“Some things transcend approval, Miss Harte. This happens to be one of these circumstances.”
“This is not one of those circumstances!” I roared. I screamed so loudly my lawyer stepped back. I teetered on my feet as dark streaks burst in my vision, and I leaned into the wall for support before I slid to the floor.
I felt the papers that had destroyed my life crumple underneath me as I tucked my hands between my curled-up legs.
“It’s already done, Miss Harte,” he said. “The company’s officially yours.”
I stared at the wall as every single memory bombarded my trembling body. Memories of his eyes and the way they seemed to cradle me within his soul. How he hugged me in the park, pulling me close and wrapping me in the safety or his arms. I remembered how his smile reminded me of my stepmother, moments where I let her close enough to be the mother she’d always wanted to be to me.
I thought about the weekend we’d just spent together. The nights we spent tangled in each other’s bodies while sweat dripped down our back. Then nights where he woke me up sliding between my legs before holding my sleepy body close just so he could feel more of me. Mornings when I woke him up with his dick between my lips just so I could watch him moan in shock before giving into me.
There was still so much I wanted to do with him. We could travel the world and experience all its treasures. Share decadent foods and have hot sex in hotel rooms across the country. I wanted to pin him against every wall and take his dick between my lips in every shower. And wake up every morning gazing into those beautiful blue eyes.
Those eyes that reminded me of the love his mother had for me.
Those eyes that shone with the love he had for me.
“This is what you wanted, Miss Harte, is it
not?” he asked.
“What?”
“The company. Your father’s legacy. You can do it all now. Keep the company in the family. Preserve his memory. All those things you talked about. It’s yours now,” he said.
“The company was in the family,” I said. “Christian was family. He still is family.”
“Isn’t this what you wanted?” he asked.
A couple of weeks ago, I would’ve said yes. I would’ve told him to process the paperwork without a second thought, and I would’ve kicked Christian to the curb. Two weeks ago, he was still an ignorant, lazy little boy in my eyes. He had no hope, no future, possessed no skills for this job and had no knowledge of the tasks at hand. He didn’t know the names of the employees or the reasons why my father did things the way he did. Hell, he didn’t even understand how to fucking dress in a decent suit!
But, just as he’d helped me with my speaking in the park that day, I had helped him turn into the person his mother saw in him. I helped usher him into a world that brain of his was fit for. I had watched him quickly take his place in a chair he had fought against all his life, and he slid into it like it was made for him. With warmth and grace, a body that could shock any woman we met, and a handshake that could intimidate the largest of men.
My father saw his potential, and his mother knew he had it within him. It had taken me wading through my grief to see the person he had grown to be.
The businessman I helped him to become.
“Miss Harte?” he asked. “Are you alright?”
“I have to go find him,” I said as I stood up. “I have to go find Christian.”
“Do you want me to gather this paperwork and slide it under your door?” he asked.
“I want you to take that paperwork and shove it up your ass,” I said. “You’re fired.”
“You cannot fire me, Miss Harte,” he said.
“You said I’m the owner of this company now, correct?” I asked.
“Well, yes,” he said.
“And this company employs you, does it not?” I asked.
“Well, yes,” he said.
“You’re fucking fired,” I said.
I stormed out the door with my purse in my hand and flung myself into my car. I had to go after Christian. I had no idea where he was or even if he was staying in town, but the only place I could think to go was his house. If he was anything like me, he wouldn't even be there, but it was the only shot I had at finding him.