Impulse (Billionaire Secrets 5)

“The company you never believed he could start in the first place,” she snapped.

“There it is,” Onslow accused. “Your mask is slipping. Now your true colors are showing.”

Whatever hope she had of getting along with Onslow was rapidly slipping away. They were never going to see eye to eye on anything. “Let’s not do this here. We can talk when we get home.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” He glared at her, dark anger swirling in his blue eyes. Eyes as blue as Simon’s, but possessing none of the warmth that Simon reserved for her. “You like us to hash this out in front of my son so that you can manipulate him to your side.”

“Manipulate?” She nearly choked. “Onslow, where is this coming from?”

“Don’t act dumb,” he spat out. “You managed to get into the bed of the CEO of one of the most important companies on earth. Simon might be taken by your saintly act, but I see through you. The same way I saw through you when he was a boy.”

“What are you talking about?” She forced herself to take a deep breath. “You know what? This is ridiculous. We’re not having this discussion here. Tonight we’re going to act like civilized adults.”

“You think you have him wrapped around your finger,” Onslow shot back. “Well, not for long you won’t. One of these days, Simon is going to have to choose between us. He’ll come around and see that I’m all he’s got in this world. And, just like last time, he won’t be choosing you.”

Before she could respond Onslow stormed off, leaving her in a state of shock. Her entire body was trembling, her mind buzzing with anger. If Onslow was going to insist on being selfish, she wasn’t going to stop him.

Legs still shaking, she walked over their reserved table and sank down onto one of the chairs. This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go. She had expected some amount of tension, but not this. Not Simon’s father bullying and intimidating her like this.

A wave of nausea hit and she opened her red clutch with shaking hands. She reached for a mint and popped it into her mouth, hoping the minty flavor would settle her stomach.

It took about ten minutes for her stomach to stop lurching, while she sent texts to Finn and her parents to check in on them.

“There you are.” Simon appeared by her side and took a seat beside her. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”

She waved off his concern. “I’m fine. Just a little carsick from the ride over.”

“You let me know if you need to go outside for some fresh air.” He paused to look around. “Where’s Dad?”

How could she ruin his night by telling him about their argument? Some of the things Onslow had said were downright mean, and it wouldn’t be right to turn Simon against his own father on a night like this.

“He...he went to the bathroom.” The lie tasted bitter on her tongue, but she didn’t know what else to say.

The lights in the ballroom started to dim and Agnes walked onto the elevated platform in front of their table. She then grabbed a microphone and asked the guests to take their seats.

Simon craned his neck to look around the ballroom. “You sure he’s in the bathroom? Maybe I should call him to tell him we’re starting.”

“Simon, wait—”

Suddenly the room was plunged into total darkness, the lights flickering off all at once. A gasp sounded around them, followed by panicked chattering.

A ripple of fear went through her as she reached out, searching for Simon’s hand. “What’s going on?”

The screen on the stage in front of them turned on, banishing the darkness. For a moment she felt relieved, but that relief disappeared almost instantly. One the screen was a masked face, a hideous wide grin taking up half of the cartoonish mask.

“Hello, Simon,” the man in the mask said with a rough laugh. “I know you tried to stop this from happening. T

oo bad your money can’t control everything.”

She felt Simon’s strong hand envelop hers as the man’s twisted voice filled her ears.

“For so long you’ve lived in your little bubble,” the masked man said. “Never seeing the suffering of the people around you. But that’s going to change now. We’re going to make you see. Starting with your father. The pain has finally come home to your door. We have taken your father, and now you will see the suffering.”

Chapter 13

Few things frightened him. Least of all some clown in a mask. But it wasn’t the masked man on the screen that wrenched his insides until all he felt was sharp, ceaseless pain. It was the threat against his father that was destroying him.

His grip on Heather’s hand tightened as he realized that in the semi-darkness of the ballroom, she might not be safe either.