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He swayed as he got back to his feet. Shock and the bright burning flame of humiliation was all too real. “What the actual fuck?” Bryce raked his fingers through his hair.
Everyone in the hotel and leisure business knew that when a magazine gave you a three star review, they really meant it was a two, but they were trying to be kind. No one wanted hotels or resorts to fail.
At the window, Bryce rested his face against the cool glass. It didn’t help. He was beyond feeling anything other than flat out rage.
Vivian had slept in his bed. They had shared a night of intimacy that would forever remain in his memories. She was the woman against which all others he seduced would now be judged.
And she gave me a three. Bumped up from a two.
He’d really liked her. Had even been trying to figure out how to explain his false name and ask for a chance to see her again in New York. But she’d known. And she’d been exploiting it. Her story about the lying ex-boyfriend was probably just that —another lie.
His hands clenched into tight fists. The dreadful review wasn’t just a trifling thing in a magazine with a few thousand subscribers. Luxury Hotels and Resorts Worldwide carried real weight in the industry. Vivian’s scathing review presented an existential threat to the House of Royal’s US based resort business. The Platinum Collection’s light was already dimming, this review might well see it go out.
But for Bryce, it was also deeply personal. Vivian had not only abused his trust, but she’d also openly mocked him. But in writing that review, she had made a mistake, she had made a powerful enemy.
I know where to find you, Vivian Holte.
Revenge came next.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
New York City
Tuesday night
“I’ve mixed with millionaires all my life, but I never knew that so many of them were such creeps,” huffed Grace. “I thought this dating app was supposed to send you recommendations of potential partners, not the lineup of villains from an episode of NCIS.”
It was almost two weeks after Vivian had returned home early from her trip to California, and she and Grace were spending the evening at home half-watching a series on Netflix. Grace’s now official boyfriend, Marlon, was out of town at a finance conference in Chicago.
The truth was, neither Vivian nor Grace was actually watching any of the TV show. A little while earlier, Grace had commandeered her housemate’s cellphone and was checking out the millionaire dating app.
For the past day or so, Vivian had been swiping left. There hadn’t been one guy whose profile pic or bio had been less than super weird. Tasteless sexual innuendo and outright filth had also featured heavily. These guys might have money in the bank, but most had no morals. The things they openly stated in their profile that they expected a girl to do on the first date went beyond what any self-respecting woman would ever think of doing. A huggable mountain troll was looking more appealing by the minute. The whole dating app had turned out to be a grand’s worth of disappointment.
Vivian nursed Spike on her lap, the pampered kitty happily purring away. At least someone was having a good evening.
Grace tapped on the phone’s screen, then gasped. “Whoa! I think I see why you’re not getting any decent guys to click on your dating profile. Vivian, you’ve got a terrible review from someone.”
Vivian took the phone. How could she have already gotten a review, she hadn’t hooked up with any one from the site? It had to be a mistake.
Room for Improvement **
Yes gentlemen, this is a two star review. If she hadn’t been a firecracker in bed, it would have been a one star. Avoid this chick. She is a corrupt phony. A liar with no money. Vivian will take everything, then ghost you.
“Whoever he is, he said some really horrible things about you. No wonder you’ve been getting guys who look more like gangsters than gentlemen. The app’s algorithm has downgraded you to basically junk status. Only the bottom feeders are getting served your profile.”
Tears pricked at Vivian’s eyes. Aside from Pete, there was only one man who knew she was on the dating site. Only one man who would know that she lived in New York City. Only one who could take offense at the three star review she had given his family’s billion dollar resort.
Bryce Royal.
He must have read her article and seen it as a personal insult. After that he had decided to seek revenge. He’d struck out at her in the most brutal and personal way he knew how. Bryce had branded her a liar.
She’d acted with the utmost integrity. Her review was balanced and fair. Bryce had been the one bringing lies to her doorstep, not the other way round. The moment she’d realized who he was, Vivian had packed up her things and checked out of the resort.
She clicked on the profile which had left the review, but it had been set to private. Of course it had. Bryce Royal could throw a thousand bucks at the wall and not blink. He’d obviously joined the site, found her, thrown a bomb into her life, then waltzed out the door.
Billionaire fucker.
With a sigh, she deleted the app. It was time to tell Grace the truth of what had happened in California.
