Holding her, feeling her warmth in my arms, and knowing what we are about to accomplish together, gives me a sense of pride. I never want to let her go. Scratch that thought, no matter what happens in the next few weeks or months, I am never letting her go.
The serenity I felt last night disappeared as soon as I walked into my office this morning. Dana met me at the elevator with a stern look that silently told me something was wrong. She directed me straight to my office, bypassing the conference room. Heads jerked in our direction and conversations hushed as we passed. I straightened my stance and put an impassive look on my face. Whatever was happening obviously had everyone talking.
She shut the office door behind us and locked it.
“What the fuck is going on?!”
“I just heard Edward called the entire board here to sit in on the executive meeting. He has them panicked with rumors that you hired a small, inexperienced firm to handle our problem and wants them to decide today if we need to scrap the current project and hire an international group to handle JOS. He has IT running like crazy to get the boardroom set up and has requested a copy of today’s presentation. He also sent word through his assistant and wants you waiting for him when he arrives.”
“Motherfucker!” Rage surges through my body and I slam my hands down on the desk.
“I have a bad feeling about this, Max.”
“Me too, he’s got an alternate agenda. I’m not at all worried about the presentation and plan. What I’m worried about is if he doesn’t succeed in ruining it. He’s got something more up his sleeve.”
“I agree.”
“Well, that fucker has another thing coming. He wants to play dirty, I’m ready to fucking crush him. Here’s what we need to do. Get Stella on the phone and have her meet me on the third floor confidential conference room. Don’t tell her anything is wrong, tell her I want to walk her in. Make sure we’re seated next to each other during the presentation. I want Edward somewhere in the middle of the table, less intimidating.
“I’ll explain to Stella what’s going on. I’m not worried about her though. Once she knows Edward set this up, she’s going to be pissed. She’ll dazzle the shit out of everyone. You call or text me when everyone is seated and waiting. Don’t let on that I know what’s happening.”
“You got it. What about Edward wanting to see
you when he gets here?”
“Throw the old bastard off. Tell him I had an early morning meeting. Say I’m on a conference call with the New York group.”
Dana nods and turns to leave.
“Wait! Dana—”
“No worries, it’s already done. Took care of it myself this morning.” She winks and leaves, locking the door from the outside.
I walk to my en-suite bathroom and run some cold water over my face trying to calm down. These are the type of antics Edward pulled on my father in the end. My dad tried everything he could, but the resistance and manipulation became too much. Well, I’m not my dad and I have a hell of a lot more venom in me. Today’s the day Edward Hurst sees he’s not messing with the boy—he’s messing with the man. And I have a shitload of anger built up. Lucky for me, when I’m angry, I’m resourceful.
I walk back in and sit at my desk, waiting for Stella to arrive. One thing’s for certain, she may be pissed and thrown off guard, but she’ll rise to the occasion. I can’t wait to see her kick ass.
As if I wasn’t nervous enough, meeting Max down here is not what I expected. Dana wouldn’t tell me anything but I knew something was happening. Ironically enough, there were no other employees around when I arrived and a special guard led me in.
It seems like I’ve been waiting forever, but finally Max walks in, looking powerful and breathtaking at the same time. I saw him leave this morning, but in this setting, he looks like the CEO magnate his reputation has labeled him.
“Jesus Christ! You look incredible.” He rakes his eyes up and down causing me to smile at his reaction.
“You like?”
“Is that Laci’s idea?”
“Somewhat.” It took several outfits, but she and I finally decided on black, wide-leg trouser pants and a russet silk tunic. She convinced me the top highlighted the amber in my eyes. I left my hair down in soft waves and picked three inch, peep toe heels, with a gold swirl.
“I’m going to be watching your every move, imagining peeling you out of this outfit tonight.” He slides an arm around my waist and kisses me gently.
“Is this why we’re meeting down here, so you can see my outfit?”
“Unfortunately no.” His face falls.
I try to step back, but he holds me in place.
“There were some new developments overnight that I heard about this morning. I wanted to warn you and reassure you how amazing you are.”