In another world, another time

It couldn't be helped, it won't be assuaged...

Soft fingers touched his cheek in a feather light touch....

Heat flared beneath his skin....

The beast purred...

His fists clenched....

Her breath hitched....

Her hand traveled towards his cut lip, the act an unintentional caress...

Leaving in its wake a lingering warmth...

As her fingers passed over the cut, the irritating pain ceased, heat taking over...

Not meeting his eyes, Steffy removed her fingers away from his face, blood smeared over her fingertips. Eyes on her fingers, she brought up a tissue he had not even noticed she was holding and wiped it off. Her eyes drifted from her fingers to his face. She brought the tissue to his lip, wiping off the rest of his blood.

"Who would have thought Rick had that much power in his punch."

She walked over to the trash can, then went over and sat back down on the armchair.

The distance did nothing to lessen the charge in the atmosphere that had erupted further from the moment of skin contact.

'Never underestimate anyone Steffy."

"So are you going to tell me how you did it or not?"

Bill didn't respond, just turned to face her as she sat, cross legged.

"You know, what I can't figure out is how what you did was even possible. Last time I checked, you only had twelve and a half percent of the company. So has that changed? And if so, who would have sold their shares to you. No one would willingly do it," she mused.

One of the many lessons you learnt when ruling an empire based on ruthlessness was that you never showed your cards, and neither did you reveal your playing tips. Always keep them on their toes, second-guessing themselves, trying to figure out our next move that they will never see it coming. Because you have already moved that chess piece into play.

"Doesn't matter because it's done."

And done it was. No one knew the level of power he had over Forrester Creations and he had no intention of letting the cat out of the bag. They would all wonder and theorize on how any of this was possible, but no one could reverse his decision. The domino effect he had put into play not months but years ago had paid out more than he ever thought would have been possible. He wondered how they would all react if they realized that he owned more than a third of the shares in the company, more than the measly twelve and a half percent they all presumed. He couldn't help the slight smile that tried to break out on his face.

Steffy noticed it, but didn't mention it, knowing she would get nothing from him. She always did know when to stop pushing and simply let it be. One of the things he had found intriguing about her in the first place, and apparently still did.