The Perfect Wife's Perfect Revenge

Chapter 291 McNeil gave a soft grunt and nodded. "Loyalty's a fine thing. But if loyalty costs you your job... Well, I'm sure she won't regret it, not if it was for you." A cold weight settled in Victoria's chest. Was McNeil saying he'd never let Ailie return to Quantum Core Technologies? "Nyour price," he said. "If it's within my power, I'll do it." Victoria knew him too well-six years at his side had taught her that McNeil played the business gas ruthlessly as she did, if not more so.

"Or maybe you think I took too much in our last deal. I'm willing to stick to the original terms—just the two percent cut you offered at first." Her earnestness, her desperation, only earned her a mocking smirk from McNeil.

"You'd throw away millions in bonuses for the sake of friendship? Are you really the Victoria I know?" Victoria's eyes narrowed. "You think everything in this world can be bought? Sthings-sfeelings are worth more than money. Of course, if you run into a backstabber, well, maybe it's just your own bad luck." She never named him, but every word was a pointed barb at McNeil.

He didn't get angry; he actually chuckled.

"You want to bargain with a tiger, and now you're telling the tiger to care about feelings?" McNeil leaned forward, his eyes cold. "Victoria, I'm starting to wonder if you're trying to manipulate me." He paused, then spoke with chilling finality. "If it's a deal you want, let's make one. Right here, on this couch. Spend the night with me, and I'll let your precious Ailie cback to Quantum Core as manager." Victoria's face went paper-white.

This was his office-how could he make such a shameless demand in a place like this? "McNeil, is there any line you won't cross?" He just sneered. "You wanted to talk feelings. I'm offering a transaction. Yes or no, Victoria. One word." Her teeth sank into her lower lip until she could taste blood.

McNeil lounged on the sofa, looking her up and down. Once, their glances had been charged with something electric-now, it was nothing but humiliation. He watched her like a man appraising merchandise: desire in his eyes, but no emotion.

"So, are you going to do it yourself, or should I?" Victoria stared at the empty office.

Beyond the enormous windows, the skyline of Starfall City stretched out, glass and steel gleaming beneath the morning sun. Up above, the sky was blue and cloudless. Sunlight poured through the glass, making the room uncomfortably bright.

On the other side of the drawn curtains, just a thin wall away, were the company's staff.

Victoria stood frozen, but at that moment, a knock cat the door.

All color drained from her face.

"Mr. Langford, your lunch delivery-" The secretary's voice was tentative as she relayed the message.

McNeil pressed a button on the remote, unlocking the office door. The secretary walked in, holding a sealed bag. She glanced nervously at Victoria, then at Mr. Langford, who was sprawled on the couch with his shirt rumpled, his jacket discarded. In a flash, she seemed to realize exactly what she'd interrupted.

The secretary's face paled, her hands shaking as she set the bag down. Was she witnessing something she shouldn't? Was Mr. Langford, the man everyone saw as upright and unapproachable, really so... private after all? "Just leave it," McNeil said curtly.

This was a side of Mr. Langford no one at Vertex Dynamics had ever seen: his hair tousled, his shirt open at the collar, all his usual authority replaced by a languid, predatory air. His gaze never left Victoria.

The secretary hurried out, nearly dropping the door handle as she left, her mind spinning. Had Ms. Turner from Quantum Core Technologies really been put through something so humiliating? Could someone like Mr. Langford really force a woman, even here in the office? McNeil got up, walked to the door, and locked it with a sharp click.

That sound landed like a blow to Victoria's heart.

He hadn't even touched her, and yet Victoria trembled.

He tossed the bag the secretary had brought onto the coffee table in front of her. "Open it." Victoria glared at him, refusing to move.

"What is it?"

"You'll see. Sof the old favorites we used to use. There's even a m fruit-flavored one. Pick whichever you like-helpput it on, just like you used to." Heat flushed across her cheeks as she finally understood. The bag contained a box of condoms.

So this was why he hadn't answered her calls-he'd been waiting for her to cto him, desperate and cornered.

In her panic to save Ailie's career, Victoria had forgotten just how ruthless McNeil could be. He always got what he wanted, by any means necessary. If he wanted to use her, right here, right now, nothing would stop him. Victoria drew a shaky breath, her whole body trembling with anger and shame.

When she still didn't move, McNeil crossed the room, grabbed her, and pulled her down onto his lap.

He wrapped an arm around her, tore open the box right in front of her, and laid out an entire row of XL condoms.

"What are you so scared of?" he murmured softly. "It's not like wen haven't done this before. I remember you liked putting it on foryourself. So-how about it, Victoria?"