“Yes. Naturally, I assumed it would be you. But what can I do? I gave my word, and I would not have Rachel feel I was holding the company hostage to make her marry the man I wanted her to. And if this is her choice, it’s her right to have the company in this matter if she chooses. She knows the agreement, too.”
Leah knew the agreement, the promise, had only ever been intended for Ajax and Rachel. Joseph loved Ajax like the son he’d never had, and he and Rachel had seemed like a logical and clear match from moment one. As though Ajax was always meant to be a part of their family.
But now everything was falling apart. And Leah’s stores, her business, her entire life, were all wrapped up in the package that might now be delivered into the hands of Ajax’s enemy.
If Alex was making a grab for Holt, intent on wrapping his hand around it and crushing it for vengeance against Ajax, then he was going to crush Leah’s dreams along with it.
She wasn’t the media darling. She wasn’t the beautiful one. She wasn’t the one who attracted men. She had Leah’s Lollies. Her business was on the upswing, building and becoming a sort of trend. Candy from one of her stores was fast becoming one of the most popular gift items in the world. Tiffany Blue might be iconic, but Leah Pink was starting to gain momentum.
She wouldn’t lose it. She couldn’t. It was who she was.
“I need to talk to Ajax alone,” she said, before she could fully process her request. “Please,” she said to her father.
He nodded once. “If you must.” He looked at Ajax. “I am sorry, my son. But I cannot force her down the aisle. No matter that I wouldn’t have had her leave you today, I won’t force her. And if she has chosen Alex, no matter who he is to you, if she is intent on him, I won’t stop that, either.”
“I would never ask that of you,” Ajax said, his voice hard.
Her father turned and walked out of the room, and Leah fought the urge to follow him. To try to reason with him. It would be easier than dealing with Ajax. But her father wouldn’t bend on this. He had given his word, and in Joseph Holt’s world, one where men had honor, one where men didn’t stoop so low as to use a woman as part of a business firefight, your word was all that was needed.
But that wasn’t the real world. She knew it. Ajax knew it.
Ajax pushed his hand through his hair and looked out the window again. “The question is, what is to be done? There is an agreement, drawn up and ready to sign. There is a wedding planned. There are a thousand guests coming in only three hours. The media will be there. This has been hailed as the wedding of the century. So the question is—” he turned to face Leah “—what is to be done?” His control was fraying slightly, an edge to his voice that Leah wasn’t accustomed to.
She looked at his face, at the hard lines around his mouth. At the worry in his eyes. Ajax Kouros, worried. And the answer hit her. So clear, so simple. This was how things worked in business, and what they were dealing with was a business-related problem. A contract that needed signing.
Or to be specific, two contracts that needed signing.
“What was the extent of your deal? What did the contract say?”
“Ownership of Holt was to pass to me upon
signing the wedding agreement, contingent on the fact that the marriage last for five years. Otherwise, ownership returns to your father.”
“And the names on the document?”
“No names. Interchangeable. That’s the issue.”
“Five-year minimum?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll do it,” Leah said.
The words hung in the room, too loud in the emptiness.
For one fleeting moment she felt exposed. Awkward. No. She wasn’t that girl anymore. She was stronger than that. She’d learned. Never expose yourself. Never let them see you cry.
“You will do what?” Ajax asked, dark eyes now trained on her.
“I...” Insecurity rose up and grabbed her by the throat, choking her. Past Leah, the Leah who had idolized Ajax. The girl who had made a fool of herself chasing after his attention, his affection. The idiotic teenager who had nearly declared herself just before he’d declared his love for Rachel.
It’s for Leah’s Lollies. It has nothing to do with those feelings. It’s for Holt.
She wasn’t a slave to those old feelings anymore. Sure, she’d dreamed of Ajax when she was a girl, but then, like everyone else, he’d chosen Rachel. And she’d learned never to expose herself like that again. Had learned how to cover up pain under a layer of armor. Because the alternative was to show it to the world, and damn your pride.
Well, she was quite fond of her pride.
“I’ll marry you. And then the guests and the companies, yours, mine and Holt, and all of that will be fine. And no matter what, no matter if Rachel marries Christofides next month or...tomorrow, it won’t be him that gets his hands on Holt. It will be okay. All of it.”