When the Billionaire Begs novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: Not One Sip

"I'm allergic to sulfites and alcohol, Carlton," I said. "If I drink that, my throat closes."

Odette bit her lip and looked up at him. "It's fine, Carlton. Don't force her. I don't want any trouble."

He did not even glance at her.

He kept his eyes on me. "One sip. Don't be dramatic."

Don't be dramatic.

I remembered a gala in our first year, a client pushing a champagne flute into my hand.

Twenty minutes later my throat had been closing and my skin covered in hives.

Carlton had gone through three red lights to reach the emergency room and had sat in a plastic chair beside my bed until morning.

He had kissed my swollen forehead and promised: if anyone ever forces a drink on you again, I'll break them.

He had meant it then.

He did not mean it tonight.

I picked up the glass by its stem.

Carlton's shoulders eased.

He thought he had me.

I turned my wrist and poured the wine onto the polished floor between his shoes.

The sound of it carried across the whole roof.

The music seemed too loud, and then the laughing stopped.

I looked straight into his stunned face.

"There's no apology," I said, clearly. "We're finished. Every dollar you spent on my mother's care, I will pay back to your company, with interest. And as of now, you, your family and Odette Braithwaite are nothing to me."

His face went hard. "Claire Farris. Take one step out of this room and see what it costs you."

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