Meant for Me by Faith Sullivan Page A

around the living room. “When she wakes up, tell her I’m on my way, all right?”
    My parents exchange a worried glance.
    “Will, I need you to do this for me. You have to stay strong until I get there. You hear me?” I clutch the phone to my ear as my hand starts to shake. “Call me if anything changes.”
    I jam my phone back into the holder on my belt, blinking back tears.
    “Ivy was rushed to the hospital,” I manage to choke out as I drop to my knees, powerless to withstand this new wave of grief.
    “And?” my dad urges as the two of them rush to my side.
    “She’s in danger of losing the baby.”

Chapter Nine Lauren
    Now this is going to be fun—I can’t wait to watch them squirm.
    I feel Ivy trembling beneath my hands. Good. I’m going to enjoy making her suffer. No one makes a fool out of me and gets away with it. No one.
    “Lauren, what kind of messed-up game are you trying to play?” Will strikes the first volley. It’s laughable how easy it’s going to be to shoot him down.
    “I don’t know, Will. The kind I win?” I smirk at him, and he pushes his chair back violently. “Now don’t go causing a scene. I came all this way to talk. So let’s talk.”
    I’ve scared Warren and Dave into a shocked sort of silence, but they’re communicating with each other furiously with their eyes. They probably want to bolt from this meeting and pretend like it never even happened. I’m not surprised they want to extricate themselves from such a sticky situation. But it’s too late now. My claws are out and ready to be sharpened.
    I take the seat they were saving for me at the head of the table, dramatically crossing my legs as I sit down. Will blushes hotly for a minute, no doubt remembering when I tied him to my bedpost with this particular pair of pantyhose. All of that delicious foreplay and he still couldn’t get it up. I wore them on purpose to unsettle him. If he thinks he can one-up me, he better think again. I could bury him in an instant.
    Besides, I hired a professional to hack into every account he’s ever created. That’s what he gets for leaving his stuff around my place. He’s a pathetic hustler with barely a thousand dollars to his name—and he has the audacity to challenge me? He’s going to be sorry he transferred his loyalty to Ivy because I intend on ruining him.
    “Gentlemen, as you can see, my family doesn’t take kindly to being double-crossed,” I begin by purposefully excluding Ivy from the conversation. She doesn’t deserve the courtesy of being mentioned. “My uncle got wind of your little side deal to keep this project alive, and he immediately had the New York branch of Price Enterprises look into it for him. Too bad you didn’t do your research to find out what the letters LPR stand for. I never thought two Academy Award-winning producers would be so lazy.”
    “Now listen here—” Dave starts, a bead of sweat forming on his upper lip.
    “No, I think it’s time that you listen,” I retort, disdain falling from my lips. “You think I’m here to stop this production from going forward, don’t you?”
    “Well, aren’t you?” Ivy spits out, finally raising her eyes to address me.
    “It speaks,” I mutter, belittling her. “Sorry, but little sluts like you don’t get to ask questions.”
    Will attempts to rise from his chair again, no doubt to defend her honor. How sweet. “Lauren, you better—”
    “Better what? Acknowledge the whore in my presence?” I chuckle to myself as Warren gasps loudly, covering his mouth with his hand. “I don’t think so.”
    “So what are you planning on doing, if may I ask?” Dave responds, eyeing me apprehensively. He’s flustered but he’s more of businessman than his little ‘wife’ is.
    “I’m buying you out, boys. You’re gonna walk away from this project and never look back. I’ll be the one making this film, not you.” My response floors them. Ivy even utters a strangled cry. This is child’s play.