At that moment, Oliver's words seemed to hang in the air like something thick and ugly. Robert just stared, his mind stumbling over the sheer nerve of this man seated in his office, talking about his sister like she was some kind of problem to be handled.
Then Robert's fingers tightened around the edge of his desk. He could feel the heat climbing up his neck. This stranger thought he could walk in here and threaten Victoria? His Victoria? The same little sister who used to follow him around the backyard, stubborn even then, always insisting on keeping up.
He pushed back from his chair and stood up slowly, his voice dropping into something low and hard.
"I don't know you," Robert said, each word coming out sharp and deliberate. "I don't know what happened between you and Victoria. But you don't walk into my office into my presence, and threaten my sister right in front of me."
Oliver didn't flinch, but Robert saw the flicker in his eyes a quick, nervous shift.
