Page 65 of All Out of Love

“I remembered what Grayson said to me at that country club.”

Seb was looking at that thick knife. “What did he say?”

“He told me that when it came to you to never let my guard down. And I never did,” she said.

But just as she was saying it, Seb pulled out his small pistol and aimed it at her stomach.

But just as Seb was about to pull the trigger, the front door bust wide open and Grayson and Vinnie ran inside. They both saw that gun.

Grayson was about to shoot his father dead, but Vinnie knocked his gun upward and shot Seb himself. He was the man who turned his own mother against him. He shot that asshole repeatedly, and he did so with pleasure.

Toya, stunned when Seb pulled that gun on her, dropped the knife in relief as Seb fell to the floor and Grayson ran to her. She stood up, and he pulled her into his arms.

“He used a silencer to kill Vinnie’s guys at the gate, along with my guard,” he said to Toya.

“He tried to poison me,” she said to him and he and Vinnie looked at her. “He thought I was drinking his poison, but I switched it behind his back and grabbed that knife.”

Grayson was even more relieved. “Thank God you was able to defend yourself.”

“You told me to never let my guard down with him, and I didn’t.” Then she looked at that gun Seb had pulled on her. “But he still managed to get the upper hand.”

“Not anymore,” said Vinnie. “Not anymore.”

Toya was grateful that Vince wouldn’t let Grayson kill his own father. But she was also grateful that a man who would poison her for no rational reason was gone. She pulled Vinnie into their hug too.

Grayson had tears in his eyes. Not because his father was dead. But because he knew where he belonged in this world now. Because these two people in his arms, Vincent and Latoya, were his real family now. And they were more than enough.

EPILOGUE

“Hello, Mrs. Carrington.”

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Carrington.”

“How are you doing this beautiful day, Mrs. Carrington?”

Toya beamed with pride every time she walked through the lobby of Carrington Capital and everybody bent over backwards to speak to her.

And for good reason. She wasn’t just the wife of the newly-minted Chairman of the Board of the vast corporation. She was the brand-new CEO of that corporation, a position Grayson himself once held.

Grayson inherited all of his father’s shares while maintaining his own shares. That gave him seventy-five percent majority stake in his company and put him on a glide path to be the new Chairman. Once installed at the top of the hill, he put Toya’s name forward and the board voted to make her CEO.

She was apprehensive. She always wanted to get ahead, but how on earth could she be at the helm of a corporation of that size? But Grayson, who was the absolute driving force behind her appointment, wasn’t apprehensive at all. Her criminal case had been permanently dismissed despite the fact that Emily Preston lost her reelection bid. She was free from the worries that dogged her former life. It was time.

“You’re the smartest person I know, with a lot of common sense mixed in and even more determination,” Grayson said to her. “That’s all you need to bring to the table. I’ll teach you the rest.”

It was a gutsy move that few in the industry applauded, but that happened nearly a year ago. Now, because of her hard work and tenacity, she was nearly as respected as Grayson was. If he was the lion of Carrington Capital, she was the bear. Together they were unstoppable. Together they were redefining the power couple.

“How did it go?” Grayson asked her when she walked into the massive office of the Chairman. He was seated in the chair in front of his desk reviewing case notes on his iPad. His brand-new chief of staff, Keith, was standing at his chair.

“It went well,” Toya responded as she plopped down in the chair beside him.

Grayson, who hadn’t looked up from his iPad, dismissed his staffer. “That’ll be all, Keith.”

“Yes sir.” Keith, with his own iPad in hand, began to leave. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Carrington. They’re still talking about your excellent presentation last week. We’re a shoo-in to win that contract.”

“Let’s hope,” she said with a smile as Keith walked out and closed the door behind him.

“How’s he working out?” Toya asked Grayson.