by Ellie Danes
I wish I hadn’t brought her along, because I could tell she was nauseous about it; sick to the core.
“All I want is to correct the past,” I said, before letting my stomach drop completely and the next bit of information spew out.
“And by the way,” I said, visibly and cockily smirking, ready to throw them for a loop. “I’m stepping down as CEO of MTS.”
It was something I’d been thinking about all day. It was the right thing.
I wasn’t my father.
I was Ian.
And I hadn’t been Ian in quite some time; and being with Kate made me want to get that back.
“There will be no more Cross/Murphy feuding. It’s now Jerome Pfeiffer’s fight.”
And just like that, I buttoned my suit jacket, grabbed Kate by the hand, and walked out of the room. The equivalent of a boardroom mic drop. I didn’t even wait for them to respond. I knew they’d be happy.
I wanted to jump up and down. I wanted to pump my fist in the air until the fucking cows came home; but I had to keep it calm and collected. At least until I made it outside.
I felt like I was on autopilot. I didn’t even realize how far we’d gotten until I felt the cool air fill my lungs.
I felt free — lighter even — as soon as I got outside.
Almost like I was a prisoner seeing the outside for the first time in a long time. I felt like I’d escaped, and I knew right then that trying to make it work at MTS was never going to be the right thing. I knew that I’d done the right thing.
“Kate, I love you,” I sighed, happily, before I even turned to look at her. “I can’t believe I haven’t said it sooner.”
She looked stunned, but happy. She had a grin and a glistening sparkle in her eye. I wasn’t sure if I hadn’t said anything sooner because I was nervous, or if I was just waiting for the right opportunity. Or hell, if there was a right opportunity given the short length of our relationship. I just knew that it was true, and that I could feel it coming on for a while now.
I watched her mouth open and fall, and for a minute, I felt a little nervous. I wasn’t sure if she was struggling on her words because she couldn’t reciprocate the emotion, or if it was just because I’d taken her by completely surprise. I thought it was the latter. Hoped it was. But until I heard her whisper out to me, I couldn’t be sure.
“I love you, too,” she whispered, still grinning. I pulled her to me and kissed her tenderly. Kissed her so she knew I meant it. Then I stretched my arms out over my head, breathing heavily and smiling widely.
It felt good that there wouldn’t be any more of a lot of terrible things.
No more ridiculously early mornings and late, late-nights. No more dressing to the nines every damn day of my life. No more wishing I had time to go to the gym. No more Jerome. No more trying to live up to something that I wasn’t.
I took another deep breath, relishing the crisp air around me, which was something that I never thought I’d think in my entire life. We lived in New York. Not in nature.
There was smog everywhere, air pollution galore.
But yet, the air that I was breathing in was the cleanest, crispest, nicest air I’d ever experienced.
I turned to Kate and she gave me that look and smiled knowingly. It was like she knew what I was thinking. It was like she could read my mind.
In truth we hadn’t really known each other for all that long, but she was still the person that I felt knew me best in the entire world.
She knew that beneath my confident, kick-ass billionaire exterior was a yearning. A deep yearning for freedom; and hell, I hadn’t known it until I met Kate, but also a deep yearning for love.
I was just glad it wasn’t unrequited.
I could see it in every look she gave. She loved me too.
I couldn’t believe it. How much had changed in the past few weeks; how different I felt…
All because of her.
It was good to be loved as I really was, and not my money or my position.
Kate loved me as the asshole billionaire; and even now as an unemployed and super confused asshole billionaire — because let’s face it, I still owned the company. I just didn’t want to run it.
I knew I didn’t need to change for her. I knew she would have been fine even with me still working against her father. She cared about me either way. She would have been just fine making it work. No matter what her family said.
I turned my attention back to her, and said, “Can you believe I did that?”
My breath was heavy, and the world around me was spinning all of a sudden. I felt my heartbeat quicken. I was almost dizzy.
“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned, grabbing my forearm with her warm hands to steady me.
I took a deep breath, before finally realizing what it was. It was adrenaline. Mixed with nerves. I laughed, “I’m good!” as I tried to regain my breath.
“Just breathe,” she grinned. “Are you sure you did what you wanted to do?”
I nodded, my smile widening. Her voice was resonating with me in a way that it never had before. I wasn’t sure why exactly, but it was like I was hearing her even more clearly than I ever had. Like her voice did even more to me and my senses than it usually did. “Never been more sure.”
And that was the truth.
Chapter 27
Kate
I was still partially in shock from it all.
His company! He was giving up his company! Giving it to his VP!
“I have it all planned out,” he said, and I believed him. “I called Jerome when you were getting ready, and ran it by him. And then I called my lawyer to draw up the papers. To be honest, the thought of dealing with him, and seeing his smug face even long enough to get him to sign contracts isn’t appealing. But I’m willing to do it because I really do want to leave.”
He laughed. “I mean, I’m so beyond ready to be gone.”
I knew he wanted out, but I didn’t know he planned on getting out so soon. I was glad for him, though. Beyond glad.
I wanted his happiness more than anything in the world. Even more than my own.
“Besides,” he said, looking at the ground, breaking eye contact for the first time in a while. “Jerome can and will take the company to a place my dad would be happy with.”
His brow furrowed, and he seemed almost lost in thought for a few moments. I wondered what he was thinking. Because my mind was on overdrive. We had just overcome a huge hurdle, but there was so much left to deal with.
I was moving soon. We still hadn’t dealt with that part yet, and I didn’t want to push matters after the man had just given up his company.
There would be another day.
That’s what I kept telling myself.
I also kept telling myself that it would be all right.
Because our feelings for each other were real. They were feelings I never thought I’d have before Ian came along. Admittedly, I was basically one of those girls that had already started thinking about a damn wedding. I never thought I’d be so crazy. Especially over a man. But I was. Hell, just thinking about that sexy bod stuffed inside a tux was intoxicating.
It was hard not letting my thoughts control me in that moment. I was feeling aroused beyond belief. Just when I thought I was gaining some sort of control when it came to him.
“Are you looking at my body?” he asked, as his mouth opened wide in a mocking shock “Jeez, control yourself.” He laughed, and I couldn’t help but laugh as well. I really was having a difficult time controlling myself. Up until he yelled out, in very immature fashion, “Oh, wait… You can’t!”
He might have thought he was joking around, but it was actually the truth. But there was no way in hell I was admitting it now.
Instead, I just blushed crimson, and decided to mock him.
“Jeez…” I said. “Stop being a dick!” “Oh, wait!” I muttered, mimicking his previous tone almost completely. “You can’t!”
I didn’t want to admit it, be
cause honestly I was scared to, but in that moment I was overflowing with happiness. He grinned, and opened the passenger side of his Bentley for me. I graciously accepted, but still, a part of me felt a little strange.
I was worried, to be honest.
But, I couldn’t imagine a future without him at this point. It was terrifying because it hadn’t even been long, and I was already finding it incredibly difficult to imagine a future without him in it. And not only just present, but with a starring role.
His gorgeous face, almost pale as he shifted himself in the driver’s seat of his car.
Those gorgeous eyes shined out like gems into my soul, as soon as he glanced over at me. I felt a whimper escape me, and I shivered, almost suddenly.
I had no idea how he still had so much control over me.
All I knew was that I had to close my eyes to keep from pouncing. The problem was, though, that I no more than closed my eyes when I felt his lips brush the side of my face. He inhaled a deep breath and held me still, just before taking another breath. “If only I could have you right now…” he growled.
“Okay!” I shrieked out. “Stop it!”
He was laughing. Hard. I knew he was doing it all on purpose.
“Anyway!” I laughed. “Let’s talk about what just happened…”
He nodded. “I thought we just did?”
“From the outside of a building to the car? That doesn’t count as talking, does it?” I laughed. “How do you feel about what you did today, really?” I asked, my stomach still in knots, just thinking about it all.
“I feel pretty good…” he sighed, with a huge smile forming on his face. “Wonderful actually…”
I watched him, and he looked refreshed. So refreshed that I knew he wasn’t bullshitting me. He was being completely honest.
“This is probably the best I’ve felt since my dad died.” He gestured towards the waiter and laid his card on the table.
“So you’re not at all worried?”
“I mean, I’ll still have my father’s money, I still own the company. I’m even making sure that Janice remains secretary of the CEO. Contract is pretty solid. My guy is on it. But even if I was dirt poor, I think I’d still feel good about this.”
“So, since you’ve basically already made a world of changes today, what do you want to do next?” I asked.
“Hmm . . . how warm is it in San Diego?” he asked, straight-faced. I smiled, genuinely still happy for him. I knew how hard it was to follow your dreams when your family wanted you to do something else.
“About seventy-eight degrees — year round…”
“Well, I guess that settles it,” he sighed dramatically.
“Settles what?” I asked, my face contorted, eyes narrowed at him.
He stopped, and turned to look at me, his lips moving upward in a smile. “Settles the fact that we better go shopping for my new wardrobe. And maybe a house.”
Other Books From Ellie Danes
Wylde Ride
Judged
Dancing with Fire
SEAL’d Tight
Tackled & Pinned Hard
Beyond The Edge of Attraction
The Heir
Conviction
Get Conviction FREE Here
The Windfall
It Takes Two, The Matchmaker Series
It Takes Two, Connected Hearts
Chosen by Him, The Chosen Series
Chance Encounter, The Series
The Edge Series
Box Sets
The Chance Encounter Series
The Diamond Club, Volumes 1-5
The Diamond Club, Volumes 6-10
It Takes Two, The Matchmaker Series
About The Author
Ellie Danes
Ellie Danes is a bestselling author with over forty published works and more added each month. Transplanted from New Jersey at an early age, she now resides in central Virginia.
When she’s not writing or reading, Ellie is out on the streets, likely running, doing yoga or dreaming up ideas for her next series.
Follow her on Facebook and on her website at the addresses below. Also be sure to check out her latest release schedule and get on her early release newsletter.
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