Semua Bab Marrying The Wrong Brother: Bab 81 - Bab 90

The stocks at Della-Ross Holdings were beginning to dwindle.I sat in my home office, waiting for the call I knew would be coming in any moment from then.I started at the TV screen facing my desk as I followed up on business news. Reed Industries was looking good however. With Sloane reinstated as CEO, it was bound to happen.I was truly happy for her. I saw how much it broke her to not be able to do what she loved. I hated seeing how she felt like a failure. And I was glad I was able to pull the right strings to get her back up there. She was never going to know that though.I wanted my job back too. I hated the idea of being idle and not in control of the affairs of the company my father left in my care but there was nothing I could do at the moment. I just had to let it play out. I didn't want to be erratic or try to convince the board to vote. I wanted them to beg for me to come back. They needed to realize my worth.The phone on my desk finally rang. I didn't reach for it

She slapped me. I should have been angry. But all I could think of was the fierce look in her eyes when she did it. She hadn't slapped me because I had hurt her physically.She had slapped me because I had hurt something far more important.I had hurt her pride, her independence and her belief that she was capable of standing on her own two feet.I had spent months watching Sloane fight for that position.I had watched her sit through meetings with lawyers, endure accusations from her stepmother and lose sleep over a company she had spent years building even while her father was alive. I knew how hard she had worked.I knew better than anyone else that she deserved to be sitting in that office.And yet, I had gone behind her back and pulled strings anyway.Not because I doubted her.Because I loved her.Somehow, that realization made everything worse.I walked slowly into my office and closed the door behind me.My fingers brushed against my cheek.It still stung.But the physical

It wasn't unusual to find him in his home office.But what was unusual was seeing him this stressed.I stood at the door for a moment, watching him flip through one financial record after the other. The numbers weren't adding up.When Zane finally looked up, my eyes met his tired ones. He glanced at his watch."You're home early." "Apparently, so are you."His brows pulled together. "I've been home for hours."I stepped further into the room.That explained the untouched coffee sitting beside his laptop and why his shift was mostly unbuttoned. "You haven't eaten." I said, knowing how he could get he was exhausted. "I'm fine.""You look terrible." I remarked. His lips twitched. "Thank you."I almost smiled. Almost.Instead, I walked over to the desk and glanced at the papers scattered across it."What happened?""Nothing." "Zane." There was a warning in my tone. He sighed and leaned back in his chair."Della-Ross Holdings is losing money."I looked down at the documents again."

I was smiling when I returned to my room.For once, I felt like everything was going to be okay.I had a strange sense of hope sitting heavily in my chest, accompanied by a belly filled with butterflies.It was odd.After weeks of convincing myself that whatever Zane and I had was dead and buried, I had finally allowed myself to wonder if maybe I had been wrong.Maybe we could fix this.Maybe the distance between us didn't have to last forever.Maybe...Maybe he still wanted me.I hated how quickly my mind ran with the possibility.I fell onto my bed and stared at the ceiling, replaying the evening in my head.The way he'd smiled when I stole his food.The way he'd laughed.The way we'd worked together without arguing.It had felt normal.Like us.And perhaps that was what scared me the most.Because I didn't want normal if normal meant eventually losing him.~The next morning, I walked into my office to find Maya standing beside my desk with the biggest grin I'd seen on her face in

I saw the panic in her eyes. And I wanted to pull her close.I contemplated it for a moment before finally deciding—Fuck it.I crossed the space between us and pulled her into my arms.Thankfully, she didn't push me away.For a few seconds, she simply stood there, rigid against my chest.Then I felt her hands slowly grip the back of my shirt.I closed my eyes.God.I'd missed this.I'd missed the feeling of having her in my arms more than I cared to admit."This is going to be okay," I whispered against her hair even as I sniffed it. The smell of vanilla and strawberries enveloped my nostrils. I wished I could keep that scent forever ingrained in my memory.She let out a shaky breath."You don't know that.""No." I said, tightening my arms around her."But I'm going to make sure it is."She pulled away slightly, looking up at me."How?"I hesitated.For once, I didn't want to give her another vague answer."We find out who has the contract.""And then?""We find out what they want."