The Glass Slipper (Cinderella 3)

We have a silent standoff, neither of us budging, but when I realize he’s actually serious, I bolt from the dining room without so much as a goodbye.

My villainous prince stalks after me.

In this fairy tale, he catches his princess and does very, very filthy things to her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Winston

A few months later…

Affordable housing.

The thought strikes me and I almost laugh at the idea of it. Almost. Nothing is laughable when it comes to the Morellis, but seeing the building Leo wanted so badly, that’s located in the heart of an area they mostly own, get turned into apartments that people can actually afford is almost too good to pass up.

The media will see my efforts as a way to help the community.

The enemy will see it as a giant “fuck you.”

I quickly fire off an email to get the ball rolling and then call Deborah into my office. She scurries in, eager to please.

“Yes, sir?”

“I thought I asked you to send Ash in.”

Her features pinch and she huffs. “She vanished. One minute she was in her office on the phone and the next she was gone. Perry says he doesn’t know where she went, but I know he’s lying.”

I swear to fucking God most of my day is spent breaking up squabbles between Perry and Ash against my secretary.

“Hmm.” I grab my keys and stalk out of my office, Deborah trailing behind. “I’ll be out for the rest of the day.”

She grumbles about having to reschedule my afternoon appointments while I lock my door. Ignoring her bitching, I stride into Nate’s old office that now belongs to my brother. Perry sits at the desk, brows furrowed and pounding away on his computer. He doesn’t see me right away, so I take a second to watch him. Ever since the shit went down with Nate, Perry has stepped up more than ever. I could have lost a huge part of my company because Nate was so involved. Rather than feeling the hit like I thought I would, Perry has worked his ass off to make sure we don’t.

“Have you seen the brat?” I ask, strolling into his office.

He abandons glaring at his computer to flash me an impish grin. “Nope.”

“Liar.”

“Fine. Maybe.”

“Don’t you two get tired of playing childish games all damn day?”

“Actually,” Perry says, scratching at his scruffy beard that needs tending to, “we don’t. Kind of breaks up the monotony of it all.”

“Where did she go, dumbass?”

“She told me to tell you she definitely wasn’t going to the whore apartment and that you shouldn’t bring her a gyro with no onions.”

“Text her and tell her to be waiting naked for me.”

“Dude. No.” He makes a face. “Seriously.”

I laugh and send her that very text. Her response is immediate.

Ash: Should I tell Danny Boy to stay or go?

Me: So help me if Daniel is in the whore apartment with you…

Ash: Who else is going to help me study for my macroeconomics quiz?

Me: Tell Daniel I don’t pay him to tutor you. I pay him to cart you around town since you can’t manage to not play bumper cars with the Escalade.

Ash: That was ONE time.

Me: Twice. Both times you managed to hit THREE cars.

Ash: The first time was your fault though.

Me: You were still behind the wheel.

Ash: The first time they deserved it.

The triplets deserved everything they got. I sometimes wonder how they’re liking their new life with the Morelli rats and what they think about their mother sitting in jail awaiting trial. Then I remember I don’t fucking care.

Baron, so far, is technically innocent—or just really damn stupid in my opinion—because Ulrich hasn’t found anything that indicates he was in on their scheme. He is, however, sticking with his bitch wife rather than his daughter. The evidence of Manda attempting to defraud Ash of her inheritance is damning. That, coupled with all of the botched surgeries that are clear evidence of retaliation against women who criticized or mocked her in the past, Manda is looking at hard prison time.

Meredith will take the fall for all the embezzlement from Halcyon as Nate’s lover and accomplice. I’ll make sure she spends just as much time in prison as her wicked bestie. It’s Nate who got off easy. What he did to Ash still makes me see red sometimes and I have occasional nightmares of where they fall and I don’t catch her.

Ash sends me some shrugging emojis that shakes me from my inner thoughts.

Me: Yes, they deserved it, but the minivan, cab, and Mercedes Benz did not deserve it. The guy driving the minivan was a priest.

Ash: Those curse words he flung at me were not very godly…

We continue our ribbing through text as I leave Halcyon, drive across town to the gyro shop, and eventually make it to the whore apartment that Her Royal Highness insists on keeping for “when I annoy her.”