Cherry Popper (Cherry 1)

“Half of the company will be hers—”

“Half of half the company will be hers,” I corrected. “And you’re an idiot for letting her have that much.” The angrier I got, the more bitter I seemed, but my rage had nothing to do with my personal feelings toward her. If he brought in any woman off the street, I wouldn’t be happy about it. But this woman, I knew exactly what she was after—our money. Coen didn’t see it, but I certainly did. “She has no experience or skills that give her the qualifications to sit at this table. This is our meeting.” Having her around would only make things worse because she would whisper in his ear and subtly manipulate him, just the way she’d already manipulated both of us in the past.

Coen was wrapped around her finger too tight. “Let it go, Slate.”

“Let what go?” I barked. “Even if I was fine with this, she’s not your wife. You aren’t married yet.” I turned back to her. “So get the fuck out, or I’ll throw you out.”

Simone kept up her indifferent expression, like she didn’t care about what I said at all.

If I had lesser morals, I would grab her by the neck and drag her out. “Coen, get rid of your whore.”

“She’s not a whore,” he snapped.

“If she’s slept with every man in the room, then yes, she’s a fucking whore. And if you want me to stop talking about her like this, I suggest you get rid of her.”

Coen and I weren’t afraid to throw fists at each other’s faces, but since we were at work and in a conference room made of glass, we behaved ourselves. He sighed before turning to his fiancée. “Wait for me in the lobby.”

The heavy disappointment appeared in her eyes. “What did we—”

“I need to speak to Slate alone. Simone, go.”

Clearly pissed that she wasn’t getting her way like a brat, she grabbed her folder and stormed off, her heels clacking against the tile and announcing her rage. When the door shut behind her and her obnoxious heels turned silent, she was finally gone.

Coen turned to me. “It’s been five years, Slate. You still aren’t over it?”

“I never needed to get over it in the first place, asshole. She’s a vindictive, manipulative, gold digger. How do you not see it? You don’t think she pulled this same shit with me? When I didn’t give her what she wanted, she moved on to you. How stupid are you?”

“It’s not like that—”

“Yes, it is. Normally, I wouldn’t care. If anything, you deserve everything that bitch is about to do to you. But this affects me—because half this company is mine. She’s not qualified to play a CEO.”

“Because she’s a woman?” he asked incredulously.

“No. Because she’s a bitch. I own half this company—and I want her to have nothing to do with it.”

“There’s not much I can do about that once we’re married.”

“She’s signing a prenup. Easy solution.”

“I can’t ask her to sign that.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why the hell not?”

“It’s offensive.”

“No, it’s necessary. The only reason you don’t want to ask her is because you know she’ll throw a fit. If she really loved you for you, she would sign the damn thing—and we both know it. I’m not letting that cunt walk in here and touch the company I’ve busted my ass for.”

He drummed his fingers on the table as he looked at me.

“It’s bad enough that you stabbed me in the back in the first place. Now, this? What the fuck is wrong with you?” I grabbed my folder and shoved it into his chest. “Here are my numbers for the quarter. You can send yours via email—so I don’t have to listen to this bullshit anymore.”

I stormed out of the office and came face-to-face with Simone near the elevator. She stood perfectly upright with her folder tucked under her arm, trying to pretend she was more important than she really was.

I hit the button. “I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work.”

“Really?” she asked. “What am I doing?”

“You’re trying to sink your claws into our cash. You get half his portion and then start screwing some other guy. Coen is getting a prenup, so your genius idea won’t work.”

“Prenup, huh?” she asked. “Coen would never do that. He loves me—really loves me.”

Because he was an idiot.

She stepped closer to me, her red lipstick contrasting against the fairness of the rest of her skin. “Does it still bother you? After all this time?” she whispered under her breath, her voice sultry.

My brother and I used to be much closer. We were more than just brothers—we were friends. But then he started fucking Simone behind my back while I was seeing her. When I found out about it, he started dating her publicly, making a scandal that buried us for years. At the time, I felt like a fool for letting Simone play me, but what hurt the most was my brother’s betrayal. He traded in our relationship for a cheating whore. If we’d broken up and some time had passed before he’d asked if he could date her, I wouldn’t have cared. But they’d both screwed me over. Simone wanted me for my money, but when she realized I would never marry her, she moved on to the next best thing—but my brother was too dense to see it. “Yes. It hurts knowing my brother is still this stupid—after all this time.”