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sp; Her stunned silence is now giving way to something else. Rage. "You're crazy," she screams it at him. "I never slept with your father."
"Shut up," he barks back at her. "He told me everything before he died." He leans far enough forward that there's a flash of his back on the screen. "Everything," he pulls the word along his lips, enunciating every syllable. "You were blackmailing him, you bitch. You haven't changed your playbook at all. You're doing the exact same thing with Mark."
She's up on her knees now. She reaches for a glass from the nightstand. She levels it in Jax's direction and he moves his body completely in front of the computer. I can't see what's happening, but the dull thud suggests that the glass hit him square in the chest.
"Why are you doing this?" Her voice is louder now. I can tell she's closer to where Jax is standing.
"I wanted to see how far you'd take things with Mark." He doesn't move. "I know you already slept with him. He was bragging about how he tapped his hot assistant last week."
"So what?” she scoffs. I curse inwardly wishing Jax would shift his body enough that I could get a glimpse of the rage on Brooke's face.
"I don't give a shit what you do with him." He moves slightly left now and I can make out Brooke reaching down next to the bed gathering up clothing.
"You're just jealous." She throws the words in his direction with a smirk. "That's why you turned on me."
"Turned on you?" he asks mockingly. "You're the one who came to me with the idea to steal their shares away. That's all on you."
"Your father should have left his part of the company to me." She points a bright red fingernail at Jax. "He told me he would. It made me sick every time he fucked me. He was a stupid, horny old man."
He leans forward before he says anything. "You're the company whore. You disgust me. You'll do anything for a dollar."
"And you won't?" She throws her head back in careless laughter. "You're ready to destroy Mark's relationship just to get what you want."
"You're wrong." I can sense the movement of his head in the way his shoulders teeter back and forth. "Ivy is off limits. I'd rather give up the company than sink to your level."
"You're going to have to." She stands now and steps into her skirt. "You're not even half the man Mark is. You'll never get those shares away from Ivy. You might as well give up now."
"Don't say her name again." He snaps at her.
"She's nothing." She spits the words out. "He loves me."
He can't contain his amusement and he roars with laughter. "He loves Ivy. You're his whore."
"I'm not his whore." She reaches down to pick up one shoe, her eyes still scanning the area next to the bed.
"You're right." Jax shifts his body in front of the screen yet again. "You're one of his whores."
"If you care so much about Ivy, why don't you run and tell her what Mark is doing?" Her question rattles me.
"I will tell her." He walks forward now. I get my first glimpse of her fully dressed standing in the doorway of the room.
"When?"
"You don't get it, do you?" I watch as he pulls on a pair of faded jeans and a black t-shirt. "I watched my mother suffer when she found out my father was cheating on her. You think I'm just going to march up to Ivy and announce it?"
"Why should you care what she feels?" There's definite contempt in her tone.
"She's not like you." His expression is hard and unyielding. "She's not like anyone."
"So you're just going to let her marry him, is that it?" She adjusts her watch. "You're going to let her believe in him forever?"
"She'll know before the wedding." He stands and motions for her to leave the room. "I won't let her marry him."
I sit in stunned silence as I hear the muffled sound of their footsteps and a door closing. I watch the screen for what feels like hours until Jax reappears alone. He walks over to the computer, punches a few keys and the screen goes black.
Chapter 8