No fucking way.
I shoved out the chair and stood. “I won’t be a part of this. I’m not going to watch you ruin what I spent years building.”
For the first time since she’d entered the office, Sophia showed an inkling of displeasure, her eyes narrowing slightly. “You’ll lose everything if you leave now.”
“Maybe I will. Maybe this is the best hand you can play, Sophia, but you should know that I’m not playing this game with you. Not like this.”
She let out a curt laugh. “You’d give everything up, just like that?”
“Just like that,” I said quietly before turning toward my office.
I struggled to fill my lungs with air, but all I could manage were shallow dizzying breaths. I couldn’t believe this was happening, but it was. In a matter of minutes, days, everything had irrevocably changed. Of all my worst-case-scenario worries, this one topped them all.
I went to my small partitioned space and stood in silence a moment, surveying the contents of my desk top. None of this was mine. Not anymore. For the first time for as long as I could remember, none of it mattered. The paperwork, the lists, the schedule I’d written out for my day. Hell, the pop-up sticky notes on my desk that I couldn’t normally live without. None of it mattered if Clozpin wasn’t mine. I wasn’t being fired from my nine-to-five job. I was leaving behind an era of my life that I would never, ever get back.
But what other choice did I have?
I closed my laptop and shoved it into my bag along with the framed photo I had of Blake and me.
“Erica, don’t do this. We want you to stay.”
I flashed an angry look up at Isaac who had joined me. “Of course you do. So you can force me to watch Sophia ruin everything.”
“We aren’t going to ruin everything. I didn’t spend all this money to flush it.”
I squeezed my eyes tight, willing the emotions away. “How could you do this to me? What did I ever do to you to deserve this? Was it that night…with Blake?”
I shook my head, in disbelief that Blake defending me against Isaac’s terrible behavior could plant such a seed of vengeance in him.
“I was talking to Alex before I even met you. I was interested in the market, and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to meet with you. When I realized he was working with you as a partner, we discussed adding you to the acquisition. I knew you’d never sell to me directly, and based on our last meeting, I wasn’t even sure you’d continue the partnership knowing I was involved.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t have.”
His shoulders sagged. “It’s done now. Let’s make the most of it and figure out how to work together.”
For a second, I believed that could be possible, until Sophia’s terrible face entered my mind. I shoved the last of my personal things—meaningless trinkets—into my bag.
I was being rash, maybe even irrational. I had no metric for normal or logical or even sane. My entire world had tilted on its axis. The business that had kept me grounded for so long had been torn out from under me. As much as I wanted it back, I couldn’t imagine letting this play out through Sophia’s meddling plans. I couldn’t imagine Blake would want me to either. His silent voice in my head offered the smallest measure of reassurance that what I was about to do was the right thing.
“It’s not possible, Isaac. I told you I didn’t want to work with you weeks ago, and I meant it. Just because you’ve coerced me out of a position of control doesn’t change that. I didn’t trust you then, and I sure as hell don’t trust you now.”
“I can talk to Sophia about bringing Alli back. Just go home and unwind, and let’s start fresh tomorrow. This has been a lot to take in.”
I stepped out from around the desk, hating the tears brimming my eyes. Like it or not, I was exposed. She’d wounded me where it could hurt me the most, and she’d done it in plain view.
“I don’t know what she’s got on you, Isaac, but it’s enough that she’s here. She’s lodged herself into your business, and now mine. You screwed me on this deal. You and Alex, and she’s next in line. Except I’m not going to give her the chance.”
He stared at me a moment. “You’re really leaving? I knew you’d be upset, but you can’t just walk out on us like this. Alex wanted you to stay, and so do I. We need you.”
For a second, I wanted to give in to the plea. To be needed by the business was what had driven me for so long. It was like a child, a baby I’d nursed from the very beginning when neither of us were anything at all. I wasn’t just walking away from Isaac, Sophia, and this whole fucked up situation. I was walking away from something precious that I’d created.
I swallowed over the emotions threatening to spill out from my eyes. “Good luck, Isaac. You’ll need it.”
I brushed an errant tear away before emerging into the main area. I left quickly, Alli on my heels, without giving Sophia another look.
I had to get away. I couldn’t leave fast enough. I had to go before I changed my mind, before I gave Sophia the satisfaction of knowing she had won.
I wouldn’t play this game with her.
I stepped out onto the street. The air felt different. The sound of the cars driving by was foreign. I resented the aroma of coffee tainting the air as a patron left Mocha. None of it was mine anymore. I had no place here, and I’d never belong to this part of my life again.
“What do we do now?” Alli’s sad voice broke through my numbness.
The Escalade was parked across the street with Clay waiting in the driver’s seat checking his phone. Glancing up and down the sidewalk, I had no idea where to go, which direction to move in.
I needed to walk. I needed air. A stiff drink. A hug. All of the above.
“I don’t know,” I finally said.
“Did you have any idea that Sophia was involved with the deal?”
How the hell could I have seen it coming? I ran every moment through my mind, looking for some clue that could have triggered this knowledge.
“Alex gave me no indication. It was all roses and rainbows. A deal that would work out for both of us. Worked out for everyone but me, I guess.”
“And me, don’t forget. Not that I would want to stay without you, Erica, but what did I do to deserve this? I know she hates you, but our paths have crossed before and I’ve never seen that kind of venom from her. I’m completely blindsided.”
I gave her a vacant stare. “Heath.”
She shook her head. “But Heath and she are friends.”
“He broke the news to her about pulling his and Blake’s investment from her agency.”
“She fired me because Heath was the bearer of bad news?”
“No.” I worked my jaw, not wanting to tell her more. She and Heath had enough issues to work through without me throwing a skeleton from his past into the spotlight.
She stepped closer, squaring her small body with mine. “Tell me.”
“Ask Heath about her. I’m sure he can probably tell you more than I can.”
“Erica, I am standing out here on the street, jobless from a company I’ve put my heart and soul into right alongside you. Don’t tell me I should go talk to Heath about it. If you know something about her that I should know, tell me.”
Fuck. I didn’t want to get into this right now. I had a thousand things running through my head, and outing Heath’s supposed interlude with Sophia years ago was not something I wanted to share with my best friend.
“Erica, please.” Alli’s eyes were wide, and the wavering in how she said my name told me she was moments from tears. We both were.
“They have history, Alli.”
She made a small sound of shock. “W-What?”
“Blake has been taking care of Heath for a while, through some rough times. You knew this. Sophia was into the drug scene too. They partied together, and Blake doesn’t know for sure because neither of them would admit it, but he thinks they might have hooked up before Blake sent them both off to rehab. And when Sophia got
out, Blake left her. Maybe because of that, but he had a lot of reasons. She stayed close to Heath, and obviously they both invested in her company to help her get off the ground. Consolation prize for Blake breaking her heart, I guess. But I’m beginning to wonder if she stayed close to Heath just to have an in with Blake. He’ll do anything for Heath, and she plays the victim so well when she wants to.”
Alli’s eyes narrowed, tears threatening at the corners. “If they were together at any point, why wouldn’t he tell me? He introduced me to her back in New York like they were old friends.”
“They were. I honestly don’t know what happened between them. Only they do. And if it was anything more than friendship, I’m sure Heath didn’t want to hurt you by telling you.”
I closed my eyes. Blake had done the same for me. Spared me the details of the past to save my feelings. Like a fool, I sought them out anyway. Had I learned all that much from unearthing his past? Maybe not. Maybe there was some greater good for having the dirty details out in the air.
“Looks like I’m hurt anyway. Sophia couldn’t get me out of here fast enough.” Alli wrapped her arms around herself.
I wanted to do the same thing. I wanted to curl up and disappear into the concrete. I wanted to feel nothing—not an inkling of what that vindictive woman was putting us through.
“I can’t believe you left,” she said quietly, bringing me back to the moment when I’d given up.
I shrugged, surrendering to what had unfolded over the past hour. “I had no other choice.” I stared down at my feet.
Alli came up to me and squeezed me tight.
“We’ll get through this. Right now it doesn’t feel like we will. But I have to believe that tomorrow will feel a little less horrible.”
I hugged her tighter and fought the tears, not wanting to break down where Sophia might still be able to see us. We’d get through this. Right?
Alli pulled back and brushed away the tears crawling down her cheeks. “Okay. God, I need to get it together. Let’s talk tomorrow, but call me if you need anything tonight, okay? I need to go home and try to figure this all out.”
“I will. And I’m sorry, for what it’s worth, which unfortunately, probably isn’t a lot right now.” I stared down at the ground, wishing it would swallow me up and take this all away.
“You don’t have to be sorry, Erica. Please, don’t blame yourself for this. Go home and talk to Blake. Maybe we can find a way out of this.”
She shot me a sad smile and turned, walking toward home.
Seemingly paralyzed by the afternoon’s events, I felt around my purse until I found my phone. I dialed Alex’s number and began walking down the street. His receptionist picked up and I asked for him.
“Mr. Hutchinson isn’t available at the moment.”
“You tell him this is Erica Hathaway, and I will call you all damn day if I have to. Put him on the phone.”
“One moment, please,” she mumbled with an agitated tone.
A minute later the line picked up.
“Erica.” Alex had the decency to sound a little tentative through his greeting.
“You sold my business to Isaac Perry. Is that right?”
He sighed. “Yes, I met with him after you on Friday.”
“Well, he and his pal Sophia Devereaux fired my marketing director on the spot.”
He was silent for a moment. “I didn’t realize that was in their plans. I was clear that you wanted the team to stay.”
“This isn’t about what I want. This is about revenge.”
“Not for me, it wasn’t.”
“Then what is it about?” I harnessed all my energy not to shout at him through the phone.
He paused. “This is business, Erica. It’s about creating opportunities and taking profit. Companies change hands every day. I realize this has been an emotional process for you—”
“Fuck you, Alex.” I couldn’t hold it back any longer. His condescending tone. As if the sole reason why I was unraveling right now was because I was some over-sensitive woman, floundering in a man’s world.
“It’s just business,” he said flatly.
“Business, huh? What about morals, and ethics?”
“I did nothing unethical. I negotiated a fair deal.”
“You misled me. You withheld critical information that has my best friend and me unemployed at the moment.”
“You left?”
“Yes, I left.” What other choice did I have? Sit there and take orders from my fiancé’s diabolical ex-girlfriend? Not in this lifetime.
He sighed loudly. “There’s nothing I can do now, Erica. I’m sorry things panned out this way for you. It’s just the way it is, I guess.”
“That’s just great, Alex. Pleasure doing business with you.”
I hung up, knowing the longer I stayed on the phone with him the more I was going to lose my cool. Already I regretted half the things I’d said. My desperation for a way out of this nightmare had me sounding emotional and vulnerable. The problem was he simply didn’t care. Not the way Blake or the people I’d surrounded myself with would care.
I walked a few more blocks, not knowing where I was going, no aim in sight. With shaking hands I dialed Blake’s number. He picked up after the first ring.
“Hello?”
My lip trembled as I searched for the words to explain what had just happened. Then the tears began to fall. Everything that pride had cooped up inside of me was letting loose. I was falling and I needed a soft place to land.
“Erica, are you okay? Talk to me.”
I suppressed a sob, wanting to crumble at the sound of his voice.
“I need you.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
After two hours of solid crying and a glass and a half of Blake’s most expensive scotch, the rage had dulled to a numb sort of hopelessness. Blake had held me and promised that we would get through it. But the more I tried to believe him, the less convinced of it he seemed. He paced the living room, looking repeatedly at his phone as if he were holding back from launching into action at any moment.
“I’ll fucking ruin him,” he muttered.
Under any other circumstances I might have pitied the person Blake wanted to ruin, but not today. Ruin away. But deep down, I knew there was nothing to be done. Even in the tired haze of my mind, I knew Isaac wouldn’t have dropped all that money on a business only to have his lawyers leave a convenient loophole for me to hold any of it back. No, he would have covered all his bases. The way men like Blake always did.
“Why bother? He’s wasted enough of our time.” I shrugged, the motion nearly imperceptible from my slouching position on the couch.
“Because he deserves it.”
“It’s just business,” I sang softly, mimicking Alex’s earlier words, except there was nothing funny or cute about the position he’d left me in. And I hated him for it. I lifted the lowball to my lips, acutely aware of how much less I hated him the more I drank.
Blake leaned down and took my glass. “You’ve had enough.”
I slapped my empty hand down onto the couch. “I have a very long shit list right now. Do not make me add you to it.”
“You’re going to be on your own shit list tomorrow if you don’t slow down. I’ll get you a water.”
I sank back into the couch, defeated. Utterly defeated. I wanted to drown myself until I couldn’t think about today anymore. If I couldn’t permanently erase Sophia’s face from my mind, I wanted to blur it out thoroughly for the next few hours.
Blake returned with a glass of water. I wrinkled my nose at it, but held it obediently in my lap. He sat on the coffee table across from me, framing my legs with his.
“I can buy it back,” he said matter-of-factly.
I stared back at him, confused. “Why?”
“Because the business should be yours.”
“But I sold it.”
“So we’ll buy it back. I’ll make Isaac an offer he can’t refuse.”
My eye
s widened. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
That lightened the grimace that had marked his face for most of the evening. He stroked my knee with this thumb. “Don’t worry, I don’t use Daniel’s methods.”
I shook my head, not wanting to think about that on top of everything else that had gone horribly wrong as of late. “It’s not worth it, Blake. I sold it. He said he genuinely wanted it. So…now he has it.” I sighed, the reality that owning the business was officially in the past settling over me. “At least I cashed out. I can pay you back now. I wanted to give myself some freedom to do new things, so now I just have to figure out what to do with all that freedom. Ironic, huh?”
Blake released a frustrated groan. “For the hundredth time, you do not need to pay me back. It’s a moot point. We’ll be sharing assets soon enough. This isn’t about the money, and you know it.”
“The business was always more than the money. But…” I bit my lip, closing my eyes. It was gone, all gone now. “I have to learn how to let it go. I have to figure out how to start over.”
I opened my stinging eyes and saw the resentment that we both shared now in his. It cut through me, his emotions validating my own. Nothing felt quite like betrayal, or finding yourself on the floor because you were too blind to see it coming.
I couldn’t help feeling that Sophia had won somehow, but I was powerless to change what had happened.
* * *
The next few days went by without incident. Blake had taken some time off to be with me, to make sure I didn’t go catatonic, even though everything in me wanted to. But eventually, work called him back to the office. He had responsibilities. Purpose. Two things I now lacked.
Alli called. So many people had called. Even Marie, but Alli’s were the only calls I’d answer. I couldn’t handle telling people the story over and over again. Listening to their pitying reactions. Asking me what I was going to do now. Alli was the only one who understood what I was going through.
“Have you heard anything?” I asked.
“I talked to James last night. I guess Sid left.”
Hard Limit Page 18
