FORBIDDEN (#1)

Chapter 50

They want to take over the company. Right out from under Roman. But why? Roman needs to know this now. Where was he when I needed him? I could expose them right now! I decided to risk it and peer out of the window a little bit so I could see where they were and if I could hear them better this way. Looking out of the window, I spotted my brother getting out of his car and walking toward Colton and Lisa. Yes! I could talk to him about what I just heard and even tell him that Lisa isn't being loyal to just him. Expose her for the witch that she was. I was about to leave my car, but what I heard next stopped me, making my blood run cold.

"How's operation take over Roman's company going? Any progress yet?" Mason asked them and my heart almost stopped. Mason was in on it too? My freaking brother? No way. There was no way. I had to have heard wrong or they had to be threatening him or something. Even though I was thinking that, deep down I knew it was true. He looked too happy asking that question and even now as I tried to listen in on their conversation, he seemed excited to be a part of destroying a man's future, his hard-earned position in his family company.

"Obviously the pictures we got of them didn't work." That was Mason's voice. I closed my eyes, not wanting to believe it. It honestly broke my heart.

"We should blame the delay of the takeover on you. You told us that you had the perfect woman to be a distraction for Roman because she was trustworthy or whatever you sold us, yet here we are, behind schedule." Lisa's words made me sit up before I could stop myself. Colton glanced up from where they were standing and I quickly ducked back down, hoping he didn't see me. The sky was still a little dark and my windows were tinted enough that when it wasn't sunny, it hid me well. My own brother was a part of this and handed me on a silver platter to Roman. And I was stupid and horny enough to fall for it. I knew I should've left this company when I had the opportunity. Nothing and everything was making sense at the same time. They all continued talking and it was just about the same things Colton and Lisa were talking about before Mason showed up. It was hard to pay attention to anything they were saying because I was stuck on the fact that my own brother betrayed me. I'd never seen that side of him before. He was always such a sweet guy, always looking out for me, always. What changed? What made him the way he was now? Conniving, secretive, evil. I was blowing out my breath over and over again when Roman finally pulled up. The trio went inside the building right before he came, which meant I could finally leave. I brought my seat back up and quickly hopped out of my car, racing over to Roman's before he could even take one step away from his car.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" He held his arms out to stop me from crashing into him. I was huffing to catch my breath in front of him and held up a hand as I tried to get oxygen back into my lungs. His eyes searched my face for answers and I finally got the words out.

"Your friends are trying to take over your company." I huffed out, holding my side as a cramp began to form. I really needed to start working out. This was ridiculous. Roman's dark brows dipped, and he let out a little laugh, confusion written all over his face.

"What do you mean? What makes you say that?" he asked, genuinely curious. Maybe he didn't know about any of this and wasn't using me like everyone else was.

"I was just sitting in my car, listening to Lisa, Colton, and Mason talk about taking over your company. Apparently, I was supposed to be a distraction for you for a little bit while they undermined you and they're also the ones who leaked the pictures of us! Colton was the culprit to be specific." Saying all of this out loud annoyed me even more than when I first heard it. I should've been more aware of what was happening around me. Usually, I was, but Roman was a distraction. He was as much of a distraction for me as I was for him. His brows dipped again and this time he didn't say a word. His face went from confused to pissed off in two seconds. Jaw ticking, he pushed off his car and began walking with a purpose toward the door to the building. I followed him.