Page 24 of Twisted Knight

God, this feels better than I imagined it would.

The hallway is quiet, most of the staff having gone for the day. The door to the corner executive office is open.

Rhett, the poor excuse for a CEO, has his head down as he searches for something in his desk. Chad, his spineless sidekick, sits in front of the desk, foot resting on his knee, phone in his hand, oblivious to the storm swirling around him.

“Leave your key to your office when you go,” I say from the doorway.

Both heads whip in my direction. Their wide eyes stare back at me, their jaws slack—bewilderment in its rawest form.

“Excuse me?” Rhett asks, rising to his feet, dropping a square, silver lighter he was holding onto the desk with a clank.

I startle at the sight of it.

Then cover the startle with a baiting smile. “I didn’t stutter.”

“But this is my office.” He looks at Chad for backup.

Kid, Chad couldn’t help you find your ass from a hole in the ground. But keep looking at him. No skin off my back. It would be annoying if it weren’t so satisfying.

“Everyone needs to make sacrifices,” I say, lifting a brow. “Wasn’t that the gist of what you said in the conference room earlier?”

Chad looks between us warily. “We have plenty of other offices you can use, Holden.”

My look is cold and biting. “It’s Mr. Knight to you.”

He stares blankly at me.

I hold his gaze long enough to drive my point home. Then I turn back to Rhett. “When I’m talking to you, I expect a response from you. Not him. Clear?”

Rhett throws his hands up. “What’s going on here?”

“This is what’s called making business decisions. If you would’ve done more of those prior to this point, maybe I wouldn’t be here.”

Rhett drops his hands to his sides, anger flashing through his eyes. “My sister did this. Not me.”

Fucking Christ. Rhett’s really going to stand there and blame her for the mess he made of this company? For the debt he’s in up to his eyeballs? From the poor decisions he’s made putting himself before the good of the company?

No wonder she despises the prick. He keeps showing me why it’s so easy to do.

I step into the room and lean my shoulder against the jamb.

“One minute you’re claiming she’s part of this triumphant trio. The next you’re throwing her to the wolves,” I say. “I guess that means I shouldn’t trust a word you say.”

“There is no triumphant trio,” Rhett says, standing taller.

“The two of us make the decisions around here,” Chad says, lifting his chin and following Rhett’s lead.

“I’m not sure that’s something I’d be proud of,” I say.

Rhett narrows his eyes. “We’ve kept this company from drowning. The third part of that trio you’re talking about, my sister, was simply here trying to be important. Trying to make herself be more than the face on the billboard. She thinks she has more skin in the game than she actually does.”

My sister did this. Not me.

Pick a lane, asshole. You keep weaving to whatever side you think is going to win my favor.

I want to laugh, to call him out—to tell him his sister has more balls than the two of them combined. But I don’t. Why? Because I don’t fucking care.

“Rowan’s the weak link,” Chad says, feeling the pressure of Rhett’s gaze. “That’s all she is.”