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Killian pulls away, but I don’t open my eyes. I’m still lost in that kiss. When I open my eyes, I’ll realize this is all a dream. He’s just toying with my emotions again. He doesn’t really care about me. He might want to fuck me, but only so he can destroy me .
“You’re not ready yet .”
“Ready for what ?”
“For me to fuck you. I told you, when I fuck you, it will be because you want me as much as I want you, not because you’re running. You’re not there yet, but you will be .”
I shake my head. “You’re wrong. What makes you think I will sleep with you? I don’t even like you .”
He smirks. “You’re a terrible liar, princess. Plus, if you are talking to Tony about me, that’s a good sign .”
“Tony needs to mind his own business .”
He turns away from me to walk back to his desk. “You need to stay out of the business. Go home to your comfy house and modeling career before you get hurt .”
“What is that supposed to mean? I am capable of running this company, if that’s what I decide I want. I just showed that I could make decisions and run numbers. I just need a chance .”
He sits in his chair and just stares at me for several minutes. I don’t know why I bother with trying to convince him that I can do this .
“Okay,” he says .
“What?”
“Okay, if you think you can do this, then prove it. There is a meeting tomorrow afternoon to present the data and to give my recommendation for the expansion. You can present in my place. And if you convince everyone that you are right, then I’ll stop hounding you about giving up. I’ll even help you get up to speed on everything with the company .”
I suspiciously eye him. “And what if I don’t ?”
He smiles widely now. I’m afraid he’s going to tell me that I’ll have to stop trying to be CEO, that I’ll have to give up. I’m not sure I can .
“Then, you go on a date with me .”
I relax. I can handle that. “Deal .”
“Good. I’ll send you my notes for the meeting .”
“Thanks,” I say before turning to leave. But before I do, I have one more question for him, one that’s been gnawing at me. “Why haven’t you fired Tony yet ?”
He looks up at me, like I’m crazy .
“We both know he is terrible at his job. So, why haven’t you fired him ?”
“Because I respect his loyalty. That man would take a bullet for this company. I know I’m going to have to work harder to do things, like create graphs that he should be doing, but that’s okay. He cares, and he is a hard worker. He would never jump ship to a competitor’s company. We need more people like that around here .”
His words shock me. I thought Killian was ruthless. I thought he would have fired Tony the second my father died since the decision was now up to him. I was wrong. It makes me wonder what else I’m wrong about when it comes to Killian. Too bad I don’t have time to find out .
I need to spend the next twenty-four hours doing everything to prepare for tomorrow. I need to impress the other executives. I need to prove to my grandfather that I can do this. I need to prove to myself that this is what I want. It might be my only chance .
I move my hand to rub my eyes, but I stop myself. If I rub my eyes, I will ruin my mascara. I yawn instead, the exhaustion getting to me. It will be worth it though when I see Killian’s smug face turn into one of his classic frowns when I win. I have no doubt that I will. I’ve been up all night, going over everything Killian sent me along with seeing if there is any more data that I need to prove my recommendation .
I was surprised actually when I got the email from Killian. He sent me everything he had on the project, including his personal notes and email exchanges between him and my father. Those were hard to read, but I read them anyway. He also sent me hours and hours of material. I don’t know why he would do that if he wanted me to fail. Maybe he wants me to succeed .
“Ready?” Killian says as he pokes his head into my father’s office .
“Yes,” I say .
I gather my things and follow Killian. I do my best to stand tall and confident even though everything inside is trembling. I follow Killian until we get to the conference room where the meeting is going to be held .
“You’ll do great,” he says, winking at me, before he holds the door open for me .
