<b>Chapter </b>15


    Reba turned toward the voice,


    Stanley, in a perfectly tailored suit, offered an apologetic smile that reached his eyes, his whole presence radiating a friendly warmth.


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    “Please excuse my bodyguards—they can be overprotective,” Stanley said, taking a seat and pouring coffee for Reba. “Please take a seat. Let’s talk about your ring.”


    “I’ve changed my mind about selling it,” Reba said, checking her dead phone signal as she plotted her escape.


    “Ms. Jensen, I’d encourage you to reconsider,” Stanley said, pushing the coffee toward her. “If this is about me runningte or my guys being rude, l’il make it worth your while.”


    “No, it’s not that. I just want to keep it for sentimental reasons,” Reba said.


    Stanley spun his cup slowly, his whole vibe changing. “Is that so?”


    “Yes,” Reba said.


    “I guess you don’t know how I operate, Ms. Jensen,” Stanley said, dragging out his words. “I don’t usually make offers like this. When people ke at thest minute… let’s just say it pisses me off.”


    Reba’s knuckles went white around her bag strap.


    Stanley took a slow sip of coffee. “Throw out a number.”


    “Fifteen million,” Reba said, hoping the crazy number would make him back off.


    “I’m making a real offer here, Ms. Jensen. I hope you don’t take me for some easy mark,” Stanley said, setting down his cup with a calm smile. “How about 600 dors?”


    It was painfully clear to Reba now–he wasn’t here to negotiate, but to mess with her.


    She gripped her phone tighter. “I’m not selling it.”


    “Then I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way,” Stanley said, signaling his bodyguards with a look, and the two men moved in instantly.


    Sensing trouble, Reba thumbed her emergency call button. But before she couldplete the call, they snatched the phone from her hand and pinned her arms behind her back.


    “This is robbery!” Reba shouted.


    “Who said I was after your ring?” Stanley moved closer, tilting her chin up as he delivered his lines. “I couldn’t touch you when Jeffrey had your back. Now you’re going to settle your father’s debts.”


    Reba’s heart sank at his words.


    Before Reba could even form a question, Stanley snapped orders to the bodyguards. “Tie her up, blindfold her, and put her in the suite next door. My important guest will be there in a bit.”


    “My friend’s waiting downstairs!” Reba blurted out. “If I’m not back in ten minutes, she’s calling the cops.”


    Stanley didn’t even blink at her threat. Shaking like a leaf, Reba had no choice but to let the bodyguards lead her away.


    Once she was gone, Stanley called toward the side room, “This is the woman you treat like precious ss. How can you stand to scare her like this?”


    “Sometimes fear is the only way to make a lesson stick,” Jeffrey’s cool voice responded. He stepped out in his gray suit, all cold intensity. His expression


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    gave nothing away as his eyes locked on where Reba had disappeared.


    ‘She even tried to sell the ring. If I don’t teach her a lesson now, who knows what she’ll pull next?‘ Jeffrey thought to himself.


    “Take it easy on her,” Stanley said, always more considerate toward women. “If she gets truly frightened, you’ll be the one who ends up worrying about


    R


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    Jeffrey ignored the remark. As his mind reyed what he had just seen, his intense gaze unconsciously dropped to Stanley’s hands.


    Stanley shifted ufortably under the gaze. “What’s with the look, man?”


    “Which hand did you use to touch her?” Jeffrey’s voice held a quiet threat.


    Stanley stared nkly. “Are you for real? I was following your n. You’re not crazy enough to me me for this, are you?”


    “Since you said I’m crazy…” Jeffrey replied calmly.


    “Wait, you’re serious?” Stanley said, seeing a new side of his friend. “If that’s how it’s gonna be, count me out next time. I’m not being your bad guy and your fall guy.”


    Jeffrey let out a derisive snort. “Some backbone you’ve got.”


    Stanley could only stare in frustration. The only thing stopping him from throwing Jeffrey out the window was their friendship.


    “Take your guys and get out,” Jeffrey ordered, his expression darkening as he thought of the terrified Reba next door. “And nobodyes up here without my say–so.”


    “Yeah, I got it. Wouldn’t want to interrupt,” Stanley said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, though he couldn’t help adding a word of caution. “Just take it easy, man. She looked seriously spooked.”


    Jeffrey shot him a sharp, warning look.


    “Alright, alright, I’m gone,” Stanley said immediately, backing off with his hands up.


    Without another word, Stanley headed out with his bodyguards and secretary in tow. Jeffrey waited until he heard the elevator doors slide shut before finally making his way down the hall to Reba’s room.


    The creak of the door hinges made Reba flinch, her bound body trembling against her will. She tried to scream, but the tape over her mouth trapped the sound, turning it into a desperate, muffled whimper.


    The sound of dress shoes clicking on the floor grew closer, sending fresh waves of fear through her.


    With her vision taken, every other sense became painfully acute.


    Jeffrey approached the bed. For a moment, her terrified expression almost made him soften. But then he remembered how she tried to sell the ring he gave her without even asking, and the anger came rushing back.


    His calloused fingertips traced a slow path across her soft cheek.


    She shook her head wildly, trying to escape his touch, but she waspletely immobilized.


    Within moments, silent tears were soaking through the blindfold.


    When his fingers met the warm wetness, his expression darkened.


    He pulled out his phone, typed into an app, and hit y. A synthetic male voice stated coldly, “You should know that tears only make a man want you


    more.”


    Reba stood frozen in terror, her mind racing. ‘Who is this man? Could he be the important guest Stanley has mentioned?‘


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    Before she could even process his presence, the warm whisper of his breath brushed against her neck, followed by the unsettling trail of his kisses along


    her skin.


    She couldn’t tell whether it was pure panic or her body’s instinctive rejection of a stranger’s touch, but suddenly, her breath hitched in her throat.


    A suffocating pressure built in her chest, and her wless skin flushed an rming shade of crimson.


    Jeffrey noticed her distress immediately. Without hesitation, he ripped the tape from her mouth, giving her room to gasp for air.


    But Reba was too paralyzed by fear. Between the panic and her restrained position, she couldn’t get enough oxygen. Her head began to feel heavy as her vision started tunneling into darkness.


    “Reba,” Jeffrey said, his voice low but firm as he gently patted her cheek.


    She still couldn’t catch her breath, her chest rising and falling in useless movements.


    He brought his mouth to hers in a deep kiss, sharing his breath. Meanwhile, his hands worked swiftly to untie her bindings, finally freeing her to move.


    It took another ten seconds before Reba’s breathing returned to normal. She gasped like someone emerging from underwater, the crimson flush on her cheeks slowly receding as air filled her lungs.


    Watching her breathing even out, Jeffrey removed the blindfold. The brief concern that had softened his features disappeared, reced by his characteristic cool detachment. “Back to normal?”


    Reba opened her eyes to find him looming over her. As she recalled the terror she’d just endured, fresh anger surged through her veins.


    “Get your kicks?” she asked, her eyes shing with usation as she emotionally withdrew from him.


    A