AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After a few moments, he lifted his hand, and instead of taking the money, he pushed it away. “Keep it. I don’t want your money,” I groaned and held the money back out to him, though the look in his eyes changed.. it was the same look he gave me at the gala when he told me I was unlike any woman he’d ever met, the same look when we met for the second time as he told me he found me intriguing, the same look he gave me when he blackmailed me into staying with him fulltime.
“Killian, please. I need to pay you back… Just take the money and-” I didn’t even get to finish my sentence because Killian already took the money out of my hand, but that wasn’t the only thing he took. Along with taking the $500, he also grabbed my wallet from my other hand. Walking over to his desk, he placed it in one of his safes and locked it with a key. I was about to speak when he returned and took out his wallet. Pulling out one of his black cards, he handed it to me and walked over to his desk.
“Killian… I can’t take this,” I muttered in disbelief, and he sighed.
“I want to make it clear, Brielle, that you do not have a choice in this matter. Instead of giving in to this defiant behavior of yours, I have decided to give you access to a large portion of my funds stored away. I do not have time to deal with these small payments of yours that won’t affect me at all. Therefore, you will no longer receive a paycheck. $250,000 will find its way into your account weeklyat my discretion. Use it as you wish, and we needn’t delve further into this matter.” My jaw practically dropped to the floor as he waited for me to speak expectantly. A million dollars a month.. because I wouldn’t accept the twenty grand that seemed too much in the moment.
“…You’ve literally missed the entire point I was trying to make,” I muttered in disbelief, and he tilted his head.
“Did I? Let’s make it $500,000 a week if it’s such a problem..” He challenged, and I placed the card on his desk almost as if I could feel it burning my fingers. As his eyes remained on me, a smile came to his face, and my heart raced as his eyes darkened slightly. His fingers tapped the desk softly as he spoke once again, causing a slight shiver to run down my back.
“Test my patience again, sweetheart.. and this time, I’ll do more than just tease you.”
Chapter fifteen
Brielle watched Delilah roll around on the bed in her new room. It had been a few days after receiving the ‘gift’ from Killian, and she’d tried returning it again yesterday, but as expected, it backfired on her. She’d left the card on his desk early in the morning, and after an hour or two, he stormed into the kitchen looking furious. He found her sitting on a stool, sipping her tea in a mug while Benjamin cleaned the countertop.
“Benjamin.. I’d like a wordalonewith Ms. Newman.” He fumed, and Benjamin quickly sorted his things before he left the kitchen. Brielle knew he was angry as it had been a while since he used her surname. Knowing Killian for almost a month now, she knew it probably wasn’t that serious, but he, of course, deemed it was.
“Good Morning, Mr. Russel,” She greeted, catching onto his mood, and he slammed the card down in front of her.
“Can you explain why I found this in my office earlier?” She sipped her tea and looked back up at him. “I told you I couldn’t take it, so I gave it back.”
Killian chuckled dryly as he crossed his arms. “Brielle, I explained before, this isn’t a matter of choice.”
Taking the last sip of her tea, she set her mug down. “And I told you I can not and will not accept something like this. Though I want to appreciate the gesture, I can’t.”
“You can’t, or you won’t?” He questioned, narrowing his eyes at her slightly. She did her best in the moment to maintain eye contact as he leaned in slightly.
“I won’t..” She whispered with a hint of defiance that held a bit of hesitancy. His gaze intensified on her for a moment longer before a sinister smile came to his face.
“Brielle, sweetheart.. I think you underestimate how persuasive I truly am.” He began, and she jumped as his hand snaked around her waist. He pulled her in closer, almost off the edge of her seat. She ignored the feeling of his hand on her back as he sighed.
“You see, I don’t offer things twice.. If I did, I’d seem a bit desperate, wouldn’t you agree?” He asked as she remained silent as he continued.
“So rather than offering it to you once again, I’m going to suggest you accept the card and save us both the trouble.” Brielle felt the tension in the room slowly beginning to rise. As she weighed her relatively few options, she reluctantly nodded, feeling overwhelmed at his close proximity and his touch that was slowly driving her over the edge.
“What was that?” He asked, slightly smug, and she bit her lip as she responded.
“…I’ll accept the card,sir.” Was all she said, and Killian simply stared at her momentarily. The slight quiver in her voice as she uttered the word ‘sir’ lingered in his mind. He pulled back and walked away as his mind began traveling to a rather dangerous, lustful place, as it occasionally did when he was around her.
It was now Friday, and the memory had yet to leave her mind. Killian also had Delilah’s room finished yesterday, and she had already slept her first night away from Brielle. The little girl was extremely excited and stayed in her room all night, much to Brielle’s dismay. In contrast, Brielle spent the night tossing and turning, only managing to get a few hours of sleep.
Nightmares of her past were resurfacing, and without Delilah by her side, she knew they would be successful in their return. But, seeing Delilah’s face and excitement for the room, Brielle said nothing. Instead, she smiled as the little girl giggled happily.
“Bribri! Isn’t it amazing?” Delilah asked, sitting up, and Brielle nodded her head.
“It sure is, baby.. It’s getting pretty late, though. Let’s get you ready for bed a little early, and when we’re done, you can watch a little TV.” Nodding, Delilah hopped up and walked into the bathroom with Brielle.
Killian sat up alert as he heard a door open while sleeping. Looking over at the clock, he saw that it was only 2:30 in the morning. He was confused as everyone was usually asleep at this time, and Benjamin started to frantically clean only around six. He stood up quietly and walked to the door slowly, stopping when he heard small footsteps and soft sniffles. He heard them descend the stairs, and he opened the door gradually.
Stepping out, he took notice of Brielle’s bedroom door, which was now wide open. He saw someone come back up the stairs, and he could tell it was her by the very messy bun and fuzzy socks. Dressed in a regular camisole with a sports bra underneath and a pair of leggings, he watched as she wiped away some tears and opened the door to Delilah’s bedroom. She hadn’t even noticed he was at the end of the hall.
She stepped into the bedroom, and Killian approached the door and leaned against the frame. Delilah was in the middle of the bed, fast asleep, and Brielle sat on the floor by the nightstand before she crossed her arms on the bed as she laid her head in the middle.
She was silently crying and whimpering, and Delilah must’ve heard because she sat up slowly and scooted over to Brielle. Brielle quickly hugged Delilah’s torso, and she, in return, tried to soothe Brielle as she rubbed her head softly. Killian walked into the room and took a seat beside Breille. Delilah looked over at him as he spoke.
“Brielle.. Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” He asked, and she remained relatively unresponsive.
