Novel-novel oleh Sharon Rae

I stared at him, seeing the fear behind the question. The same fear I'd felt earlier when he'd sent me to face the board alone. The fear that power might be more important than want."You really don't know, do you?""Know what?"Instead of answering, I kissed him. Hard and desperate and full of everything I couldn't quite put into words. When we broke apart, we were both breathing heavily."I need you," I said against his lips, "because you're the only person in the world who knew exactly who I was before I had any power at all.""Scarlett—""I need you because you believed in me when I was nobody. Because you stood by me when everyone else wanted me gone. Because you carried me to safety when I was broken and helped me become strong enough to fight back."My hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer. "I need you because you're the only person who's ever looked at me and seen something worth protecting instead of something worth using.""You don't need protection anymore.""No, I

"I want to hire Titan Security," I said, placing the contract on the kitchen island where Dominic was making coffee. "Full investigation package. Complete background workup. Financial forensics. The works."He paused, coffee cup halfway to his lips. "Titan? That's not cheap, Scarlett. They charge more per day than most people make in a year.""Good thing I just inherited 2.8 billion dollars then."The number hung between us like a wall I hadn't meant to build. Yesterday, we'd been partners fighting the same war. Today, I could buy his entire empire three times over and still have change left for a small country."Who's the target?" he asked, setting down his cup."Your mother."The silence that followed was so complete I could hear the hum of the refrigerator, the distant sound of traffic sixty floors below, the rhythm of my own heartbeat."Scarlett—""She tried to have me poisoned, Dominic. She worked with Blake to destroy my life. She's been planning my death since the moment we got

The boardroom felt different this time.Maybe it was because Marcus Blackstone was sitting in a federal holding cell instead of plotting my destruction. Maybe it was because the Van Alston stock price had soared thirty percent overnight once news of his arrest hit the markets. Or maybe it was simply because I walked in knowing I belonged here.Twelve faces looked at me with expressions ranging from admiration to resignation. Even Maeve couldn't quite manage her usual hostility, though she was clearly trying."The vote is straightforward," Richard Morrison said, consulting the documents spread in front of him. "Victoria Van Alston's will specifies that upon proof of identity and demonstration of competency, her granddaughter inherits full controlling interest in Van Alston Industries.""Along with all subsidiary holdings," Catherine Mills added, pulling up financial projections on her tablet. "Twelve companies across six countries, with combined assets valued at approximately 2.8 billi

I looked around the table, seeing understanding dawn in twelve faces that had been ready to surrender just moments before."So the question isn't whether we can survive his attacks," I said. "The question is whether we're brave enough to finish what we started."The silence stretched for what felt like an eternity.Then Richard smiled. "What do you need from us?"Day SevenThe press conference was scheduled for ten in the morning, held in the Van Alston building's main auditorium. Every major business news outlet had sent reporters, drawn by the promise of a "major announcement regarding the future of Van Alston Industries."They were expecting a surrender speech. An admission of defeat from an inexperienced heiress who'd been outmaneuvered by a corporate predator.Instead, I was about to destroy the most feared businessman in America."You ready for this?" Dominic asked, adjusting my jacket with hands that were steady despite the magnitude of what we were about to do."I've been read

Day SixHell arrived at nine in the morning, delivered by every news outlet in America.I stared at the wall of monitors in the war room, watching my reputation get torn apart in real time. CNN was running a segment about "inexperienced heiresses destroying family legacies." Fox Business had financial analysts calling Van Alston Industries "a cautionary tale about nepotism." The Wall Street Journal's headline read: "Van Alston Empire Crumbles Under Weight of Family Drama.""This is different from what we planned," Sarah said quietly, her fingers flying across her keyboard as she tried to track the source of the attacks. "These aren't the controlled leaks we orchestrated. Someone else is feeding information to the media.""Blackstone," I said, watching a particularly brutal segment where a business professor I'd never heard of explained why companies like Van Alston should be "put out of their misery before they drag down the entire market."But the media assault was just the beginning

He pulled out a tablet and showed me news headlines that painted Van Alston Industries as a company in crisis. "Cost overruns in the manufacturing division. Questions about accounting irregularities. Three major clients reconsidering their contracts."Every single headline had been planted by our team. Every crisis had been manufactured. But seeing them presented as evidence of my incompetence still stung."Business has its challenges," I said carefully."Of course it does. But some challenges are larger than others." He put the tablet away and leaned back in his chair. "I want to help, Scarlett. Blackstone International has the resources and expertise to stabilize Van Alston Industries before the situation becomes irreversible.""At what cost?""A very reasonable one. Full acquisition at forty percent above current market value. Your employees keep their jobs, your grandmother's legacy is preserved, and you walk away with enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life."T