Blackmailed by the Billionaire Brothers: The Complete Series by Sylvia Banks Page A

they were.
Second, men were both fascinated and terrified of natural red heads. I could
use this conception to my advantage.
    “So what’ll it be?” I said with
an air of confidence I didn’t feel.
    Ellis leaned on his knuckles
and said, “Ms. Renzi , I was thinking of giving you a
generous severance package after disposing of any incriminating evidence that
holds you here.”
    What was he saying? Was I
fired? “Holds me here?”
    “Yes,” Ellis said. “I assume
that after certain circumstances, you’d rather not see either one of us again.”
    “Ah, I actually like my job.” The
words were out of my mouth before I could think. I’d only said it to try and
diffuse the situation.
    Warren flashed a look of
confusion and covered it by facing back to his brother.
    Ellis still addressed me
indirectly. “That might cause problems.”
    “If she wants to stay, why
shouldn’t she?” Warren made a fist so tight it popped his knuckles.
    “It would cause problems.”
Ellis gritted his teeth.
    “I don’t see a problem.”
Warren’s neck muscles tensed. “She doesn’t see a problem. The only one that has problems is you.”
    Were they talking about the
same thing? Maybe I wasn’t involved in this conversation after all.
    “You plan to continue?” Ellis
raised his voice. “Are you insane?”
    Warren smiled with an evil
grin. “She said herself, she likes her job.”
    That made my cheeks warm.
    “You always do this.” Ellis
leaned forward. “You always put the company in jeopardy.”
    “You don’t get results from
being safe.” Warren said.
    “Some risks aren’t worth it.”
    Wait, what was Ellis saying? I
stepped forward and said, “Are you calling me worthless?”
    Both men stepped back. Ellis’s
face turned a different shade of red. “After what you’ve been through why don’t
you want to run screaming from this place?”
    “Why do you want me leave so
badly?” I said.
    Ellis threw his hands in the
air. “You are being blackmailed, are you not?”
    “Well, yeah,” I said. Sort of. When said like that, he really made it sound like
the worst thing in the world ever. He clearly never slept under my mother’s
roof. “But he’s not actually making me do anything I wouldn’t do.”
    Ellis made a choking sound and
said, “And if he does? Wouldn’t you go to the police? It’s my duty to tell you
that blackmail is a federal offense. You could put Warren in jail for this.” He
turned to Warren and said, “What the hell were you thinking?”
    Warren folded his arms. “I
believe you made the whole thing possible. What the hell were you thinking? Or are you jealous? Were
you going to make her your girlfriend?”
    Wow. Warren went straight for
the gut.
    “Maybe I crossed a line but
you…” Ellis pointed at his brother. “… you have
committed a crime.”
    “Only if I get caught.” Warren
said.
    The vibes in the room turned
ruthless. Before I knew it, both brothers launched into a screaming match.
Their words crashed against each other to the point that I couldn’t understand
anything either one of them said. Warren walked forward and Ellis came around
his desk until their faces were about an inch apart. I’d been forgotten.
Watching them closely, I considered their body language. At the moment they
held themselves back. A whole bunch of bark and no bite. Good. It didn’t look like they’d beat each other up. Men were big on posturing.
The screaming in each other’s faces wouldn’t escalate. I’d seen mom and dad do
this hundreds of times. Nothing to see here. Instead
of being witness to past family history, I decided to walk out.
    I could still hear their
muffled argument as I shut the door and walked down the hall.

Chapter 11

 
    After sitting at my desk for an
hour, I thought of all the things I should have said. Ellis said something
about a severance package. I was too swept away in trying to calm things
between the two that I didn’t even think about what that would mean.
    I