She approaches me from behind and rakes her fingers through my hair.
"You're not still mad about earlier, are you?" she asks.
I lift her fingers off of my hair and take a few steps away from her.
"I don't know if mad is the right word, but—"
She cuts me off. "Good, because I have an idea," she purrs, walking to me and placing her hands on my chest. She reaches for my tie and starts loosening the knot. "I think I know of the perfect way to let off a little steam."
She pulls my tie from my shirt collar and moves to the buttons, slowing unhooking them. I bring my scotch to my lips and take a big gulp.
What can I do? This snake of a woman has the power to ruin me, and Kane Price, the company I've worked so hard to build up.
Do I force her out and risk her backlash?
Do I walk out, and leave her standing here, wondering?
As I'm trying to figure out how I can get out of this, I realize Lorna has my shirt completely open.
"Mason, you're even more … impressive than I had imagined," she says, using her cold fingers to trace the contours of my muscular chest.
Great. The last thing I want to do is impress this woman.
"Look out there," she says, pointing to the glittering cityscape of New York City. "Together, you and I will rule this city."
"Not if I have anything to do with it," I mutter. "There is no 'we.' There's just 'I.' And we'd certainly never rule anything …let alone the whole of New York City by making bad investments."
"Oh come on now," Lorna laughs. "Are we going to talk about that again? I thought we've moved past that. Let's have a little fun, shall we?"
She hooks her fingers under my belt loops and slowly unbuckles my belt. I can hear the clink of the metal buckle unfastening and I shift uncomfortably, my pulse increasing.
"I can't do this," I say, pushing her hands off my belt.
She isn't listening. "Of course you can," she purrs, "and you will. We're married, remember? This is what husbands and wives do." She renews her efforts, shoving her fingers under the waistband of my boxers.
My stomach lurches at her touch and at the thought of Lorna as my wife. She's one of the most heartless people I've ever encountered in my life—and I've encountered a lot of despicable people on Wall Street. There's no upside to being with a woman like her.
I push her off me again, and this time I stand up from the couch. It's a bold move and Lorna isn't happy. Her eyes are as cold and unpredictable as a brewing storm.
"I won't say this again, Mason," she says, glaring at me. "You better do as I say and follow my lead, starting with Red Lion Aviation."
"I've already told you, it's a terrible investment," I say. "Red Lion Aviation is an Indonesian airline with one of the worst safety records in the industry. It's not uncommon to hear that another one of their planes has taken a nose dive into the ocean."
"Minor details," Lorna waves dismissively. "Planes go down. People understand that. They're still far safer than cars."
I'm not willing to hear her reasons for why we should invest in Red Lion Aviation because no matter what, I've performed the market research, crunched the numbers, and I know that it doesn't make sense on any level.
"I won't do it," I reply.
"What did you just say?"
"You heard me."
"I'd carefully reconsider what you're saying," she hisses. She walks over and grabs her purse from the table. "Because if you don't, I'll make sure the Board sees that you are unfit to lead this company."
Without saying another word, she walks to the door and steps out before slamming it shut behind her.
Fuck me. How did I allow myself to get into this mess?