Bounty

by Aubrey St. Clair

  Sebastian has already made it clear that he doesn’t blame me for it, but how can he not? If I never walked into his life, Edward would never have set his eyes on him or his company. This entire thing was my fault. Even if he doesn’t blame me now, he will eventually. Days, weeks, maybe months from now he’ll wonder “what if?” Every time he looks at me, he’ll be reminded of what he had to give up. What meeting me cost him. Even if he can live with it, I’m not sure if I can.

  How can I force this man to give up everything just for me? I don’t deserve it. Not unless I’m willing to do the same for him.

  Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, I let the realization sink down into me. That’s just it. I am willing to do the same for him.

  “I have to go to the bathroom,” I say, ducking out of the room without waiting for a reply.

  I hurry back to my own office and close the door, pulling my cellphone out with a shaky hand.

  There’s really only one move to make here. Only one thing that can save everything that Sebastian has built. The best I can do is try to negotiate. To not lose absolutely everything. Maybe I can hold onto… something.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s me.”

  “Ah… I was wondering when you would call. Nothing like waiting until the eleventh hour.” Not if, but when. Still as cocky and sure of himself as always. It makes what I am about to do so much harder, but I think that might be the point. Edward knows he holds all the power. He always does, and he wants to make sure I’m painfully aware of it.

  “Don’t be an asshole. Look, fine, you win. All right? I’ll come back to work for you. Just leave Sebastian and his company out of this.” As horrible as I know it will be, if I have to give up and go back and work for Edward, that’s a price I’m willing to pay to keep him from destroying Sebastian and everything he’s built.

  “Of course. That’s what I said, isn’t it? But I think I also said something else. I’m not just asking you to come back and work for me, Evelyn. I want everything exactly as it was before. Between us.”

  So now it’s a much larger price to pay. I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, that Edward would feel like just having me come back to work with him was enough. But part of me knew it wasn’t going to be. I’ve slept with him before, so it shouldn’t be a big deal to have to do it again, should it?

  Except last time, I didn’t know what a complete scumbag he was. Still, I know better than to argue about it. When Edward Stonewall wants something, there’s no negotiation. I’ll need to find a way out of this eventually, but for now, I don’t see any other option.

  “Okay,” I finally relent. “You win.”

  26

  Sebastian

  Dear Sebastian,

  I’m so sorry. I just can’t do it. I can’t be the cause of you losing everything. Edward is my fault. I brought him into your life, and only I can get him out. There’s no other way to be sure. I’m so sorry. I hate leaving this way, but I now you’ll try to talk me out of it, and I’m afraid you’d succeed. But we both know this is the only decision that makes sense.

  Love,

  Eve

  I watch as my hand crushes the paper in my fist, obscuring the words that I’ve read so many times I’ve committed them to memory. My rage is no less feverish than the first time I read it five minutes ago, the only difference is the shock of Evelyn’s decision has finally sunk in. What the fuck is she thinking?

  I’m still standing in her office, almost as if I’m lost, which is actually how I feel for probably the first time in my life. I had only come to find her after she had taken so long in returning from going to the bathroom. I just wanted to see if she was all right. I never expected this.

  The first thing I do when I finally regain my ability to think is try calling her cell to talk some sense to her. As soon as I hear the ringing start on the other end of the phone, I also hear it coming from her desk. Her phone is inside her drawer, put there intentionally, I’m sure. She is serious about not wanting me to try and talk her out of it. My knees feel weak as I sink down onto her chair, a pit of cold dread beginning to grow in the center of my stomach.

  It can’t end like this. A few weeks ago, I would have thought that I could go on alone forever, but now the mere thought of it makes me dizzy. Somehow, this woman has weaved her way into my life so tightly that I can’t even imagine doing anything without her. Things that seemed like they were my whole world last month now look hollow and empty if I have to continue doing them without Eve by my side.

  But she’s right; we’re out of options. I don’t know whether I’ll have enough votes to stop Edward’s takeover, and there’s more than just my position at Piston at stake. A man like Edward will tear the heart out of the company and thousands will be out of work before the year is out. Even if I’m willing to let that happen to me, how can I let it happen to all of them?

  I pick up my phone again and dial Hans’ office. Beverly answers, but I cut her off before she can say two word. “I need Hans now, Beverly. You need to find him immediately.”

  “Oh, actually, he just walked in two minutes go. I was—”

  I’m already headed for his office before I even hang up on her. He’s not getting away from me this time. I need some answers.

  “Mr. Redding, I think we got cut off. I was—”

  I ignore her and yank open Hans’ door, walking in and slamming it shut again on his secretary. This talk needs to be private, and I think that was a big enough hint.

  Hans is sitting in his worn, red, leather chair and reading something on his computer as I stride in. He looks up in surprise, his eyes widening at the suddenness of my intrusion, but he knows better than to question me—especially when I’m in a bad mood. And I know he can tell I’m in a bad mood.

  “Sebastian? What’s wrong?”

  “Where the fuck have you been?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’ve been trying to reach you all goddamn weekend, all fucking day, and you go fucking AWOL on me now? When the entire company is at risk? You picked a fucking hell of a time to take some personal days.” I throw his own words from the other day back at him.

  I can see the anger rising as Hans’ cheeks redden. He stands, the backs of his knees forcing the chair behind him to slide backwards on its wheels until it bumps into the window behind him. “I don’t know what your issue is, Redding, but I don’t see how my not being here makes a lick of difference. Unless you’ve somehow come up with some miraculous plan-”

  “I just need your shares, Hans,” I say, struggling to keep a lid on my anger. Hans knows that I own Piston, but it’s not like he’s simply a figurehead. He adds value to the company, aside from being the public face and keeping the heat off of me. But sometimes he needs a reminder of who is really in charge, and if I have to listen to him make excuses he’s likely to get more than a reminder about that.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Your shares. I don’t know what the hell you’ve been doing this weekend, but I was working on saving this place.”

  “What makes you think it needs saving?”

  Now it’s my turn to be surprised. “Excuse me?”

  “The offer being made for the shares is a strong one. Shareholders see value in it, and that’s why they’re selling. We’ve missed a key deal, Sebastian. We’re going to miss the quarter. Maybe it’s time to let someone else run this ship.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about? You have no idea who is trying to take this place over, do you? Well, I’ll tell you. Edward Stonewall.” The shocked look on Hans’ face assures me that he knows who I’m talking about. “That’s right. And I’m sure you know as well as I do that Edward doesn’t buy companies like this one so that he can run a new business and send out fat Christmas bonuses. He’ll gut this place, sell it for parts, and you, me, and everyone else will be out of a job before the year is done.”

  “How do you know this?” Hans looks angry now, which surprises me. Perhaps the idea of Ed
ward tearing this place apart has finally struck a nerve with him. Good.

  “I spoke with Stonewall himself. The man is a twisted fuck, obsessed with my assistant, Evelyn. She was his assistant before, and they were involved. When she left, he went crazy and has been trying to get her back ever since. He called us into his office last week and basically told us that he’ll call the whole buyout off if Evelyn goes back to him. Obviously, that’s ridiculous. The man is a psychopath and she wants nothing to do with him. But he said that if she didn’t go back to him, and not just as an assistant, then he’d buy this place out and sell it off for parts.”

  “That can’t be…” Hans looks more shocked and upset than I thought he would. Perhaps I misjudged him after all. Maybe he’s interested in more than just money and how much his shares could fetch from the buyout. I’m starting to feel optimistic now. With Hans’ shares, the only thing we have to deal with is the potential fallout from the exposure of my involvement with the MC, but surely there’s a way out of that. I left it out of what I told Hans on purpose, but if I have to bring him in on that in order to figure out how to save the company, I will. He’ll find out soon enough anyway, when it goes public.

  “It is. And I just got a note from Evelyn saying that she didn’t want to be the reason that this company is destroyed, so she’s going back to him. But we can’t let that happen. I spent the weekend talking to some of our biggest investors, getting their support, but I didn’t get enough. But if we add your shares to block, we should have enough to stop this takeover.”

  “No! That isn’t right!” Hans’ shock seems to have turned to anger now, which seems a bit delayed given that I just explained that we can block Evelyn from having to go over to him after all.

  “I know, he’s a complete asshole, and trust me, he’s going to fucking get what’s coming to him if I have anything to say about it. But that can wait until all this is done. For now, I can—”

  “This isn’t how this was supposed to go down at all!” Hans is beet red now, his fist clenched around an empty mug that he picked up from his desk, and before I know it, he’s thrown it violently across the room, where it shatters with an echoing crash.

  “What the fuck, Hans?”

  “That fucking lying, two-faced son of a bitch!”

  “Who?”

  “Edward, you fucking fool.”

  I stare at Hans as the man looks as though he’s about to have an aneurysm, I don’t even react to the name calling. “Yes, he is all of those things. But don’t you get it? We can shut this down, with your shares and—”

  “Edward already has my shares, you idiot!” Hans is livid now, pacing the office as he rants. “He’s a lying sack of shit. This was never the plan. He was supposed to take over the company and then hand it to me to turn around. This was supposed to be my time…”

  The realization of what Hans is saying hits me like a ton of bricks, and it totally makes sense. He’s been in on it the whole time. That’s where Edward got his information. Hans wasn’t happy having to run his decisions through me, having me veto or argue with him over things I didn’t agree with. He wanted to cut me out entirely. Who knows how long he’s been feeling this way? Hell, maybe the whole issue with Velocity was his fault. I sure as hell don’t think he did anything to fix it when he went to Germany. I stare at the man as he continues to pace, still seemingly oblivious in his anger about what he’s admitting to, or past the point of caring. My own anger is instantaneous, though.

  “I thought he was a brilliant businessman. What fucking sense does it make to give up this whole deal and the millions he’d earn from it for just a stupid secretary? I don’t care how good of a cock she can suck, there’s no—”

  His mouth finally stops as my fist connects with it, sending him toppling over his desk and onto the floor. Hans rolls onto his back to stare up at me. I can’t tell if the shock on his face is because I just hit him, or because he is finally realizing just what he was saying and to who. His lip is bleeding, but he doesn’t seem to notice. I want to make a lot more of him bleed.

  “This was your plan?” The words are hard to push out through my clenched jaw.

  Finally, it seems as though Hans has realized he’s said far too much already. His mouth opens, and then closes quickly.

  “What? Done talking?” I’m practically spitting the words out as I approach to stand over the man—the man I once thought of as a decent fucking guy. Maybe not a friend, but not someone who’d ever backstab me. Not like this. It only satisfies me slightly to see him visibly wince and shrink back. I have no idea if Edward told him about my involvement in the MC, but he’s afraid of me now regardless, and that’s the way I want it.

  “That’s okay, I think I can fill in the blanks. Get up, you piece of shit.”

  Hans scrambles to his feet, but keeps his distance as I glare at him. “So, Edward approached you with an offer to make you CEO in exchange for your help and your shares, but he double-crossed you. He never had any intention of giving you the company. His whole plan was always to try and get Evelyn back, and if that failed, he was going to destroy Piston in retaliation. He played you for a fucking fool.” My words are quiet now, the rage inside of me is simmering but I have to keep a lid on it. I’m mad at Hans’ betrayal, but the truth is that Edward would have found a way to do what he’s done with or without Hans. All he did was show me my CEO’s true colors.

  “You’re fired.”

  Former CEO.

  “Be out of here in five minutes, or security will haul your ass out. Whatever happens to this company, you’re not part of it anymore.” Technically, I need the board to back my decision on this, but we both know that would come as soon as I let them know what he’s been up to behind our backs.

  The older man just stares at me. The blood on his lip is dripping down his chin now, but he still seems not to even notice. Behind his eyes I can almost see the wheels turning as he contemplates how colossally he’s fucked everything up. He’s likely considering how, regardless what happens with Piston, when this is all over the whole industry will hear about his betrayal and there won’t be a company worth a dime that will take a chance on hiring a fucking turncoat like him. He’s right. I’ll make sure it happens.

  Without another word, I pull open the door. Beverley is standing there, and probably has been since I went in. As soon as I walk by she looks past me and gasps at the sight of her boss. “Oh my goodness, Hans, your face! Let me get the First Aid kit. What happened in there? I heard a crash, but…”

  Her chatter fades as I storm away from his office, my mind swirling with anger and half-formed plans.

  Hans’ shares are gone, already in Edward’s hands, which means my hopes of saving the company by blocking the sale that way are lost. And Evelyn was right—even with those shares, there was no guarantee we could save things if Edward did leak the news of my MC involvement. So I get why she thought that going over to him was the only option. She was trying to save the company. To save me. I appreciate the thought, but I’ll let the whole place burn before I let her go back to that psychopath. There might not be many options left to me, but I’ve never let that stop me before. I don’t give up, no matter what the odds.

  Edward wants a fight, I’ll give him a fight. I’ll bring it right to his front door, and I no longer care what it costs me.

  27

  Evelyn

  Even though my bag is packed and I’ve been staring at it for the last twenty minutes, I’m having a hard time actually picking it up and leaving. Even if I hadn’t told Edward I would be there tonight, I have a more important reason not to dawdle. Eventually, Sebastian is going to find that note and come after me, and I know that if he finds me, there’s a good chance he can change my mind.

  Is that why I’m stalling? Am I hoping for him to ride in on his motorcycle, like a knight on a horse, and save me from my own choice? I can’t let him do that. Deciding to give in to Edward was the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make, but it was either that or
let him destroy Sebastian’s entire life. In the end, that’s no choice at all. I could never live with myself if I let that happen.

  No, I can’t let Sebastian change my mind. I have to go now, before he shows up. I’ve been half-expecting the phone to ring and security to tell me he’s down there. Half-hoping. But enough is enough. It’s time to go.

  I grab my bag and head to the door, trying to avoid the feeling that I’m a death row inmate walking to the execution chamber. I have to remind myself that this isn’t the end. I’ll figure out a way to get out of this eventually. Edward will likely get bored of me eventually, or maybe Sebastian will be able to strengthen Piston enough that they can hold off a takeover threat more easily in the future. Maybe I can figure out a way to get my hands on the evidence that Edward has about Sebastian’s involvement with the MC. Plenty of things I can focus on to keep my mind off of my situation.

  At least, until I have to head home with him.

  I can’t help the shudder that runs through my body. That’s definitely not something I need to think about right now. But how can I not? What if he expects me to sleep with him tonight? My knees feel suddenly weak and I stop before I even make it to my front door.

  How can I go through with this? Working for him is one thing, but how can I go back home with him? How can I go to bed with him?

  My breath seems to be coming in gasps and I reach out, steadying myself on the wall before I can’t stand anymore. I sink to my knees and feel the sting of tears as they burn my eyes. Once I let them fall, I begin to sob uncontrollably.

  It doesn’t feel like I’m at it for too long when I hear my front door burst open and I lift my head. Sebastian’s blurry silhouette is standing in the doorframe. By the time I blink away the tears enough to see him clearly, he’s crossed the hall and is kneeling down next to me, his large and powerful arms pulling me close and holding tight. He’s the last person I wanted to show up right now, but it doesn’t stop me from pressing my face into his chest and continuing to cry, although now some of the tears are of relief. It’s stupid though. He can’t save me from my decision. We both know it’s the only choice.