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I narrow my eyes and look down at the papers in front of me. “The Tokyo office is opening next week. I don’t think we should divert resources away from that at this time.”
Mark frowns. “Dane, we’ve done so well lately. We’re on a real streak. I feel that we shouldn’t slow the momentum. It might frighten your other investors.”
“I won the fucking Excellence Award for the fourth year in a row. You seriously think they’ll be frightened away now?”
Mark is silent. Another shareholder, Ben chimes in. “That’s definitely not our intention,” he says slowly. “We just want to capitalize on our current success as much as possible.”
“By allocating resources to a third office when the second isn’t even open yet?” I demand. “You have to be fucking kidding me!”
Mark and Ben exchange a nervous look. I know that I shouldn’t be batting around my shareholders like mice, but I can’t help it. I can smell when people are frightened, and it always just makes me angrier.
“You obviously weren’t prepared to negotiate,” I snap as I get to my feet. “So call me when you’re ready to listen.”
As I storm out of the room, Mark and Ben look shocked. I don’t give a fuck. In fact, part of me wants to run back in there and scream in their faces until they cower.
But I don’t have the energy. All I want to do is go home and drown my sorrows in a bottle of aged Scotch. I walk into my office and slam the door, ignoring Lea’s confused expression.
Ever since I pushed Allie away, I’ve been a miserable husk of a man. I can’t take joy in anything.
Nothing is the same. All food tastes like ash to me and even the most expensive champagne is horrid to choke down. Every time I close my eyes, I see Allie happy and laughing and smiling. Or I see her gasping with pleasure as I suck on her hard clit.
Then the images change and I see her biting back tears in my foyer as she leaves my condo for the last time.
Enough time has passed that I realize I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life. I’ve always had a hunch that Allie is special, but now I know it’s true. She’s precious
and rare, and I threw her away like a used tissue.
All because I couldn’t be a man and tell her the truth.
God, if only she wasn’t the daughter of James fucking Carter. That nouveau riche piece of trash has no right to call my special girl his daughter.
But that’s not exactly how biology works, is it?
I barely remember my own parents. I don’t know how it would feel to learn that one of them had done something despicable, but I do know one thing: Allie is an innocent. She’s a naïf, a tender-hearted little girl.
Hell, I imagine that she still worships her parents. She’s twenty fucking years old, I’m sure that her old man is still her male ideal.
Which is a sick joke considering he and I used to work together.
It’s better this way. My life is miserable and empty. I’ve got piles of money and no gorgeous girl to spend it on. I should buy a private island and live out the rest of my days as a hermit repentant for his crimes against an innocent child.
The worst thing about this is no matter how many times I tell myself it’s for the best, I can’t stop thinking about Allie’s magnetic presence. Her sweet innocence, which will no doubt be ruined in a few short years by the vulgarity of the world
She should be free to marry someone her own age and have a bunch of winsome, beautiful babies that look just like her. Thinking about Allie pregnant makes my cock twitch in my boxers and I groan. I’ve never wanted kids but thinking about the gorgeous brunette knocked up with my children calls to the primal male inside.
Suddenly, my reverie is interrupted.
“Mr. Andersen, I have your lunch,” Lea calls from the other side of the door. “Can I bring it in?”
When I don’t answer, the door opens timidly and Lea steps inside with a plated roast beef sandwich.
“This was catered for the meeting, but Mr. Thompson said you weren’t feeling well,” Lea says. She sets the plate down on my coffee table. “Can I bring you anything else?”
All I can do is stare at her dully. Lea’s not a bad-looking girl. She’s too skinny for my taste, but there’s something youthful and fresh about her. All the same, I can tell that once she was probably a lot happier.
Suddenly, I think about Allie in a few years. Will she lose her lovely young freshness and start to fade? I see her bustling around, her generous form with the wide hips and a baby on her hip. Her face looks tired and worn and just the thought is enough to break my heart all over again.
“Mr. Andersen?” Lea asks nervously. “Are you okay?”
