The Love Of Money - Episode 303
31-08-25 (06:38)
Besides not wanting someone as unhinged as Tyler to
have half my grandfather’s estate, I’d grown
accustomed to the status quo. I wasn’t enthusiastic
about handing half my money to anyone… especially
the man who stole Natalie. I’d also been kicked around
and threatened enough for one lifetime. I wasn’t about
to be extorted by this overgrown man-child pulling
some elaborate bullshit reminiscent of high school.
“Fuck off,” I said.
“Give me half, and I’ll break it off with Natalie,” he said.
“I’ll go up there right now and tell her we’re done. She’s
not really my type anyway.”
My jaw clenched; that hit a nerve, and Tyler could tell.
“I mean, she’s pretty enough, I guess. She’s a wet
blanket in bed, though. I had to fuck someone behind
her back just to keep from breaking up with her out of
sheer boredom.”
By telling me that he was cheating on Natalie and not
actually valuing her, he was trying to get under my skin
and make me jealous. He was probably trying to
provide further incentive to buy him off and leave her
alone. It was almost working.
“You know what I mean, though,” Tyler said. “You
fucked her. Boring, right?”
He waited a beat for me to respond, and when I didn’t,
he said said, “You did fuck her, right?”
Not responding, I glanced at his bodyguard still leaning
against the door with her tree trunk arms crossed over
her chest. Fuck getting someone to kill this asshole. I
wanted to feel his neck bones crackle in my own
hands. Would I be able to reach him and break his neck
before the Amazon closed on me?
“You didn’t, did you?” Tyler went on, goading me. “Did
you guys kiss?”
He studied me and said, “Yeah… you got that far. She’s
a good kisser. I’ll give her that. Those lips… y’know?
Dick-sucking lips. It just sucks that she’s not all that
great at it. Did you try her out?”
“Tyler,” I said.
“Hm?” he asked.
“Shut the fuck up.”
He pointed at me with his drink in hand. “That’s a ‘no.’
Bro… did you do anything other than kiss her? You even
get to feel her tits? It’s her best feature!”
“Marcus.” I heard someone say my name—probably
Chloe—but I barely registered it. I was too busy
remembering how sweet Natalie could be… how—even
though we’d decided not to date—she was a great girl
who didn’t deserve to be used as some pawn in this
spoiled rich kid’s stupid game.
“Goddamn, man!” Tyler said. “You’ve got it bad for her!
You wanna know how it feels to fuck her? She’s not an
impressive lay, but since you’re so hung up on her,
maybe hearing about it will almost be as good as the
real thing!” He chuckled and took another sip. “You see,
Natalie tolerated doggy, but she really got going when
you put her on her back and gave it to her from the
front. She’s one of those romantic look-in-your-eyes
types that—”
I lunged at him.
“Hey!” Someone bellowed.
“Marcus!” Chloe yelled.
I didn’t fucking care. I found myself on Tyler with his
shirt in my hands. I felt a sudden jolt as we both
crashed into the bar, and then my stomach fell away as
we collapsed to the floor with me on top of him. I held
firmly onto his shirt in one hand and drove my fist into
his face, enjoying the pleasant sensation of something
crunching under my knuckles. Something crashed
behind me. There was more shouting, but I was too far
gone to even pay attention to it.
Tyler pushed off the floor and sent us rolling across the
wood and debris, and I slammed my hand into the
ground just in time to bring us to a halt. Hovering over
him once more, I drove the same fist into his face
again. This time, I felt warm flecks of spittle and blood
spray across my face; it was more satisfying than gross.
Wrapping Tyler’s collar around my fingers, I hauled his
head and shoulders off the ground and shouted, “Leave
her the fuck alone!”
Then my world went white as I felt something crash
into the side of my head and felt myself hurling ass-
over-head off my brother. My vision began to clear just
in time to see Liz hovering over me, bending over to
grab my arm. I felt her lift me off the ground as easily
as picking up a grocery bag before tossing me like trash
into Chloe. My bodyguard managed to catch me as I
crashed into her, preventing our faces from smashing
into each other as we both went to the floor. I landed
on top of her, my chest pressed into hers as my face
came to a halt inches from hers.
I stared into her wide brown eyes, and time seemed to
come to a standstill. Despite having just had my bell
rung, I was very aware of Chloe’s breasts pressed into
my chest while my crotch was firmly planted into hers.
We were so close that we could have both puckered
our lips, and they would have touched. Her breath
rolled over my face, reinforcing the intimacy of how
close we were to each other, and I took a moment to
admire her freckled cheeks and the way her wavy
blonde hair framed her face.
Then, the moment passed as she brushed me aside and
slashed behind me with her foot, and I heard a loud
crash as something hit the floor. I oriented myself just
in time to see Chloe kip up onto her feet, holding two
guns as she stood a safe distance away from Liz’s and
Tyler’s prone bodies.
“Everyone needs to cool off,” Chloe said as I climbed to
my feet. Her tone suggested she was speaking to
people being mildly unreasonable instead of breaking
off a fistfight while holding two pistols.
Liz picked herself off the ground, eyeing Chloe as she
reached down to help Tyler to his. My brother looked
rough, with his nose bent slightly at an angle as blood
poured from one nostril. His left eye looked slightly
swollen. I wanted to launch myself at him and tear out
his fucking throat.
“Get the fuck out of my house,” I snarled as I reached
down and yanked a piece of glass out of my palm.
Tyler spat to the side, saliva and blood hitting the
hardwood. “I won’t.”
“Tyler, Chloe called an extra security team the moment
she saw the house had people in it.” I put my fist in the
small of my back and arched it, trying to work the
spike of pain I was feeling. I probably sounded more
weary than angry. “If you’re not out of here by the
time they arrive, I’m going to buy a prison, throw you in
it, and forget you exist.”
“Liar,” Tyler spat. “You weren’t raised in this family. You
don’t have the balls to do what has to be done. You
aren’t a Gerrard.”
“You’re right. I’m not,” I said. “The Gerrards are all
miserable losers who’ve been leeching off Colin their
whole life. Now, get the fuck out of my house, or I’ll
bury you under the prison.”
“It’s true,” Chloe said. “I’ve already got five people here.
There’s another eleven on their way, and we will do
whatever’s necessary to remove you from Mr. Upton’s
premises.”
It was Tyler’s turn to glare back at us with a clenched
fist and jaw.
“I don’t think they’re bluffing, sir,” Liz said. “I
recommend we leave.”
Tyler didn’t respond. He simply stared at me for ten
hate-filled seconds and then said, “We’re not done
here.”
“Yeah,” I said. “We are. Stay the fuck away from me
and anyone close to me, or I swear to god, you’ll regret
ever meeting me. That includes your fake relationship.”
“No,” Tyler said. “Natalie’s mine, now. I’m gonna keep
fucking her, and I’m gonna think about you every time
and how much you want to be in my place. You took
something from me… I’m taking something of yours.”
“Your relationship with Natalie’s done,” I said.
“How about you let her decide,” he said, starting to
smirk before wincing, which turned into a frown.
“She’s a smart woman. She’ll figure out what you are.”
“We’ll see,” he said. Then he began retreating toward
the door, keeping his eyes on me and Chloe. “Liz. The
door.”’
Liz opened the door and waited for him to back out of
the room, then turn and disappear down the hall. With
her dark eyes still on us, she asked Chloe, “Can I have
my weapon back?”
Chloe trained Liz’s own weapon on her. “No.”
Liz stared another moment before disappearing into the
hall, shutting the door behind her.
“Fuck,” I said, walking over to the office desk and
leaning against it, feeling a little woozy.
“You okay?” Chloe asked, keeping the gun trained on
the door for another few moments.
“Just dizzy.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised if you have a concussion,” Chloe
said, finally lowering the gun. She turned away from
the door and moved to the desk, eyeing me. “Tyler
clocked you pretty hard with that glass.”
“That’s what that was?” I asked as I realized half my
hair and part of my shirt were drenched in alcohol. It
was all I could smell. “He got me good.”
“So did you,” Chloe said. She placed her fingers on my
cheek, gently guiding me to look into her eyes as she
stared into mine. It wasn’t a moment of tenderness…
she was clearly checking on my pupil reaction and
ability to focus. However, a rare warmth in her eyes
made staring back at her more enjoyable.
“I think you’re fine.” She finally said, her fingertips
slipping away from my cheek. My bodyguard grabbed
her gun off the desk and holstered it.
“The only good news,” I groused. “Fuck!” I kicked at the
office desk. It barely moved. “This place is a mess…
what a fucking waste!”
“Maybe,” Chloe said. She held her hand up in front of
me. A small square of semi-transparent plastic sat in
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