by Chelle Bliss
I still can’t fathom an “us” in the future. We’re competitors by nature and circumstance. After leaving the island, I let myself believe for a moment that it was possible, but it’s just a whimsical fantasy I let myself buy into.
“Stay with me tonight?” I whisper into his chest.
He flattens his palm against my back, pulling me closer as he settles into the mattress. “Close your eyes, mi amore.”
I let my eyes close, content in his arms, surrounded by his warmth and strength. The sound of his heart and the softness of his fingertips skating across my skin lulls me into a sleep like I haven’t experienced in years.
When I open my eyes and roll over, I blink a few times and stare at the clock. I blink again, figuring I’m still dreaming. Ten. I bolt straight up, and my arms begin to throb. For a moment, I think I’m late to work, until the events of the last few days slam straight into me.
Trent.
The cabin.
Blood.
I can barely control my breathing as the visuals flash through my mind, and every emotion I’ve felt since he choked me hits me all at once. I cradle my face in my hands and let myself feel everything. The fear. The sadness. The shock. The joy.
I will not allow myself to wallow in self-pity. I’ve never been a victim, and I don’t plan on starting now. I let myself cry as I sit here alone for these few minutes. That’s all I have in me to give to a man like Trent and what he put me through. It’s in the past and completely behind me. I refuse to dwell on what happened for too long because I’m unwilling to lose who I am at my core.
I’m Lauren Bradley. First female CEO of one of the biggest aerospace companies in the world. I’m a force unto myself, and no man, not even Antonio Forte, can stop me from achieving my goal.
Repeating the words like a mantra, I sit up a little straighter and wipe away the tears. In the quietness of the room, I hear Antonio’s voice, distant and muffled.
Pushing myself up, I pad across the carpet, trying to hear his conversation, but the door garbles the sound too much. Slowly, I turn the handle and try to avoid making a sound before I tiptoe down the hallway toward his voice.
“Is it done?” he asks a man on the phone.
He’s pacing the kitchen in his polished black suit and red tie. He looks so handsome as he rakes his hand through his hair, stopping in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and looking out across the city.
“We’ll call a press conference soon enough. Just sit tight. I’m about to head into the office,” Antonio states with his back to me.
I plaster my body against the wall and grip the cold surface for support. I feel like someone has sucker-punched me right in the stomach.
How could Antonio move forward without me? If he truly wanted something more with me, why would he lie straight to my face?
It’s not the first time he’s lied.
He still hasn’t told me who the mole was that sold us out to Cozza in the first place, even though he signed the contract which clearly stated he would reveal the name after our weekend had concluded.
I walk toward the bedroom, my legs shaking as I use the walls for support. Once inside, I close the door before crawling back into bed and covering my face with the blanket.
All the men in my life are turning out to be two-faced. They’re liars and psychopaths, and I fell for both of them.
“Lauren,” Antonio calls out as he gently knocks on the door.
I close my eyes, unwilling to look at him. I do what I did in the dark room at Trent’s cabin, I pretend to be asleep. The door opens, and for a minute, I hold my breath, waiting for him to walk closer.
Go away.
I’m sick of being let down by the men in my life. The only male I could ever depend on was my father, and he’s no longer here to hold my hand and guide me.
When the door closes and Antonio’s footsteps grow quieter as he walks down the hallway, I finally allow myself to take a deep breath and sprawl out across the bed.
“Fuck him,” I whisper.
How dare he do this to me?
I kick the blankets off in a fury, ready to face the world.
Chapter Six
ANTONIO
Even though I’m sitting in the boardroom surrounded by a table full of the top executives at Cozza, I can’t focus on the discussion no matter how hard I try. I hate that I left Lauren today. I should’ve stayed and at least waited for her to wake up.
What kind of asshole leaves his girl behind after the events of the last few days because he has to go into work? Me. As the CEO of Cozza, I have the ability to leave everything in the hands of my team, but the merger with Interstellar is too important for me not to watch it play out.
As part of the merger, I want to ensure that Lauren is given the highest position. She’s earned it and deserves it above everyone else. With the completion of the Mercury engine, no one’s going to disagree. I needed to come in to make sure that Carlino or Josh didn’t find a way to inch her out of a job she’s clearly earned.
“Who will head the new company?” Carlino asks right on cue.
My eyes dart to him and narrow as I lean back in my chair, waiting to hear what everyone else has to say before I give my opinion.
“I think Mr. Forte should still be CEO,” Mr. Fiorentino, the oldest and most respected member, states. “That would make the most sense.”
“Yes,” Piper McKay, our most recent addition, adds as he twirls his pen between his fingertips. “He has the most experience and has brought Cozza to the top and maintained our position there for more than a decade.”
When Piper joined the board of Cozza, I figured he’d just sit around the table nodding, without adding anything to the conversation. He received his position through his father, the CEO before me. After he graduated from Northwestern with a degree in business, his father felt he should get his feet wet at Cozza.
Carlino leans forward and clears his throat. “Maybe it’s time we allow someone else to take the new company in an even bigger direction.”
I smile at Carlino because he’s so predictable. I knew the man would take any opportunity to stab me in the back. He’s baggage we can no longer afford to carry. If Lauren’s to head the new company, he’s going to be out on his ass before the ink is dry on the new deal.
“Ludicrous,” Fiorentino barks. “What you’re suggesting would be a quick way for this company’s stock to tank as soon as the merger is complete. We need stability in the newly formed company, not a complete shake-up.”
“I have just as much experience as Mr. Forte, and I have worked by his side for years. I could do the job just as well, if not better, than he does. Plus, I don’t have any distractions, unlike Mr. Forte, and I could devote all of my time to Cozza Interstellar.”
I crack my knuckles before resting my elbows on the table. “You’re right about one thing, Carlino.” I take a deep breath, and every person around the table gawks at me. “There should be someone new as the CEO of Cozza Interstellar, but it shouldn’t be you.”
“That’s bullshit, Antonio, and you know it.”
I smirk. “What I know, Carlino—” His name slides off my tongue as if I just hurled an insult in his direction. “Is that you’d sell out your mother, not to mention your CEO and this company, if it meant you’d get a higher position. You’re a fame whore.”
He rises to his feet and slams his fist against the table, causing all the water glasses to bounce. “I am not.”
“You’re the one who went in search of insider information and paid off someone at Interstellar against my orders.”
He’s still standing, hovering over the table like a caged beast. The vein that runs down the middle of his forehead pulses and looks like it’s ready to burst. “I made this deal happen. Whether you like how I achieved the goal isn’t in question. The future of this company is at stake, and maybe you’re not the man we need to bring us into the future.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” I rise from my seat at the h
ead of the table and walk behind the board members. Moving slowly, I touch the top of each seat as I pass. “I no longer wish to be CEO of Cozza Interstellar. I’ve taken the company to the top, and it’s still my main priority to keep us there. But there’s someone else who has more vision and, frankly, balls to take us in the right direction and keep us rising for many years to come.”
Carlino’s eyes bulge, and that vein gets a little closer to exploding.
I smile at him as I walk past and keep my slow, steady pace around the table. “Moving forward, I’d like to take on the role of COO of the combined company and be second-in-command to the new CEO. Based on everything I know about this business from my years of experience and documented success, the new CEO needs to be a visionary.”
“Mr. Forte, you have been our visionary for more years than I’ve been a member of this board. What makes you think you’re not the best person for the job?” Piper asks.
“I could do the job, Piper. Without a doubt, I could remain CEO and maintain the greatness of this company. But I think someone else will help us achieve things I never thought possible.”
“Don’t say it.” Carlino bares his teeth.
I shake my head. “I’d like to put Lauren Bradley up for consideration as CEO of Cozza Interstellar as soon as the new company is formed. I’d willingly take the second-in-command role and work side by side with Ms. Bradley, a true visionary, to catapult us into the future.”
“He’s sleeping with her,” Carlino blurts out in front of the entire room.
The look of shock on the board members’ faces matches my own. “My personal feelings for Ms. Bradley have nothing to do with my decision.”
Piper’s fingers stop moving, and the pen falls to the table. “So, you are sleeping with her?”
“Whatever has or hasn’t happened in my personal life has no bearing on my decision. Ms. Bradley did something no one else has done.” I look down the table at the other members and grip the top of my chair. “She developed an engine that doesn’t require fuel. She changed a system that had remained the same for almost one hundred years. She did something we’ve never been able to do in the time since Cozza began more than fifty years ago. She’s the one who should lead us forward because of her vision.”
Mr. Fiorentino rubs his forehead and lets out a loud, exasperated sigh. “We have many things to consider before this deal goes through. We’ll take all information into consideration before we reach an agreement, but Ms. Bradley has shown that she has the ability to lead the new corporation. With you by her side, I don’t see where we can go wrong.”
“Agreed,” Piper says, followed by the other less talkative members sitting around the table.
“I will only step down if Ms. Bradley is given the position. Then I would resume the role of COO, which I held previously.”
“Where does that leave me?” Carlino asks, practically seething.
“I heard Boeing is looking for some help,” I reply with a smirk that isn’t missed by Carlino or the other members. “We need to have a team who has the company’s best interests at heart, not their own.”
“I won’t stand for this, Antonio. I’ll make sure that you and your side piece…”
“This is the attitude I referred to. I didn’t hear a word about Cozza in those last two sentences, just ‘I.’ This company is bigger and more important than one person.”
Carlino stalks out of the room, slamming the door behind him as the board members watch in horror.
“I’m very sorry you had to witness that, ladies and gentlemen. I thank you for your time today and for considering my request to place Ms. Bradley in charge of Cozza Interstellar. Remember, her board must agree to the merger too in order for the deal to go through. I’m sure they’d feel more comfortable knowing she would retain her position. If the deal falls through, they’ll become the new number one as soon as their engine gets into full production. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to attend to a few things.”
I leave them all to talk amongst themselves and step into the hallway to call Lauren. When there’s no answer, I call Cassie.
“Ms. Bradley’s office,” she answers.
“Have you heard from Ms. Bradley today?”
“She’s here, sir, but I’m under strict orders not to put your calls through.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. She muttered something about the merger when she walked in, and now she’s meeting with Mr. Goldman.”
“Fuck,” I hiss, gripping my cracked screen so tightly that the glass digs into my fingertips. “I’ll be right there.”
“Good luck,” she says before she hangs up.
The last time Lauren and I discussed business, before she disappeared, the deal had just been placed before her. She hadn’t even had a chance to give her blessing before Trent ripped her away from her life. And I put Mr. Goldman and Carlino in charge of everything without taking into account how she’d feel about everything.
I should’ve been honest with her. This morning before I left, I should’ve told her that the merger was moving forward and explained how I planned to make her the new CEO and that I’d be her second-in-command.
I fucked up, and now I have to make things right.
LAUREN
I’m tapping my pen against the pad of paper as I stare at Josh. It’s the only thing I can do to stop myself from lunging across the desk and wrapping my hands around his throat until I choke the life out of him.
“I did it for the company,” he says, nervously rubbing his palms against the armrests of the chair. “I swear.”
He can repeat that a million times, and I’d never believe it. Josh is out for number one, just like everyone else in this building. In a way, so am I, but it’s to fulfill my father’s dream and not to gain corporate fame and wealth.
I point at the door without looking him in the eyes. “Get out.”
“Lauren.”
“Out, Josh.”
Josh pauses in the doorway, but he leaves when I don’t look in his direction.
I have nothing left. I don’t even have the energy to yell. I’m spent from the last few days, and Josh’s and Antonio’s betrayals just add to the sting of Trent’s heinous act.
“Ma’am.” Cassie’s voice comes through the speaker on my desktop telephone. “Tara’s on the phone for you.”
“Put her through, Cassie.” I lift the receiver to my ear because I know Tara’s going to be Tara, therefore loud and probably spewing profanity like a late-night comic.
“Jesus Christ,” she says before I’ve even had a chance to say hello.
“What?” My voice is defensive even though I knew she was going to give me an earful as soon as I picked up the phone.
“Last night you told me you were taking the day off. Now you’re at fucking work? Dude,” she groans loudly. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I’ve been gone too long as it is. I couldn’t take another day.”
“Bullshit,” she barks. “You’re a workaholic. You were kidnapped, for shit’s sake. The last place you should be is in that hostile work environment.”
“It’s not hostile.”
“Babe, it’s like the Hunger Games without the shiny weapons. I’m going to call Antonio.”
“No!” Every muscle in my body tenses.
“Why not?”
Ugh. The last thing I want is to have this conversation with Tara. There’s too much on my plate to explain everything that happened this morning.
“I can’t trust him, Tara. Leave it at that.”
“I don’t know what messed-up shit is going on in that pretty little head of yours, but the man tracked you down in another country and rescued you from a lunatic.”
“I know.”
What else is there to say? He did that, but that doesn’t mean he did it for the right reasons. It doesn’t matter that he saved my life when he’s trying to ruin my company and my career in the process.
“Besides me, he’s probably
the only person you can trust, Lauren.”
“I gotta run. I’m late for a meeting.”
She starts to say something, but I hang up before she gets more than a few words out of her mouth. I’m well aware of everything Antonio has done for me, and I’m grateful, but that doesn’t mean he’s earned the right to have free rein over my entire life or my company.
Chapter Seven
ANTONIO
“I wouldn’t go in there,” Cassie says, stepping in front of me just as I reach for the handle of Lauren’s office door.
I stare down at her, trying to control my anger that’s about to boil over. “Cassie,” I say, trying to plaster a fake smile on my face. “I know you’re doing what you think is best for Lauren, but she shouldn’t be here right now.”
“I know.” Her lips purse, and she takes a deep breath. “I told her that already, Mr. Forte, but she told me to keep my opinions to myself.”
I rest my hands on her shoulders and give them a light squeeze. “Let me just talk to her for a minute. Maybe I can talk some sense into her.”
“She gave me strict orders not to let you anywhere near her office.”
“So, walk away, and I’ll let myself in.”
Cassie nibbles on the corner of her bottom lip, staring up at me. “I don’t know.”
“Just go,” I tell her because I’m going into the office even if I have to pick Cassie up and set her aside. No one is going to keep me from Lauren, even her tiny pit bull of an assistant.
“I’m going to trust you because you brought her back safe. But this is a one-time deal, Mr. Forte. I never go against Ms. Bradley’s wishes, but I will this once because she shouldn’t be here today.”
“Thank you, Cassie.” I smile, giving her shoulders another light squeeze. “I promise you won’t regret it.”
She hesitates for a moment before she backs up, keeping her eyes locked with mine. “I won’t be far,” she says.
I knock lightly before opening the door. “Lauren.” I gaze at her as she sits at her desk with the sunlight streaming through the windows, bathing her in light.
