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Lauren
I settled into my desk and went through my backlog of emails. This would be one of the last times I sat here like this…but I refused to think about it, just like I refused to think about how terrible Hannah had looked this morning, and how Wesley was in danger.
I allowed myself to focus on my work for a few hours. I had to do something, and it was the only thing I’d ever been any good at.
When I finally looked up, my gaze automatically went to the windows and at the grounds below. This was one of my favorite views in the world, the acres of neatly manicured lawns glistening in the early morning dew. Soon, the property would be on the market. Another CEO with another vision would buy it and make it their home.
I didn’t know who I’d be without Paragon. It’d been my life’s dream for so long, I wasn’t sure where I ended and my company began.
Don’t think about it. Find a new dream to dream.
But this wasn’t the time to dream—I had to be laser-focused, to see this through to the end. I’d been excited when Gabe had offered to sell me his subsidiary company, but what was happening with Li Na, Hannah, and Wesley had me reeling, eclipsing all hope.
How could I focus on the future when I wasn’t sure if I, or the people I loved, even had one?
I pushed the thoughts from my mind. The image of my sister haunted me, but selfishly, it was Gabe I couldn’t extricate from my thoughts. What if I have to leave him? What if this week brings…the end of us?
My gaze wandered over my desk, coming to rest on the picture of my parents. I was glad they weren’t here to witness Hannah’s kidnapping. Still, my heart hurt looking at it—I missed them. When they died tragically, too young, my heart had broken. My parents were why I never wanted to fall in love in the first place. Who could bear another loss like that, when people you loved were taken from you?
But even though my heart ached with missing them, I knew they were still with me. Because that was what love did—it changed you forever. It marked you on the inside, making you grow stronger even as it made you vulnerable. Because loving somebody was brave. It was if once you took the leap to care about someone else, your heart muscles got stronger.
They had to—it was an evolve-or-die situation—because when you loved someone, your heart was walking around outside your body.
Or it was being held captive.
Or it was in a medically induced coma.
Or it was on the other side of the world, cursing you, because you’d left it to fulfill an unbearable duty.
I put my face in my hands, and Stephanie buzzed in, jolting me from my reverie. “Mimi White is here to see you.”
This surprised me. Mimi rarely dropped in. “Okay?”
Mimi nodded curtly as she came in, then sat across from me. She looked pulled together as usual, in a plum-colored blazer, her silver bob a sleek helmet. “I came to apologize.”
“For what?”
She shot me a look. “For calling Olivia, our
United Kingdom distributor.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. Mimi White had been the one to sell us out.
Mimi crossed and uncrossed her legs, looking as nervous as I’d ever seen her. “Before you say anything, let me explain myself. Paragon is important to me. My time on the board has been an honor.”
“Thank you for that.” I took a deep breath. “But you had no right to share the news—I told you it was confidential.”
“You did, and I went against your direct order.” Mimi pursed her lips. “I was trying to sabotage the sale.”
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. I’d known Mimi for years. I couldn’t believe she’d betrayed me like this, in my hour of need. “It’s not your sale to sabotage.”
“I understand, but this technology isn’t Li Na Zhao’s to steal either.”
“That’s true, but it’s not the most important thing. Hannah’s safety is the most important thing.”
“I know what I did was wrong—and I admit, it’s not like me to be this reckless.” Mimi nodded tightly, her face turning red. “But the injustice of all this… I couldn’t tolerate it.”
I waited for her to collect herself and go on.
