Her jaw tightened, and I nodded with a victorious smile on my face, but my smile inverted when a sparkle reflected off the office lighting and glinted in my eye. That was when I saw the remarkable gem perched on her finger. My eyes shot up and astonishment made my vision glaze over. “What the hell is that?” I demanded through my teeth. “Where did you get it from?”
Laila hissed her teeth and rolled her eyes.
I followed her angrily and spun her by the shoulder.
She ripped away from me.
“He gave that to you?” I spat.
“That’s none of your business, Ryder. That is not what we need to talk about.”
“Are you serious?” I continued ignoring her statement. “Where is he?”
“We don’t need him here,” she said. “I don’t need the CEO to speak on my behalf.”
“You think I don’t notice the way you avoid the questions I’m asking?” I said pointing in her face. “There’s only one man who could afford to give you something like that. Dylan Hamilton gave you that ring.”
She shrugged sarcastically. “I guess the pain I experienced at his hands wasn’t quite as devastating as you hoped it would be.”
I laughed in utter disbelief. “How could you do this?” I muttered. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m as serious as he is,” she said.
“You really think he’s going to marry you, Laila? He gave you that ring to give you hope, to keep you as his side piece. There is no way that he loves you as much as you think he does.” My body was trembling. My mouth bunched in disgust. “I love you,” I sputtered. “I’ve been in love with you since the first day of grad school. I’ve been trying to show you, to prove to you that I’m the one who’s going to make you happy. Are you in it for his money? Is making it to the top that important to you? You’re willing to sacrifice your integrity for a position?”
“You don’t love me, Ryder,” she muttered. Her eyes glistened. “Love doesn’t look like you. Everything you’ve done has been to get one up on me, to hurt and defeat me and I have proof of it.”
My neck jutted backwards. “What are you talking about?”
Laila walked over to Hamilton’s desk and grabbed an envelope. She held it up in front and my face twisted when I recognized the Stefan Miller insignia in the top right corner. My heart pounded in my chest and the blood drained from my face.
Her hand was suspended in the space between us with the envelope hanging awkwardly from it.
I stared at her, reluctant to do anything. “What’s that?” I asked.
“You tell me.” Anger flashed through her eyes.
I marched up to her and grabbed the envelope from her hands. I ripped it open and pulled out the contents. My heart slammed against my back when I saw what was inside: pictures of me and Katelyn.
“Who took these?” I whispered.
“I think you know the answer to that question, considering it was the same person you hired to spy on me.”
“How did you get them?”
She shrugged. “It just so happens that Stefan Miller and Dylan are college buddies,” she revealed. “When Miller realized what you were trying to do, he took it upon himself to flip the script.” Laila sighed and shook her head. She shrugged. “You thought you loved me, but you really didn’t,” she alleged. “Just like I said before the internship began. We’re rivals, Ryder, and that’s all we will ever be.”
My breathing deepened. My hands tightened around the photo stock, crushing the scandalous images. “Laila...” The crumpled pictures slid out of my hands. “I swear to you, I never meant for any of this to happen.”
“You never meant for this to happen...” she mocked me in disbelief.
“It was never supposed to go this far.”
“You’ve used that line before,” she said. She backed away from me.
“Lai...” I swallowed. “What was I supposed to do?” I pleaded. “I was losing you. At first, it was a competition between me and you – I can handle that. But then it shifted to a competition with me and the CEO. How was I supposed to win?”
“Everything is a competition, for you Ryder,” she shouted. “Love is not supposed to be competitive.”
“I love you,” I shouted, spreading my arms. I cursed. “Laila, we knew this time would be rough for us. We predicted that it wouldn’t be a stroll in the park. Everything I did, no matter how wrong, or invasive, or twisted was to prove to you that I was the best man for the job: both the job at Hamilton Associates and the job as your number one man. Please,” I implored her. She stood staring at me.
“Dylan Hamilton...” I paused, sucking in air. “He doesn’t love you the way that I do. He can’t. It’s impossible. He saw you in the office at the shadow and wanted you in his bed. You’re a notch on his expensive belt and that’s it. Open your eyes and see it for what it is.”
Her lips tightened.
“How many women, interns, do you think he’s done this to, Laila?” I whispered approaching her in desperation. “You’re a paycheck to him. We all are. Look at this place! Look at this office,” I suggested waving my arms around. “He would be nothing without you.”
“I agree.”
I stood to attention as Mr. Hamilton entered the room from a side door. His eyes were hard and unwavering, and they cut through me, reaching my fragile soul.
“I would be nothing without Miss Renaud. All of this would mean nothing if I didn’t have a good woman by my side.”
I glared at him inching backward.
Laila’s hand flew over mouth, stifling emotion. She turned her back to the two of us.
“But... if Miss Renaud was no more than a notch on my belt, I would say she is the most expensive notch I have ever invested in.”
The muscles in my face twitched.
“Mr. Hanson, I have everything I need to shut you down. These photos depicting your inappropriate behavior on the premises of your internship site are a clear violation of the terms of your school’s contract, not to mention my policies.”
A thick silence descended on me. There was nothing I could say to redeem myself before Hamilton or Laila. It was the end of the road. I ran a shaky hand through my hair and fell into a nearby chair, trying to stifle the oncoming barrage of emotion. “So what now?” I muttered. “My fate is obvious.”
No one responded immediately.
Laila’s voice rose. “Not necessarily so,” she whispered.
I looked up into her face, shocked to see her eyes crinkle with compassion.
Mr. Hamilton groaned and marched over to the bar to pour himself a drink.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Laila, you won. I was a complete jackass and you caught me at my own game. I was trying to get one up on you, but...” my voice faded. My speech was pointless. “I deserve everything that happens to me because of this. I was devious and I was underhanded because I wanted to be the best. You should bury me.”
“I don’t want to ruin you Ryder,” she said. “That’s not who I am.”
“And for that you should be grateful,” Hamilton said from the corner of the room. “Despite everything you’ve put her through, she still has the integrity and the consideration to let bygones be bygones.” His eyes narrowed. “If it were me, you’d be underground right now.”
I swallowed, and my eyes dropped to the floor. “What are you saying?” I mumbled.
Hamilton slammed his glass on the counter and marched over to where I sat slumped in a chair. “In fifteen minutes, you’re going to get your ass into that boardroom and make me my damn money,” he whispered shoving his finger in my face, “and at the end of the day, when you’ve gotten the rest of your hours, you’re going to get the hell off my property and never let me see you again.”
I stared at him, not daring to look away. My body shook from the power of his presence. “Yes sir,” I conceded trying to keep my head steady.
“Now get the hell out of my office.”
My legs wobbled as I lifted m
yself from the seat and headed for the door. I tried to fix the perpetual slump of my shoulders and rounding of my back, but it was no use. I was overwhelmed with shame and embarrassment. I lifted my hand and pushed the heavy wooden door open, and then I paused. When I turned around, a sharp pain ripped through my chest at the sight of Laila wrapped in the CEO’s comforting embrace. He squeezed her and pressed a tender kiss on top of her head.
I winced. I was no match for Dylan Hamilton, yet I couldn’t help but think that I might have been had I been honest. Laila wasn’t the kind of woman who was moved by money or power, and I would be a fool to believe those things had factored against me in the quest for her love. Dylan Hamilton had given her more of himself than I ever had. He had won Laila, fair and square.
I paused. “I’m sorry,” I said.
Hamilton gave Laila a final squeeze before turning to stare at me.
“I need to apologize to you and Miss Renaud for my behavior. I came here wanting to amaze you and your colleagues, and I went about it the wrong way.”
Mr. Hamilton stared at me, unmoved.
“In addition to that,” I continued contrite, “I allowed the feelings I had for this woman to drive me to act selfishly and intrusively, and for that I am truly sorry. My hope is that one day both of you will come to know the real Ryder Hanson.”
Laila’s gaze shifted at my remarks and with nothing more to say, I left the room.
I closed the door behind me and looked at the secretary who looked back at me, unaware of what had happened behind the daunting door.
“That was a short meeting,” she said with a smile. “Are you ready for your presentation?”
I chuckled. “Yes,” I confirmed. “As ready as I can be.”
Epilogue
Chapter Thirty-Four
Emily
‘Miserable Existence’
Stefan kissed me deeply after we’d peaked together in the silk sheets of his king size bed. The luxurious bedding slid through my toes like butter on warm bread and I giggled as we reversed and rolled so that he was now on top of me.
“Dylan was a fool to let you walk out of his life,” Stefan mumbled kissing me again. I responded eagerly; but the mention of my ex’s name induced a flood of emotion to come crashing down on me. Again...
“He probably knew that you were screwing me on the side, Stef,” I said staring into the distance. “We probably never connected the way he said because of you. It’s been going on since college, despite my numerous attempts to shoo you away.”
Stefan chuckled. “No,” he corrected me. “The two of you just never connected, plain and simple. All I did was try to get you both to see that you were wasting each other’s time.” He paused and narrowed his dark brown eyes. “And if I remember correctly, the first time we screwed was because you seduced me in the parking lot behind the Student Union building on campus.”
“You shouldn’t have succumbed to my advances,” I suggested, recalling the incident very clearly.
“Right,” he agreed sarcastically. “Aside from that, the reason you couldn’t connect now was because of Laila Renaud. It had nothing to do with me.” He laughed, but I frowned.
I remembered Laila Renaud. She was the perky, enthusiastic intern I’d seen that morning at Dylan’s office. She was cute, gorgeous even... The way she looked at him that day, there had been no doubt in my mind that she wanted him. And there was no doubt in my mind that he wanted her more.
Dylan had embarrassed me that day at Hamilton Associates, so I decided to give him space. I’d let him pursue his hood rat fantasy. It wouldn’t be long before he realized that she wasn’t his type and that all she wanted was his money. He’d come crawling back, and of course I’d take him. I had been in love with Dylan since college. It didn’t matter if the feelings never seemed to have been reciprocated. He’d grow into us. He just needed time.
But the time was flying. It had been six months and I hadn’t seen or heard from him. My mind was going a million miles a minute.
I chewed the inside of my lip. “How is he?” I whispered.
Stefan shrugged and grabbed the remote from the nightstand and turned the television on. “He’s good,” he answered.
“Is he... still with her?”
“They’re still going strong,” he replied. “He had to navigate Carter and the Board of Directors, but no one dared oust him. He’s the million-dollar-man. Hamilton Associates is what it is because of him.”
My brow furrowed. “So it’s public?”
“What do you mean?”
“I figured if she meant nothing to him it would have been a low-key relationship.”
Stefan paused and turned the television off. He turned to look at me and the expression of his face caused a tremor to pass through my body.
“It’s a low-key relationship, right Stef? I mean... he’s not serious about her, is he?”
Stefan sighed and got out of the bed. He ran his hands over his face. “Emily, Dylan and Laila are getting married. He proposed to her a couple of months ago.”
I froze in the bed. “What?”
Stefan sat on the edge of the bed and took my hands in his. I ripped them out of his grasp.
“You’re lying to me, Stefan. Tell me that this is a joke!”
He dropped his head, scrubbing the back of his neck. “I wish I could, but I’m serious,” he said. “They’re planning a destination wedding in Rio. A small ceremony, close friends...” he shrugged. “I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, with a burst of energy, I jumped off the bed and rushed into the bathroom. Everything I’d eaten for dinner came up in a rigid flow. My eyes watered, and I hung onto the porcelain trying to wrap my mind around what Stefan had said.
Married?
He had never once considered marriage with me, I recalled. There had always been some reason for why it wasn’t the right time, yet the minute this wench walked into his life he’d started hearing wedding bells.
I flushed the toilet and splashed cold water over my face. The skin on my face was tight and my eyes stung. I walked back into the bedroom, where Stefan was staring at me.
“I was going to tell you,” he muttered.
“How could you let this happen?” I seethed.
“Emily, Dylan is my best friend and he is finally happy. Why the hell would I turn him away from true love?”
“Because I’m his true love,” I shouted in his face. I lowered my tone. “If I had thought, for one second, that this would happen, do you think I would have let him go? I would have gone to his job. I would have forced him to stay with me. I asked you what I should do, and you told me to give him space!” I gripped a vase of flowers from the bureau and pitched it across the room. The sound of the glass shattering against the wall fueled my rage. Water splattered everywhere and the blossoms plunged to the carpet.
“Emily –”
“Don’t ‘Emily’ me,” I warned him. I grabbed his shirt from a nearby chair and shoved my arms into it. I paced the floors, my knuckles set under my chin, trying to regain a sense of control.
“I need to get my man back,” I mumbled staring into the distance. I glared at Stefan “I’m going to get him back and you are going to help me do it.”
“Emily, you’re emotional and you’re not making sense. It’s over,” he said. He walked up to me and ran his hands down my trembling arms. “Dylan has moved on and he’s happy. You need to forget about him and let him live his life.”
“I am not forgetting about my man,” I shouted. “You are going to get him back or I swear to God, I’ll make your life more miserable than you could ever imagine.”
Stefan’s hands dropped, and he took a step back. “Really?” he challenged me. “So how do you propose I do that?” He folded his arms across his chest.
I took an angry step in his direction. “Simple,” I said through my teeth. “You break them up. And I don’t care what you have to make it happen. Either you bring the relationship between Laila Renaud and Dylan to an end,
or I’ll make you wish yours had come to one.”
About the Author
'Brooklyn Knight' is a romance enthusiast who lives in the island of Bermuda and has been writing stories since grade school. Over the years, her gift for designing and bringing characters to life has evolved, and she enjoys creating vivid, memorable characters and unforgettable situations.She is the mother of three, the wife of one, AND a Ph.D. student, which means she is extremely busy; however, she tries to carve out time to write every day.
Read more at Brooklyn Knight’s site.
Oui: A BWWM Romance (The French Connection Book 1) Page 21
