by Suzanne Hart
He looked over at Daddy’s limp body on the bed and drew in a deep breath.
“I’m not going to lie to you Ms. Crowley. You seem like you’re strong enough to handle the truth. There is still a fifty percent chance that he might not recover from this coma.”
His words were like a punch to my stomach. I was expecting him to say that. He’d already warned me about it before the surgery. Tears popped up in my eyes again and I sniffled, thrusting the tissue to my nose.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Crowley. I can’t make you any promises I can’t keep,” he said.
I nodded my head vigorously.
“Yes, of course. Thank you. Thank you for trying. I will always be grateful to you,” I said.
Doctor Sharma smiled weakly at me and then walked to the door.
“My advice to you, Ms. Crowley, would be to get on with your life as much as possible. It is out of our hands now,” he said, before he left.
I went over to Daddy’s bedside and held his hand. He was cold and rigid and I couldn’t help but break into tears again.
At least he was still alive, that was the only silver lining here. If I lost him… I would lose everyone. I would have nobody else in the world.
That was how I had always felt, even as a child.
I was too young to remember my mother, even though I had several photographs of us together. Ever since I was a kid, it was always just Daddy and me.
I’d grown up in the care of a nanny and a housekeeper who looked after the affairs of our home. Daddy worked a lot and he worked hard and I didn’t see him often. When I did, he was in a bad mood and dismissive of me.
I wanted to make him proud. I studied hard and stayed out of trouble because I wanted him to notice me. Over the years, when I grew up, he finally started to spend more time with me, but even then, our relationship had been formal and business-like.
It was like he never wanted to be at home, like our house reminded him of my mother. Did I remind him of my mother too? Was that why he was so hard on me?
My relationship with Daddy was what had made me strong. I had learned to fend for myself and to brush off sadness. Even though he hadn’t always played an active role in my life growing up, I still admired him. Even though I knew that he demanded too much of me, I looked up to him and wanted to please him.
Going on that trip to Europe was my first act of defiance. Up until then, I had done everything to make him happy. Now I felt like that defiance might have cost him his life. I felt selfish and guilty and I didn’t know if I could ever forgive myself.
And now I had done something else to disappoint him. Daddy was relying on me. He had trusted me with the care of his company, but I had managed to lose Julian Hunt. What were we going to do now?
Without Daddy’s guidance and his knowledge of the industry, how was I going to make it through this rough patch? I was sure that I would fail. That I would not be able to make it out of this with the company still alive.
Gathering myself again, I drew my hand away from Daddy. He hadn’t moved, he hadn’t even blinked. He was just lying there, stationary, and I had no idea if he could hear me or not.
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” I whispered and there was no movement.
“I’m sorry that mommy died, and I’m sorry that I couldn’t be the daughter you wanted me to be. I’ve messed up everything.” I sobbed.
The room was too quiet and it was deafening me. I had to go.
I kissed him on his forehead and picking up my purse, I ran out of the room.
The only thing I could do now was wait and hope another lucrative investor just fell out of the sky for us.
16
Julian
My plan was to catch Alan Crowley by surprise. If he was going to keep hiding from me, I was going to smoke him out.
So, this time when I visited the offices of Crowley Holdings, I didn’t make an appointment. I just showed up at the building, early in the morning… when the chances were best for me to find Alan in his office.
I zoomed past the reception desk and took the elevator to the eighth floor. When the doors opened, I saw the shocked expression on Rose Mitchell’s face.
“Mr. Hunt!” She exclaimed, and I knew I’d caught him. He had to be in his office.
“Good morning, Rose. I’m going to speak to Mr. Crowley now,” I said to her in a cheerful voice. Rose was walking with me, trying to keep up with my hurried pace as I made my way to the office.
“Mr. Hunt, Mr. Crowley isn’t in his office at the moment. Why don’t we fix up an appointment for later? When he’s available?” She said, but I kept walking ahead.
“Thank you for your consideration, Rose, but I’m going to speak to him today,” I said.
“Mr. Hunt, you cannot do this. Please don’t make me call security on you,” she warned, this time more firmly. I stopped in my tracks, just outside the doors of Alan Crowley’s office.
“Go right ahead, Rose. Call security,” I snapped and pushed the door open.
“Mr. Hunt!” She shrieked as the door flew open.
Instead of Alan, it was Lisa sitting at his desk. Just the way she was the last time I was here. Only this time, there was something different about her. She was crying.
She looked up at me, with a shocked expression on her face.
“I tried to stop him. Mr. Hunt, this is a private office. You can’t just barge in here like this!” Rose continued to speak beside me, while I stared at Lisa.
I was on a roll… up until this moment. When I saw her red cheeks and the tears streaming down her face, all my strength seemed to vanish. I gripped the door handle tightly, because I was fighting every urge to run to her and take her in my arms.
Lisa stood up slowly from her chair, wiping her cheeks with the tissues she had in her hands.
“It’s okay, Rose, please leave us alone,” she said.
I could see her damp eyelashes, and her makeup smudged on her cheeks. Despite all this, she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. Whatever else I thought of Lisa… I didn’t think she was weak. And now I was seeing her in all her weakness and it made me shudder. She had a strange effect on my senses. I was stunned to silence.
Rose shut the door behind her as she left, and Lisa met my eyes.
“What are you doing here?” She demanded, in a shaky voice.
“What is going on? Why are you crying?” I managed to say.
She dabbed at her cheeks with the tissues some more. Her eyes looked bloodshot and puffy. I could sense that she’d been crying for some time now. That was what Rose was trying to shield me from seeing.
Lisa shook her head.
“How does it matter to you? Can’t you see that my father isn’t here? Are you sure now that he’s not hiding from you?” She snapped. She was trying to be firm, but it was no use. I had already seen her at her weakest moment.
I strode towards her and she backed away from me.
“Where is he? What has happened to him?” I growled.
A cry escaped Lisa’s lips and she shook her head.
“Nothing. Nothing’s happened to him. I’m not crying because of him,” she tried.
I reached for her, gripping her by her arms. I wanted her to stop crying, because I couldn’t stand seeing her like this. But I didn’t know how to console her. I’d never consoled anyone before, especially not a woman who was crying like this.
“Stop lying to me, Lisa, and tell me the truth. What’s happened to your father?” I asked.
She was staring into my eyes now and I could see fear in them.
“Why should I tell you anything? You’ve been nothing but rude and high handed with me,” she hissed through her tears.
I had to clench my jaws. She was so close to me again and I wanted to kiss those tears away. She was right. I hadn’t done anything to make her trust me. I didn’t deserve her trust.
“Because I’m the only one who can help you. If there is something going on here, you need to tell me now. If you don’t, the d
eal is off,” I said.
Slowly, she wriggled herself out of my grip, and turned from me. I watched her as she stood by the window and looked out at the New York skyline.
“You know how to make a strong case,” she said, gulping down her tears.
I could only see her back now. She was wearing a blue pencil skirt that hugged her hips and ass tightly, her blouse was a milky white, just like her smooth complexion. She had tied her hair in a bun, but most of it had come loose and was falling around her face now.
“Lisa, it’s time you told me the truth,” I said, in a softer voice. There was no use fighting her on this. She turned to me; her eyes had softened too. Thankfully, she had managed to stop crying now and it eased me a little.
“I’m not supposed to be telling you anything,” she squeaked.
“You can make your own decisions, Lisa. You went to Wharton Business School, remember?” I said and offered her a gentle smile. She smiled too, but only for a moment and then looked down at her high heeled shoes. She was deciding what to do.
17
Lisa
Telling Julian anything would have been a mistake, but I could feel myself being drawn to him. Just the way he was looking at me… the strength in his grip when he held me tightly. Everything was making me want to confess it to him. I had been feeling so lost and alone. I’d come to the office in the morning and broken down in tears at the thought of Daddy still in that hospital room.
And now, Julian had seen me crying.
“Lisa?” He spoke softly, while I stared at my feet.
When I looked up at him, there were tears in my eyes again. I hadn’t said the words aloud yet.
“My father has been in an accident. He is in a coma, and he might never wake up from it.”
I held Julian’s gaze as I said the words and waited for a reaction from him. For a moment, he looked like he was in shock too, then his shoulders eased and he took two long steps towards me.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I cried and a loud sob escaped my lips.
I was in Julian’s arms within moments. He had pulled me to himself, wrapping his strong long arms around me and holding me to his chest. I had no idea why he was doing this. He wasn’t obligated to console me, neither was I expecting him to be this nice.
He hooked a finger under my chin and gently raised my face up so he could look into my eyes again.
“Tell me what happened, Lisa,” he said.
His voice was so calm and so gentle, that I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders all of a sudden. I wanted to tell him everything because it felt like he’d be able to make it better somehow.
“He was driving… I don’t know where. There was a man. A drunk man in a Land Rover. He hit Daddy’s car.”
The words were gushing out of me. I wasn’t even able to form complete sentences. Julian was peering into my eyes, listening to every word.
“When did this happen? What have the doctors said?” He asked.
“Three days… four days ago. I don’t… I was in Dublin. I wasn’t even here. They had to wait for me to get back so I could sign the forms for surgery.”
I was speaking to Julian, disclosing everything to him like we had known each other forever. He was holding me close to himself like he was trying to protect me. Nothing about this scene was normal.
“Okay, just breathe. Breathe, Lisa,” he commanded and tucked some loose strands of my hair behind my ears. I did as I was told and took in a few deep breaths.
“Good,” he said when my breathing had normalized a little.
“Did he have the surgery?” He asked and I nodded.
“And he hasn’t regained consciousness yet?”
“The doctor said there’s a fifty percent chance that he never will. And he might never walk again either,” I said and broke into another volley of sobs.
Julian pressed a hand to the back of my head, and before I knew what was happening, he had pulled me to himself, placing my head on his chest. I tried to stop crying, but instead, buried my face in his chest and held on to him for life.
He was stroking my hair, slowly lulling me into a sense of calm. I had no idea how long we’d been like that, how long I’d been crying. When I finally looked up at him, he brought his face down to me and gently grazed my lips with his.
I was hungry for him. I was ravenous.
I gasped and dug my nails into his arms, raising myself on my toes so our lips could collide.
His hand slid down to my waist, gripping me tightly while our lips fuzed and I could taste him. My eyes fluttered shut and all my cries had vanished. In that moment, kissing him felt like the right thing to do. Julian leaned into me and I lifted my hands up to his face. We were both holding on to each other. His tongue slipped in my mouth and I moved my lips over his, devouring him.
Nothing had ever felt this good before. It was like all the nerves in my body were dancing, I was lit up from the inside. My body didn’t even feel like my own.
Gasping for air, I pulled myself away from him. Julian looked at me with surprise in his eyes and the reality of the situation came crashing down on me.
I jerked myself away from him.
“This shouldn’t have happened!” I said. My voice was sizzling when I spoke.
I was still breathing hard and I could see Julian’s chest rising and falling too.
“Do you want me to take it back?” He asked with a smirk and held his hand out to me.
I threw him a look of warning and rushed back to the desk.
“You need to leave right now,” I said and Julian straightened himself. He had a mocking look in his eyes. Like somehow, he thought he had won this game.
“But now I know something about you that you are trying to hide from everyone else,” he said.
I was sitting upright at the desk, trying not to explode into a million pieces. He was right. In my moment of weakness, I had disclosed something to him that I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.
“What are you going to do with that information?” I asked him and he shrugged.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he replied and he was smiling as he pushed a hand into the pocket of his pants.
I felt like I might burst into tears again. I’d made this whole situation worse. It seemed like lately I couldn’t do a single thing right.
Telling Julian was a mistake. So was kissing him.
“My father is in the hospital right now. He is literally dying. And you’re going to use this information as leverage?” I asked, my voice was cracking as I spoke.
The grin drooped on Julian’s face.
“You want this information to stay under covers because you know it’ll affect your share prices,” he stated. He was smart. He’d figured it out himself. I didn’t reply to him because we both knew that was the fact.
“And you’ve been chasing me, and trying to get me to buy the shares because having me on board will stabilize your shares,” he continued.
He wasn’t joking around anymore. Finally, he was talking business with me.
“Yes. You showed interest in us before. You set up a meeting with my father, and I want you to carry that forward with me.”
It was my last ditched attempt at trying to save the company. If Julian agreed to buy the shares, our company would be rescued.
He was holding my gaze firmly.
“And why would I want to buy shares of a company whose CEO could be dead in a few days?” He asked.
His words hit me like daggers straight to my heart. I couldn’t believe he could be so cold. Just moments ago, when he held me, when he was stroking my hair… I felt like no man had ever been gentler than him. And now he was back to being the cold hearted beast I knew.
“My father will make it,” I said.
“You said it yourself. He might never come out of that coma. He might never walk again.”
Julian’s eyes were dark and stormy. This was the business side of him, the uncaring successful self-made man he
had warned me against. Rose had told me too, that Julian Hunt’s reputation on Wall Street was unparalleled. He was an animal as far as profit was concerned. How was I ever going to stand up to him?
“I want you to help us, because you wanted to buy the shares before. If I hadn’t told you the truth about my father’s accident, you would have bought the shares anyway,” I retorted and Julian shook his head.
“I am not stupid enough to buy anything without proper research. I wouldn’t have bought it till I’d seen Alan face to face. I know what the consequences are of shoddy business. I learnt it the hard way.”
My throat had gone dry. I could still feel my body shuddering at the thought of his lips on mine, and at the same time, I wanted to hate him.
“Then you should leave right now,” I said.
“Yes, I’m going to,” he replied.
Without another word, Julian was gone. He left me standing in the office, feeling miserable and more lost than when he’d first found me.
Now, I had well and truly ruined everything. I had given him the power to completely destroy us.
18
Julian
Back in my office, I should have been pleased that Alan Crowley was suffering. Fate had brought him to an end which was sweeter than any revenge I could bring to him. He was lying in a hospital, paralyzed and in a coma—and that was what he deserved.
But why wasn’t I feeling as victorious as I should have?
It was Lisa.
It was because I had seen her cry. I had no idea what her relationship with her father was, but I could see that his accident had upset her. She was shattered, and I couldn’t stand to see her like that.
I’d walked away from her office with a threat. She had no idea what I was going to do next. I knew I had emotionally manipulated a weak moment to find out the truth from her, and now I could use it to destroy the company. If word got out that Alan Crowley was in a coma, there would be no value in the company anymore. I now had the power I needed. Right in my hands. All I had to do was pick up the phone and spread the news.
