003. Five years later.

 Thea's POV

FIVE YEARS LATER.

I alighted from the plane, squinting as the sun's harsh glare hit my eyes. 

I automatically reached into my bag for my sunglasses, then stopped myself. Right. I left them on the vanity back home on purpose. I disliked them.

I disliked the way those nose pads dug into my skin, the way they trapped heat, and smudged my brow makeup. I’d rather die than look like a cliché librarian in this vintage Prada trench coat. 

I pulled my luggage off the carousel and waited as a black car rolled up.

The window wound down.

"Hey, beauty."

Alonzo leaned out, winking at me. He was my business partner; co-founder of the firm we'd built from nothing, and the only man alive who could annoy me and make me laugh in the same breath. He had that permanently amused look, and a sharp jaw that darkened with stubble he never quite bothered to shave.

"You better hurry. My baby is waiting for me."

I glared at him, hauling my luggage into the trunk before sliding into the passenger seat.

"She should take a break from her mother, don't you think?" he asked, easing the car out of the airport.

"You wish." I snorted, then flipped open some documents.

"The Hendricks deal closes Friday. They're still haggling over valuation."

"Let them haggle. We're not moving off our number."

"Good, because I already told legal to stop drafting revisions."

Then I looked out the window, admiring the city.

"It's been five years," I sighed.

Five years since I fled this city, tail between my legs, an unborn child inside me. Five years since Myles rejected me and his mother threatened to destroy me if I stayed.

Did she add that I shouldn't return?Well, too bad for her.

I wasn't the type to back down.

I had to take my daughter to stay with my mother whom I'd finally reconciled with. That way, she'd be safe.

"Lon, the city has a livelier energy to it than before," I said, watching the bustling supermarkets blur past.

"We should invest in a luxury brand here, don't you think?"

"Thea and fashion." He shook his head in mock exasperation.

"What? It's a business opportunity!"

He rolled his eyes. "There's no reason you'll bring it up except for the shoes."

"I'm talking business, Lon."

"No, you're talking Chanel."

"Oh, please." I scoffed. "Pot calling the kettle black. Who flew to Milan last spring for a 'business trip' and came back with three suits and a pair of Ferragamo loafers?"

Alonzo opened his mouth, then closed it.

"That was for a client meeting."

"The suits had your initials monogrammed on the cuffs." I smirked.

"...Fine, that proves I have taste too."

We bickered so often you'd hardly believe we were managing partners of a firm.

We arrived at one of our business hotels— Bronze Lodge— which had sleek marble floors and a golden ambience that made everything feel expensive and hushed.

We took the elevator up, and even through the door I could hear Kitty's muffled laughter as we approached.

The suite door barely clicked open before a blur of light brown hair came hurtling across the room.

"MOMMY!"

Kitty launched herself at my legs with the force of a small missile, blue eyes wide and glittering like she'd stored up five days' worth of hugs to deliver all at once.

I scooped her up, and she immediately buried her face in my neck, giggling, before pulling back to study my face.

"I made you four drawings, Mommy," she announced, holding up four fingers like the number itself was an achievement. "One is a dog. One is also a dog, but he has a hat."

Before I could answer, she'd already wriggled free and thrown herself at Alonzo's legs.

"Uncle Lonnie!"

He caught her with an ease that betrayed how many times this exact ambush had happened before.

"You have to see my drawings," she told him solemnly, patting his cheek like she was bestowing a great honor.

"I would be offended if I didn't."

She beamed like the sun had personally risen for her.

"Look who decided to grace us with her presence."

Victoria unfolded herself from the couch, all long limbs and glamour, dark hair pinned up in an effortless chignon.

My best friend since five years ago. The one person who'd never once made me feel like fleeing to Chicago alone and pregnant was a scandal.

She pulled me into a hug that smelled like her signature perfume.

"You look tired."

Victoria led me toward the sofa.

"I flew first class, but my spirit was left in the dust."

"Long flight." I sighed.

Kitty, now perched on Alonzo's lap and clearly bored of adult conversation, spotted something through the window and gasped like she'd found buried treasure.

"Mommy, there's a SUPERMARKET down there! Can I go get gummy bears? The sour ones. Not the regular ones, the ones that make your face like this..."

She demonstrated with an exaggerated scrunch.

"You are not going alone, baby."

"I'll take her," Victoria offered, already reaching for her bag. "We'll be back in twenty minutes. Maybe thirty if she insists on smelling every candy in the store first."

"Please don't let her wander."

Victoria nodded.

We had an understanding that Kitty's stay here was to remain brief and hidden.

I had spent five years making plans: rebuilding my life, keeping Kitty hidden, reconciling with my mother, and now carefully arranging for Kitty to stay away from the Grosky family.

Victoria held out a hand, and Kitty scrambled down from Alonzo's lap, slipping her small fingers into hers before skipping toward the door.

The suite felt noticeably quieter after they left.

I settled onto the couch and opened my laptop while Alonzo sat opposite me, his own balanced on his knee.

For a while, the only sound was the tapping of keys.

Then he looked up.

"So, you want to tell me the real reason you came back to New York?"

"I told you. It's because of the acquisitions."

"Sure?" He glanced at me, unconvinced.

"Eighteen months of quiet acquisitions of Grosky subsidiaries, and you expect me to believe that's the whole story? Come on, Thea. Tell me everything."

"You'll see." I closed my laptop with a yawn.

"Is this about Kitty's father?"

I froze. Was my plan against Augusta Grosky going to affect Myles? I didn't care.

He hadn't cared about me when I disappeared suddenly without an explanation.

I stood and walked toward the window, watching traffic crawl along the road below.

"What's the latest on Grosky Holdings?"

"We closed on two more companies under their umbrella this month. Quietly, same as the rest."

He set the laptop aside and leaned forward.

"But Ashcombe Industries is the one that matters."

"Why?"

"Ashcombe isn't just connected to Grosky Holdings. They own a stake in it directly. Twelve percent, left over from an old investment nobody's touched in years. Once we absorb Ashcombe, that twelve percent comes with it."

I felt the tension I'd carried for five years loosen, if only slightly.

"That's enough for a seat, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's enough for a seat."

A smile tugged at my lips.

"Ashcombe's board meets next month to vote on the merger terms. Once it passes, that twelve percent transfers to us automatically. Grosky Holdings won't have a say in it at all. We'll be sitting at that table whether they invite us or not." He added.

"Good. Tell Grant to send me the final data tonight."

Alonzo didn't move. Instead, he watched me quietly.

"I know what you're doing, Thea."

"This isn't just about market share, is it?" he asked. "You've been building around Grosky Holdings for something bigger than a board seat."

"I'm not building around Grosky Holdings, Lon."

I crossed the room and placed both hands on the table, facing him fully.

"I'm building into it." 

There was nothing Augusta valued like that corporation, Grosky Holdings. 

"Every quiet acquisition—it's all led here. It's just one deal left, one freaking signature. And they won't see it coming until it's already done."

Alonzo's jaw dropped. "Wait, you're not actually planning to..."

"Oh, I am." I smiled.