mind.

Why had Ragnar brought me here?

Ragnar didn’t even believe I was talented.

Yet he had brought me to such an important meeting and allowed me to present.

Why?

Had he involved that man in some sort of plan?

The more I thought about it, the more Ragnar and that old man seemed alike.

Both of them felt corrupt.

What if Ragnar had asked him to create a situation where I looked guilty?

A situation that would justify firing me without Ragnar having to explain himself to anyone.

Especially his brothers.

As for Gigi, I couldn’t say much.

On the surface, she seemed to want me working here.

But after overhearing part of her conversation with Ragnar, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was insecure about the fact that I had come here with him.

Too many questions were running through my head.

And with every passing second, it felt as though Ragnar was going to win again.

The thought made me turn around and look at him.

And guess what?

He was already watching me.

Everyone stood around him while he held a glass of alcohol in one hand.

Even as he took a sip, his eyes remained fixed on me.

For a moment, I thought maybe my suspicions were true.

Then I saw the old man coming downstairs.

He was wiping sweat from his hands with a napkin.

The worst part was that he had a clear bulge in his pants too.

What if threatening me had excited him?

The ground seemed to vanish beneath my feet when the old man made direct eye contact with Ragnar and received a small nod in return.

I quickly looked away and pretended I hadn’t seen anything.

Gripping my glass, I slung my purse over my shoulder and moved deeper into the crowd, hoping Ragnar would lose sight of me.

But I knew better.

Ragnar rarely turned his head. He didn’t need to.

He watched everything with his eyes alone.

Sure enough, I noticed his gaze sweeping across the room.

A moment later, he set his glass down.

I watched as he started walking away.

One thing I’d noticed about Ragnar was that he rarely put his hands in his pockets.

Instead, he kept them at his sides as he moved through the crowd.

Then he pulled a cigar from his pocket and started making his way toward the rooftop.

A few seconds later, the old man followed him.

I knew it.

This had been their plan all along.

Now all I had to do was record them together.