Chapter Five

Chapter 5

Liam's footsteps were heavy as he trudged up the rickety stairs leading to his dingy apartment, his mind still reeling from the humiliation he'd endured at the hands of Ava Taylor. The sting of her biting words echoed in his ears, stoking the flames of his wounded pride.

As he reached the landing, he was surprised to find Jake and Dave lounging outside his front door, matching smirks plastered across their faces.

"Well, well, if it isn't the big shot entrepreneur himself," Jake drawled, pushing off the wall and sauntering towards Liam. "How'd that meeting with the ice queen go?"

Liam's jaw clenched as heat flooded his cheeks. "You were there?"

Dave snickered, shaking his head. "Dude, we saw the whole thing, I was in Jake's office today. Gotta say, you really know how to make an entrance."

Bristling, Liam brushed past them and fumbled with his keys. "Laugh it up, assholes. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, we know exactly what we're talking about," Jake countered, following him into the cramped apartment. "We're talking about you getting your ass handed to you by little miss moneybags."

Liam whirled around, fists clenched at his sides. "I've got this under control, okay? This was just a minor setback."

"Minor setback?" Dave echoed with a low whistle. "Dude, she called security on you. Like, literally tried to have you arrested for trespassing."

"Because she didn't know who I was!" Liam snapped, raking a hand through his disheveled hair. "But she will. I'm going to make her see me, whether she likes it or not."

Jake barked out a harsh laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're delusional, man. She made it pretty clear what she thinks of guys like us."

"Guys like us?" Liam bristled, squaring his shoulders as he advanced on his so-called friend. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means," Dave interjected, stepping between the two men. "We're the scruffy losers from the wrong side of the tracks, remember? While Ava Taylor's the billionaire princess who gets everything she wants handed to her on a silver platter."

Liam opened his mouth, ready to unleash a blistering retort, but the air swiftly left his lungs as Jake's meaty fist connected with his gut, doubling him over in a choking gasp.

"Wake up and smell the reality, Parker," Jake growled, looming over him. "You're never gonna be good enough for a woman like that, no matter how much you try to play dress-up and pretend you're something you're not."

Sucking in ragged breaths, Liam glared up at his former friend through a curtain of sweat-damp hair. "I don't give a shit what you think," he wheezed. "I'm going to win that bet, and I'm going to prove you both wrong."

Dave snorted derisively. "With what money, genius? In case you haven't noticed, you're flat broke."

A muscle ticked in Liam's jaw as he straightened, clutching his aching abdomen. "Then front me some cash to at least take her out for a nice dinner. I'll pay you back, I swear."

The words had barely left his mouth before Jake and Dave dissolved into raucous laughter, clutching their sides as tears streamed down their flushed cheeks.

"You're killing me, man," Dave gasped between guffaws. "You really think wining and dining her at some fancy restaurant is going to erase that first impression?"

"I have to start somewhere," Liam ground out, jaw clenched.

Wiping his eyes, Jake shook his head incredulously. "Not a chance, bro. We're not wasting another dime on your little fantasy quest."

Desperation clawed at Liam's insides as he looked between the two men, his so-called friends who were supposed to have his back. "Come on, guys. Just this once? I'll make it worth your while, I promise."

But Jake and Dave were already heading for the door, their laughter trailing behind them like a mocking echo.

"Save your breath, loser," Jake tossed over his shoulder. "You're way out of your league on this one."

The door slammed behind them, and Liam was left alone in the deafening silence of his squalid apartment. Sinking onto the tattered couch, he cradled his head in his hands, frustration, and shame burning like acid in his veins.

He could still hear their merciless taunts, and taste the bitter sting of Ava's scorn on his tongue. A lesser man might have given up right then and there, accepted defeat, and slunk back into the shadows where society had predetermined he belonged.

But not Liam Parker.

Lifting his head, a slow, feral grin spread across his features as that familiar fire ignited in his belly – that unquenchable drive that had carried him through every obstacle life had thrown his way. The hunger for more, the refusal to be looked down upon or discounted, no matter how slim the odds.

They thought he was down for the count? That he'd slink away with his tail between his legs after one tiny setback?

They didn't know him at all.

Liam Parker was just getting started. And by the time this was all over, Ava Taylor would know his name, she'd know it and she'd be saying it over and over, writhing beneath him as he claimed her from the inside out.

Rising to his feet, Liam strode to the rickety desk crammed into the corner and yanked open the bottom drawer, retrieving a battered spiral notebook. Flipping it open, he grabbed a stubby pencil and began scrawling feverishly, the pieces of his new plan taking shape.

This time, he wouldn't be making the same rookie mistakes. No more half-baked attempts or playing by someone else's rules. From here on out, it would be his game, his strategy – a multidimensional assault targeting Ava from every conceivable angle until she couldn't escape him until she was fully and irrevocably under his spell.

By the time he was done, she wouldn't just let him into her world. She'd be begging him to stay.

And as for Jake and Dave? Well, they'd regret the day they'd ever doubted or underestimated Liam Parker.

A low, predatory chuckle rumbled up from the depths of his chest as the pencil flew across the page, the first salvo in his campaign already taking shape.

Game on, Ms. Taylor. Let's see how you like being hunted for a change.