It Started with a Bang by Piper James

Chapter One

Annabelle

“What in the actual fuck?”

“Language, Annabelle,” my father hissed in a warning tone.

Like I was a child. Like I was embarrassing him.

Like he hadn’t just called me into his office, introduced a trio of “eligible” bachelors, and told me—right in front of them—that he’d set up a series of dates for me with each of them. Dates! Not meetings. Dates.

“I am not doing this,” I growled, stomping toward the door.

“Annabelle,” Dad roared, freezing me in my tracks.

I gritted my teeth as he politely asked the men to wait outside his office for a few moments. Keeping my back to him, I watched them file out, each of them eyeing me up and down like I was some kind of prize. But I knew it wasn’t really me they wanted.

I whirled around and propped my fists on my hips. “How could you do this to me? Can’t you see how humiliating—not to mention, demeaning—that was?”

He waved a hand as if batting my words away. “Those are good men. Smart. Savvy. Brilliant business minds. Any of them would make a fine husband.”

“Husband?” I shrieked. “What do you mean, husband?”

“You’re not getting any younger, Annabelle,” he sighed, and I hated that I flinched.

“I’m only twenty-eight, Dad.”

“Exactly. You should be married, having children that will someday inherit this empire I’ve created.”

I swallowed the retort begging to spew from my mouth. My older brother Marshall had already given him a grandchild, and his twin Max was married with a baby on the way. But he’d burned those bridges, alienating them to the point where they’d cut him out of their lives completely after moving halfway across the country.

I was the one who’d stayed. I was the one that put up with his awful behavior year after year without uttering a peep of protest. I was the one who wanted to become CEO of Parker Industries, to take the company to the next level and actually do some good in the world.

And what did I get for all my hard work? This bullshit.

“I don’t need a husband. And I have plenty of time to have kids,” I gritted out between clenched teeth.

“You’re a decent-looking woman,” he went on as if he hadn’t heard me. “A wealthy heiress who could get any man she wants, yet you’re still alone. Why is that?”

“Because I don’t need a man to be happy. I like my life the way it is. Why isn’t that good enough for you?”

“Are you a lesbian?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes. “No, Dad. I’m not gay.”

“Then why won’t you even consider those fine men out there?” he asked, his voice rising as he stabbed a finger toward the door.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because my own father thought it was a good idea to bring them in here and fucking whore me out to them?”

“Don’t be crass, Annabelle,” he sighed.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Have I offended you, Dad?”

“You will go out with them. You’ll give them a fair chance and keep an open mind. And you will get married.”

“Or what?” I snapped before I could stop myself.

I flinched internally, not letting the fear show on my face. Backing Jaxson Parker into a corner was never a good idea. Particularly when he was in dictator-mode like he was now.

“Or you’ll never become CEO of Parker Industries,” he said, and my heart stopped.

“You don’t mean that,” I whispered.

“Oh yes, I do. If you want to run this company one day, you’ll do as I say.”

“Dad, be reasonable. One has nothing to do with the other. You know I’m qualified, and I’ve worked my whole life for this. You can’t take it away because I refuse to run out and get married.”

“Yes, I can,” he said firmly. “This is my company. My empire. You’d do well to heed me on this, girl.”

“This is crazy,” I said, throwing my hands into the air. “What does one thing even have to do with the other?”

I asked the question just to see if he’d have the gall to answer it. But I already knew the answer. As disgusting and medieval as it was, I knew the driving force behind his edict.

I was a woman. In his eyes, we lived in a man’s world, and I was nothing without a man behind me. My father had always been a massive asshole, but this was extreme, even for him.

“Six months,” he said, not answering my question. “You have six months to get married, or you’re out.”

I gasped, a fresh wave of anger coursing through me. “You’d fire me? Then what? You already chased Max and Marshall away. Who will you leave your precious empire to if I’m gone, too?”

“Oh, I’m not worried. You’ll realize you have no choice but to obey me on this.”

“And if I don’t?” I shot back.

“I’ll split the company up and sell it for parts.”

My entire body went cold, the anger draining out of me before it flooded with dread. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me. Six months, Annabelle. If you don’t have a ring on your finger by Christmas, you’re fired.”

I spun around, the urge to flee too strong to ignore. Flinging open the door, I pushed through the group of men waiting outside without looking at any of them. I hurried to my own office, closing and locking the door before striding to my desk.

Slumping into my chair, I buried my face in my hands and fought the urge to scream. My whole body shook with rage, and I took several deep breaths to calm myself.

My father’s edict wasn’t surprising. The man gave zero fucks about my feelings, and had fought tooth and nail to get my brothers to stay and follow in his footsteps. Because they had dicks in their pants.

It didn’t matter that I’d spent a decade working my ass off, trying to earn the right to call it mine. My hard work and dedication, my loyalty meant nothing because I was a woman. And women were inferior—in business and in life.

“Fuck,” I growled, banging a fist against the desk. “Fucking asshole.”

My mood lifted slightly, knowing he’d hear my disparagements. Unbeknownst to him, I’d found the small recording device he’d planted in my office last year. I’d left it alone, choosing to let him hear only what I wanted him to hear from that moment on. I’d used it more than once, offering ideas to better the company that I knew he’d only use if he could claim them as his own.

I’d sacrificed the glory and the credit for the good of the company because I knew one day it would be mine. But now? Now, I would never get the chance to have any of it unless I bowed down and acquiesced to his outrageous demands.

Married by Christmas.

What in the hell was I supposed to do now?