Read Online Rise of the Notorious by Katie Jennings - Free Book Online
Authors: Katie Jennings
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me crazy.” She took a deep breath, chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully. “I really do admire her. She’s brilliant, fearless—”
She was cut off as he suddenly held his hand out to her, silently urging her to her feet. She stared at it for a brief moment before rising out of her chair, her eyes meeting his as she accepted his hand. Before she could say anything, he pulled her against him and held her.
“I love you,” he murmured, breathing in the scent of vanilla in her hair.
She let out a laugh as she grinned, leaning her head back so she could look at him.
“If I tell you how much I adore and respect Linc, will you kiss me?” she teased playfully, enjoying the sarcastic smile that played over his lips.
“Nice try.” He brushed a strand of hair from her face, his hand lingering over her skin as he watched her. He said nothing for a long moment, letting his heart feel what it miraculously had learned to feel again because of her.
“When you look at me that way, I feel like you’re looking right into me…” Quinn admitted, her heart racing as she held his gaze. “Does that even make sense? I don’t even know what I’m saying…”
“Tell me you love me,” he commanded, serious and intense. She trembled from the words, felt her knees giving out from the tone in his voice. This was the power that had drawn her to him in the beginning, the power she couldn’t resist.
“I love you,” she whispered the words as she kissed him, her hands grasping at his suit jacket. She repeated them again and again as he dragged her into his office and hastily shut the door.
I t had been a week since she received the threat. She looked at it now, her eyes skimming over the words as she let her fury flood out the fear that came with instinct. The fear that was natural, but in no way useful to her now.
When empires fall, what becomes of the Queen? Everything will burn, and so will she.
The simple typewritten note felt light in Madison’s hands but weighed heavily upon her mind, burrowing deep within her and finding home among the things she feared most in this world. Death of a family member. Failure. Exposure. Shame. This threat hit her on all levels, and it was for that reason alone she knew she had to keep it hidden. It would only make it worse for her brothers to find out, to see the outrage and alarm in their eyes as they tried to fathom why anyone would send her such a thing. She couldn’t force them to bear this burden with her, not when it was likely to be nothing more than a petty, meaningless act of intimidation.
As someone in the public eye, she had received letters from strangers before. Though none had been this ominous. Yet, as she had decided when it first arrived, she simply did not have time for it. She tucked the letter inside her desk drawer once more, locking it and returning to the paperwork before her.
The lawyers had given her the necessary documents to begin the incorporation of the company, and she perused over the forms, charts, and statistics with tired determination. It wouldn’t be an easy change. It would take time and resources to make it happen, coupled with a smart and concise marketing strategy that would hopefully attract investors.
She had to find a way to sell her family’s company as a business not built on lies and murder, but one of integrity, respectability, and a commitment to excellence unrivaled by their competitors. That had been the Vasser reputation before the scandal, and somehow she would need to find out how to make it that way again.
Despite the outrage from her cousins, she knew that chopping off a few of the greedy hands that frequented the family money jar would be a step in the right direction. The last thing she needed was the burden of a family member who did not want to pull their own weight.
It was merely a matter of deciding who had to go and who could stay. She knew some members of the family would jump at the chance to be bought
She was cut off as he suddenly held his hand out to her, silently urging her to her feet. She stared at it for a brief moment before rising out of her chair, her eyes meeting his as she accepted his hand. Before she could say anything, he pulled her against him and held her.
“I love you,” he murmured, breathing in the scent of vanilla in her hair.
She let out a laugh as she grinned, leaning her head back so she could look at him.
“If I tell you how much I adore and respect Linc, will you kiss me?” she teased playfully, enjoying the sarcastic smile that played over his lips.
“Nice try.” He brushed a strand of hair from her face, his hand lingering over her skin as he watched her. He said nothing for a long moment, letting his heart feel what it miraculously had learned to feel again because of her.
“When you look at me that way, I feel like you’re looking right into me…” Quinn admitted, her heart racing as she held his gaze. “Does that even make sense? I don’t even know what I’m saying…”
“Tell me you love me,” he commanded, serious and intense. She trembled from the words, felt her knees giving out from the tone in his voice. This was the power that had drawn her to him in the beginning, the power she couldn’t resist.
“I love you,” she whispered the words as she kissed him, her hands grasping at his suit jacket. She repeated them again and again as he dragged her into his office and hastily shut the door.
I t had been a week since she received the threat. She looked at it now, her eyes skimming over the words as she let her fury flood out the fear that came with instinct. The fear that was natural, but in no way useful to her now.
When empires fall, what becomes of the Queen? Everything will burn, and so will she.
The simple typewritten note felt light in Madison’s hands but weighed heavily upon her mind, burrowing deep within her and finding home among the things she feared most in this world. Death of a family member. Failure. Exposure. Shame. This threat hit her on all levels, and it was for that reason alone she knew she had to keep it hidden. It would only make it worse for her brothers to find out, to see the outrage and alarm in their eyes as they tried to fathom why anyone would send her such a thing. She couldn’t force them to bear this burden with her, not when it was likely to be nothing more than a petty, meaningless act of intimidation.
As someone in the public eye, she had received letters from strangers before. Though none had been this ominous. Yet, as she had decided when it first arrived, she simply did not have time for it. She tucked the letter inside her desk drawer once more, locking it and returning to the paperwork before her.
The lawyers had given her the necessary documents to begin the incorporation of the company, and she perused over the forms, charts, and statistics with tired determination. It wouldn’t be an easy change. It would take time and resources to make it happen, coupled with a smart and concise marketing strategy that would hopefully attract investors.
She had to find a way to sell her family’s company as a business not built on lies and murder, but one of integrity, respectability, and a commitment to excellence unrivaled by their competitors. That had been the Vasser reputation before the scandal, and somehow she would need to find out how to make it that way again.
Despite the outrage from her cousins, she knew that chopping off a few of the greedy hands that frequented the family money jar would be a step in the right direction. The last thing she needed was the burden of a family member who did not want to pull their own weight.
It was merely a matter of deciding who had to go and who could stay. She knew some members of the family would jump at the chance to be bought
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