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2026-06-28 20:08:48
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DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 146
JoanBy the time the workday ended, my head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton.The last few weeks had been a constant cycle of meetings, lawyers, evidence, court documents, company matters, and enough stress to last several lifetimes. Even now, with the shares officially transferred and the second hearing approaching, I couldn’t bring myself to relax.Every time I thought I was finally getting somewhere, something else happened.Another document.Another phone call.Another decision.Another reminder that my life had become one long battle.I was reviewing a report for what felt like the hundredth time when my office door opened.Rachel stepped inside.For once, she was smiling.A genuine smile.Not the strained one she used whenever lawyers or Dean showed up.A real one.“You have visitors.”I frowned.“Who?”Her smile widened.“See for yourself.”Before I could ask what she meant, she stepped aside.And suddenly my entire world stopped.“Mommy!”The chair nearly tipped over
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 147
DeanIf somebody had told me six months ago that I would one day sit in Joan Lancaster’s office while she discussed my future employment with the same casual authority I’d once used on her, I would’ve laughed in their face.Not a polite laugh.A genuine one.The kind reserved for ridiculous things.Yet there I was.Sitting across from the woman I’d spent years underestimating.Listening to her discuss Human Resources.Human Resources.The words continued echoing inside my head long after she stopped speaking.I wasn’t sure which part insulted me more.The fact that she expected me to work for her.Or the fact that she’d delivered the suggestion with such effortless confidence.As though she’d already accepted that I’d agree.As though she knew I had no other choice.The worst part was that she was right.I hated that.God, I hated it.Every instinct I possessed wanted to tell her exactly what she could do with her job offer.I wanted to stand.Walk out.Remind her who I was.Remind he
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 146
For a moment after I told him yes, neither of us spoke.The silence felt different now.Less hostile.Not friendly.Never that.Just exhausted.Like we’d both reached the point where there wasn’t enough energy left for another war.Dean remained seated across from me, staring at the folder that now officially belonged to me.Or would belong to me once the transfer was finalized.The realization still felt surreal.Years ago, if someone had told me I’d one day own a controlling interest in Dean Armstrong’s company, I would’ve laughed in their face.Back then, Dean had seemed untouchable.Larger than life.A man who always got what he wanted.A man who always won.Funny how life worked.Sometimes the very thing you used to control people became the thing that destroyed you.Dean eventually shifted in his chair.The movement pulled me from my thoughts.His eyes met mine.For the first time since he’d entered my office, I noticed something almost hopeful in his expression.It lasted barel
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 145
JoanBefore I even saw him, I knew something was wrong.Not wrong in the way things had been wrong lately.Not another scandal.Not another anonymous article.Not another legal notice.Something different.Rachel had called my office ten minutes earlier to tell me Dean Armstrong was downstairs again.Her voice had carried the same nervous hesitation it always did whenever he appeared in the building.The difference was that this time she sounded confused too.“He said he has documents for you.”Documents.The word had immediately made me suspicious.Dean wasn’t a man who handed over anything willingly.Certainly not after yesterday.Certainly not after storming out of my office looking ready to kill someone.And definitely not after I’d asked for the remaining shares in his company.I spent the next ten minutes trying to figure out what game he was playing.By the time Rachel escorted him upstairs, I’d convinced myself there was some sort of catch.A loophole.A trap.A condition hidd
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 144
DeanI didn’t remember leaving Joan’s office.One moment I was sitting across from her, listening to her calmly ask for the remaining shares in my company as though she were discussing the weather.The next, I was in an elevator.Then a parking garage.Then my car.The details in between were a blur of anger.Pure, unfiltered anger.The kind that made your hands shake.The kind that made every thought feel sharp enough to draw blood.I gripped the steering wheel and stared through the windshield.My pulse hammered against my ribs.My jaw hurt from how hard I was clenching it.She wanted my company.After everything she’d already taken.After the investors.After the contracts.After the employees.After the investigations.After the articles.After the money.She wanted more.The thought repeated itself over and over as I drove.Like a song stuck in my head.An irritating one.I replayed the conversation countless times.Her expression.Her voice.The way she’d looked at me.Calm.Col
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 143
For a long moment after Dean said please, nobody spoke.The silence settled over the room like a heavy blanket.I could hear the distant ringing of phones outside my office. The faint sound of employees moving through the hallway. The hum of the city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.Inside my office, though, it felt as though the world had stopped.Dean was still kneeling.Kai was still staring.And I was suddenly very aware of how hungry my son looked.The realization came out of nowhere.One second I was looking at Dean.The next, I was noticing how much thinner Kai’s wrists appeared.How his cheeks weren’t quite as round as they used to be.How there were faint shadows beneath his eyes.Not enough to concern a doctor.More than enough to concern his mother.My throat tightened.I looked away before either of them could notice.Then reached for the phone on my desk.Dean’s eyes followed the movement immediately.Hope flickered across his face.The sight almost made me laugh.He
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 131
The evening air was cooler than I’d expected.Maybe it only felt that way because I’d spent the entire day buried beneath documents, spreadsheets, legal records, and enough evidence to destroy several people’s careers.Or maybe it was because it had been a long time since I’d gone for a walk withou
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 134
The first time I realized I might have underestimated Joan, I dismissed the thought immediately.The second time, I couldn’t.By the third, I was throwing a crystal paperweight across my office.The sound of shattering glass echoed through the room.Nobody spoke.Nobody moved.My executive assistan
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 133
For several seconds after Victor spoke, nobody moved.Nobody breathed.Nobody said a word.The room that had felt almost victorious only moments ago suddenly seemed much smaller.Much quieter.My heart was pounding hard enough that I could hear it.Dean just made his move.The sentence repeated its
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 132
The first time I destroyed Dean’s life, I almost didn’t do it.That realization annoyed me.Not because I regretted it.Because I’d spent so much of my marriage second-guessing myself that it had become instinct.Even now, with everything he’d done, there was still a small voice in the back of my m
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