جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 130

Tilly's face goes from pale pink to beet red in less time than it takes to blink. Looking down at the shoe, and up at my smug face, she realizes that I must know something. "Um," she laughs, nervously rubbing her neck and averting her eyes. "I wondered where I had lost that.""It's a good thing I found it in the hallway this morning," I take a long sip of my coffee, eyeing her over the cup. "Right outside of Clark's door." "Oh," she tries to hide her horror behind her cup. "What a strange place for that to be." I laugh at her discomfort. "Oh Tilly, you can stop now. I saw you two."She freezes as her mind processes the meaning of my words. "So you were in the corridor spying on us?" her tone is a little frosty but not unfriendly. "Or were you sneaking around yourself?"She got me there. "Sneaking is too strong a word, more like 'quietly returning'." She snorts, breaking the ice between us. Laughing together, I tell her a bit more about my night with Atlas and why I didn't return u

We both open our phones and walk in opposite directions for a bit of privacy. "Hello?" "Whatever you do," Atlas' sounds frantic and scared, "Do not turn on the television or look at your phone, please, not until I get there. We need to come up with a plan, but I don't want you to be scared." "Hold up," I retort, "Why can't I?" "Just trust me," he murmurs. "You don't want to see what I'm seeing right now. I'll be there soon. I need to hang up. I love you." The phone goes dead. I don't even have a chance to let him know that I love him too. When I come out into the living room Tilly has the television on. "Oh God," she moans, looking at the screen. "No, no, no." Tilly hears my footsteps and hurries to turn off the screen. "Clark was wrong. You shouldn't see this. You might..." "Tilly," I grumble. "Why are all of you keeping secrets from me? What is it that you don't want me to see?" "The news," she shakes her head. "It's ugly, Cordelia." A few minutes later, Clark is at the

I pull away from the warmth and comfort of Atlas' arms. "You aren't seriously considering their offer, are you?" I look at both men incredulously. "She is blackmailing you with photos of our private memories, ruining both of our businesses and for what? Sydney's pride?" "Our stocks went down 23%" Atlas states as if that answers all of my questions, as if the financial elements should outweigh any emotional concerns. "5 of our biggest vendors just pulled out. If we don't make a deal, Steele Industries could close for good, not to mention your business," Atlas points out. "With the EPA issue hanging over it, and the accusation of design fraud, nobody is going to put trust in your brand or your name--even if she comes forward and corrects her statement." "No." I insist, literally put my foot down as I stomp to add emphasis to my words. "We are not doing this. I do not want that viper anywhere near you, me, or our baby" I look around at my two best friends, "Any of us. She's toxic."

[Cordelia]As soon as the decision is made to fight, we all get to work. It's a big job, but together, maybe we can face this problem and find a way to come out on top again. After discussing our situation and breaking it down into parts, we all go off on our separate paths to work towards a resolution.Atlas contacts his legal team. He made a deal with the Bryants to help free Sydney, but having her then go straight to live TV and verbally attack the Greyson and Steele families goes against their good-faith agreements. The Bryants might fight it, but Atlas' attorneys are better. Tilly is using the full weight of the Matilda Madison name and calling all of her contacts, including several of Steele Industry's vendors. "None of the money came from her family funds," she explains over and over again. "She's clean of her family's crimes. Cordelia Louise has, and will always have my continued support." Meanwhile, Clark is busy on his laptop making a montage of my creation process. He has

The room is pin-drop silent after Atlas shares his news."She wants what?!" Clark asks indignantly as if he were the one being dragged down the aisle. I feel my heart sink. Atlas is so worried about me, and about our businesses, he might just do it to help me save face. Never mind how much it will break my heart to see him go down the aisle with my sister--a vision that has haunted my dreams for years.I was never supposed to be his bride. She was. If she hadn't tried to run from her responsibilities, if she had stayed and worked things out with Atlas in the first place, that's exactly where she'd be now--married to him."I told her no," Atlas eases all of our fears. As the tension drains from all of us, he takes my hands in his. "I won't do that to you. I love you, Cordelia Steele. We might not be married anymore, but I still take my vows to you seriously.""So what do you suggest we do?" Clark demands. "We told them no, so I'm assuming you made a counteroffer?"Atlas goes over their