by Suzanne Hart
There was a nurse in there with him, checking all the tubes and monitors that were attached to him.
“Miss, you can’t be in here. He needs to rest,” the nurse said while I burst into tears. Rose came in behind me and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Please, just give her a few minutes. You should also get Doctor Sharma and let him know that Mr. Crowley’s daughter is here.” Rose did all the talking in the room.
The nurse left and I fell to the floor, crouching down beside Daddy’s hospital bed. I had never seen him look so frail and pale before. He was still unconscious, and the only sounds in the room were those of his monitors beeping, and my sobs.
His head was bandaged, and there were bruises and cuts all over his body. He was lying completely still and I wondered with horror how he was still alive. His face looked swollen and his eyes were tightly shut. His lips looked blue and pale and this man on the bed didn’t even look like the father I knew.
“This can’t be happening. How did this happen? Daddy is such a careful driver,” I sobbed. Rose continued to pat my shoulder affectionately.
“The other guy was drunk,” she said and I snapped around to glare at her.
“I’m going to kill him. I’ll kill him!” I cried and she wrapped her arms tightly around me.
“Right now, Lisa, you have other things to worry about. We can sue later. That’s what we’ll do. But now, we need to focus on your father’s recovery,” she said, softly. I didn’t know Rose very well. I only saw her when I visited my father at the office, but I cried on her shoulder now like I’d known her forever.
Moments later, the nurse came into the room again, followed by the doctor who had a file in his hands.
“Ms. Crowley, I’m Doctor Sharma. I’m a spinal surgeon and I’ll be operating on your father once you sign these papers,” he said and we shook hands. I could barely keep standing.
“I’ll sign it,” I said and snatched the file away from his hand.
“First, Ms. Crowley, I would like to go over the details of the surgery, and the risks involved. Would you like to step outside with me so we can discuss it?” He continued.
I snapped a look at him.
“You don’t have to sugarcoat it for me, Doctor. Tell me now. What happens if he doesn’t get the surgery?” I asked him.
He sighed.
“There is a chance that he might never regain consciousness and will remain paralyzed forever,” he replied, clenching his jaws.
“And what is the worst that can happen if he gets this surgery?” I asked.
“He might never regain consciousness and might remain paralyzed. There is also a chance that he might not make it out of surgery,” he said.
I stared at him, with tears still streaming down my cheeks. Then I looked down at the papers in my hand and signed on the dotted lines.
“Well, I can’t just sit here and do nothing. The least we can do is try,” I said, handing the file back to the doctor.
I didn’t know where I’d found the strength to do this. How I had even managed to make this split-second decision. My hands were trembling and I watched with horror as the nurse started to wheel my father’s bed out of the room.
The doctor extended his hand to me again.
“You’re a brave young woman, Ms. Crowley. I will do everything I can for your father,” he said and with that, he was gone.
Rose reached for my hand and squeezed it tightly.
“All we can do now is pray, Lisa,” she whispered. We were both just standing there and staring at the door. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. That I was so close to losing another parent. Had I made the right decision? Was this surgery worth the risk of losing his life?
“Lisa, you have to come with me now,” Rose’s voice broke through my thoughts again.
“Go with you where?” I stared at her like I was in a daze.
“To your father’s office. You will have to take over for him, that was what he always wanted,” Rose continued.
I was shaking my head. This was all happening too fast.
“I can’t. I have to be here with him, I have to…”
“Lisa, the surgery is six hours long. In the meantime, you need to take over the reins for him. There are… some issues at the office that need to be looked after. With Mr. Crowley gone, you will have to make some important decisions,” Rose said.
“Decisions? What issues? I don’t know what to do here. I can’t make decisions for him!” I said, covering my mouth with my hands in alarm.
“You just did, Lisa. You just made the decision to send him to surgery and you made the right one. You can do this. He’s relying on you. We are all relying on you,” Rose continued.
My throat felt very dry and I could barely breathe. Everything had come crashing down around me in the span of just a few hours. Not only was there a chance that I might lose my father, but now I had no choice but to take his place as the head of Crowley Holdings.
8
Julian
All I had to do to lose my temper again, was to walk into the offices of Crowley Holdings. I’d tried to calm myself over the weekend and I thought it had worked. The moment I saw Crowley Holdings emblazoned on the building outside though, my blood was boiling again.
I was itching to come face to face with the man himself. To make him physically regret every decision he had ever made, including turning me away. Gathering myself, I walked into the building and at the reception desk, was told to take the elevator up to the eighth floor.
Twelve years ago when I’d walked into this building and headed up to Alan Crowley’s office, I was nervous and sweating. Now, this place didn’t intimidate me any longer. I was capable of buying this entire company with one signature on a dotted line.
I walked towards the elevator, where I saw a woman waiting there already. I’d been thinking vicious thoughts in my head all this while, but the moment I saw her, all my attention was focused on her in an instance.
She hadn’t seen me yet. She was looking up at the glowing sign above the elevator, watching it slowly make its way down to us. What I first noticed about her, was her body.
She was wearing a pair of tight pinstriped pants, which accentuated every curve and inch of her legs. It stretched tightly over her thighs. She was wearing a white silk blouse tucked in, with fashionable ruffled sleeves. Her body was voluptuous and yet firm. Her breasts made the blouse stretch and I saw a hint of a cleavage. She must have sensed me looking when I came to a stop beside her, because she whipped her face around to me.
Now that I could see her eyes, I saw tension in them. She had been thinking about something important.
She had wide brown eyes and dark long lashes. She blinked at me as if in a daze and we stared at each other for a few moments. I realized she was still lost in thought. She had barely registered my presence there.
She’d tied her dark hair in a formal sleek bun at the back of her head. A delicate fringe framed her face, covering her forehead. She looked too young to be dressed like this, to work in a place like this. I figured she was an intern.
The elevator doors pinged open and we stepped aside to let people stream out. Then, it was just the two of us and I held the door for her so she could step in. When I followed her, she punched the eighth floor button, without asking me where I was going.
“Thinking about something?” I asked, when the doors closed. She’d turned her face away from me, but now she looked at me again with her brows crossed.
“Excuse me?” She said. Her voice was young too, soft and husky. Everything about her was sexy, and I had forgotten all about Alan Crowley and what I was doing here in this building.
“You look a little lost in thought,” I replied, and she started to look annoyed now. This was not the usual reaction I got from women I started a conversation with.
“Sorry, do I know you?” She asked, irritably.
“I suppose you don’t,” I said, smiling as I pushed a hand into the pocket of my
pants. She rolled her eyes and looked away from me again.
“Sorry if I offended you with my curiosity,” I said, unable to resist the temptation of hearing her voice again. This time when she turned her head around to look at me, she seemed genuinely upset.
“An office elevator isn’t exactly the place to pick up women. Go to a bar or something if you’re that desperate,” she snapped. My brows rose up in my forehead with surprise. Either I’d caught her in a really bad mood, or this woman was just a testy creature. Either way, she had intrigued me. I should have been offended by her behavior, but instead, I was determined to make her smile.
“Are you saying I should ask you to join me for a drink?” I asked and she clenched her jaws with irritation.
“No. That is definitely not what I’m saying!”
I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling. For some reason, she was charming when she got mad. Her nose scrunched up with annoyance and her cheeks flushed to an irresistible red.
“Sorry, I must have misunderstood you,” I said and she crossed her arms over her breasts.
“Yes, you have. I’m not surprised. Men like you expect women to fall to their feet begging for more,” she said.
“Men like me?” I asked, finding this more hilarious with every passing second.
She looked over me, like she was assessing my hair and my clothes and my shoes.
“Men like you, with your smiles and your Rolex and your perfect hair,” she said and I laughed some more.
“Thank you for noticing. I thought I did a good job with my hair today. I’m glad you like it,” I said as the elevator doors opened again.
She rolled her eyes and rushed out in front of me. I followed her, giving her some space. She didn’t look over at me again, walking straight ahead and in a rush like she wanted to get far away from me. I watched her ass move in those tight pants and I felt a movement in my own pants.
Something told me that I was going to see this woman again. This was not how our story was going to end.
“Mr. Hunt!” A woman came towards me, with a pile of files in her hands. “I’m Rose, Mr. Crowley’s secretary. I’m afraid he will not be able to see you today,” she continued as I turned to her.
“Excuse me? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I growled.
“Mr. Crowley, at the moment, is indisposed,” this woman called Rose replied, who I suspected was his personal secretary.
“We had a meeting set up for today,” I said and looked at my watch, “in three minutes.”
Rose was nodding her head. “I understand, Sir, however, something urgent came up and he will not be able to meet with you today. His daughter, Lisa Crowley, will be meeting with you instead.”
I squinted angrily at Rose and shook my head.
“I am not interested in meeting with his daughter, or anyone else. I came here to have a meeting with Alan Crowley and you can tell him that this is not acceptable or professional,” I growled.
There were other people on the floor who were sitting at their desks and watching us. I didn’t care who heard me or if I was making a scene. My patience had reached its limits.
“Mr. Hunt, I would appreciate it if you kept your voice down.”
That same husky voice of the woman from the elevator pierced through the air. She’d raised her voice to make herself heard across the floor. When I looked up, I saw her standing at the door of the office which had Alan Crowley’s name.
My gaze rested on her face and I realized who she was. She was that imbecile’s daughter. I clenched my jaws, suddenly not very interested in speaking with her. The moment I associated her with Alan Crowley, all my attraction to her was numbed.
Her heels clicked on the floor as she took a few steps in my direction.
“Please, Mr. Hunt, follow me here where we can speak in private,” she said. She was speaking to me softly now, in a way that made it seem that she was confident she could handle me.
Who the fuck did she think she was?
We were glaring at each other.
“This is…” Rose began to introduce us, but I interrupted her.
“I can guess who she is,” I snapped.
“Lisa Crowley,” she said, stretching her hand out to me. I shook her hand and then she turned on her heels. Even though I didn’t want to encourage her, now I had no choice but to follow her to the office.
Once again, I found my gaze drifting to her ass and the way it moved; to her slight back and her gorgeous hour-glass figure. Once in the office, she shut the door behind us and walked over to the desk.
I remembered this room well. It was where I used to meet with Alan Crowley before. In twelve years, nothing had changed here.
“Mr. Hunt, please have a seat,” she said, sitting down on her father’s chair. I had no intention of sitting down. I stood in the middle of the room, still steaming in my own anger.
“Where is he? Where is he cowering from me?” I snarled.
Lisa looked surprised to hear my words. Had he not told her who I was?
“I don’t understand what you mean. Why would my father be cowering from you?”
I clenched my jaws in order to control my rage.
“I demand to know where he is and why I wasn’t informed of this cancellation.”
“As Rose tried to explain to you, Mr. Hunt, something came up and my father had to rush out. I’m in-charge for the day, or for a few days now, so if you’d like to sit down, we can begin with the meeting,” Lisa said. She was speaking calmly, with a strange coolness. Just a few minutes ago in the elevator, she looked lost and now she seemed to know exactly what she was doing.
But I wasn’t buying it. If Alan Crowley’s plan was to weaken me through his daughter, it wasn’t going to work.
“I came here to do business with your father, and he is the only one I’m going to do it with. So until he agrees to personally meet with me, there is no deal.”
Lisa stood up from her chair.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hunt, Julian… can I call you that?” I didn’t reply. “Julian it is, then. You see, like I was trying to explain, it was an emergency. I still haven’t caught up with everything here. So, I’m not fully aware of what deal you’re talking about, but I can assure you I want to help in any way that I can,” Lisa said.
I had to hand it to her—she knew how to be professional and firm. For a girl who looked as young as she did, she definitely knew how to handle herself.
I smirked, sarcastically.
“He’s put you in this room and hasn’t filled you in on what you’re supposed to be doing? Figures.”
With that, I turned from her and made to walk to the door.
“Julian! I would appreciate it if you could give me just a few minutes. I’m sure if my father had the chance… and when he does… he will fill me in. Right now, I would like to continue his business affairs and I would like to continue this meeting with you,” she said.
Suddenly, I saw a hint of sadness mixed with desperation in her eyes again. I felt confused by that. One moment she seemed so confident, and in the next, she looked lost again. But I wasn’t going to fall for that. Lisa Crowley definitely wasn’t the kind of girl who needed my help. I figured this was all a ploy by Alan Crowley to get out of a meeting with me. He was too embarrassed to even show me his face.
“You should let your father know that this isn’t over. He isn’t getting rid of me this easily,” I snapped and opened the door. I gave her one last look of determination and then I had walked out of the office.
Lisa Crowley had stirred something in me but I would have to forget about it because she was the daughter of my nemesis.
9
Lisa
The big meeting that Rose had tried to prepare me for, lasted a shocking five minutes and now Julian Hunt had walked out of my father’s office. I was left standing there by the desk, still trying to gather my wits about me.
The fact was that he had destabilized me. First in the elevator, when I didn’t know w
ho he was and now in the office, by attacking me and Daddy.
In the elevator, he’d caught me by surprise. I had no idea who he was, and I realized that his good looks and that sexy woody cologne he was wearing… were distracting me from focusing on the meeting I was supposed to attend. Little did I know that he was the man I was supposed to meet.
And then, when I did manage to get him in the office, I had no idea what he was so mad about.
I couldn’t tell him about Daddy, or what was really going on because we had decided—Rose and the other board members, that Daddy’s accident would have to be kept a secret. If word got out that my father was fighting for his life in the hospital, it would bring our share prices crashing down.
All this was new to me. Before Daddy’s accident, and before Rose had shown me all the finances—I had no idea the kind of trouble the company was in. I had no idea that Daddy was trying to sell all our shares in a mass sale. It was the only way to rescue the company from bankruptcy.
Rose had informed me that Julian Hunt, the man I was supposed to be meeting, was a potential buyer. All I knew about him was that if he bought our shares and became a major board member, he would be able to rescue our company from the situation it was in. So, I knew he was important.
However, for some reason, this man seemed to detest me.
I was still lost in thought several minutes after he had left the office. It had all happened so quickly that I didn’t have a chance to react properly. But somehow, I managed to snap myself out of it.
“Lisa…” Rose came to my door but I pushed past her.
“Where is he? Where did he go?” I asked, while I ran to the elevator.
“He’s left the building,” I heard someone say. Instead of waiting for the elevator, I ran down the stairs.
I wasn’t going to allow the company to go into bankruptcy while my father was fighting for his life. This was not the kind of work I planned on doing, but I did not want the company to collapse on my watch. If my father and the other board members seemed to think that this Julian Hunt would be able to save us… then I would have to do everything I could to keep him on board.
