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Jordan
It was time to make everything official. Heartstrings was going to be transferred into the names of its newest three partners. I was going to be the acting CEO while Mark was going to keep sole proprietorship, as the owner, and Cat, because it was her first job, was going to be acting as the president, the largest role that she’d ever gotten in a business setting before.
We met in the lobby, each of us beaming with excitement. With all of us on edge, in the best possible sense, we proceeded up the elevators and met with Jack and the Meadows siblings in the conference room. They had gone all out with big fresh vases of flowers and bottles of champagne on ice to celebrate the occasion.
“The day has finally come,” Lucas smiled, coming over to shake each of our hands. His siblings greeted us in a line to do the same. “Hope you don’t mind all the fuss,” he waved over the line of photographers and reports who were joining us—ready and poised to take pictures. “People make a big fuss over this type of thing.”
“No, I totally understand.”
Cat flashed them an eager smile. I could see the stars in her eyes. She was imagining a photo of us circulating with her name in the caption: Heartstrings newest Executive President—Catherine Whitaker.
I was pretty excited about seeing my name right in there with theirs next to the title of CEO. I had claimed many titles in my career, including CEO a few times before. But never for a company as big as this. We were all teeming with adrenaline from everything finally falling into place.
Of course I still had the worst case scenarios flashing through my mind—like Mark somehow piecing everything together at the last second, if he somehow hadn’t already, and snatching the pen from my hand right before he beat my ass. Or what if Cat went on some wild hair and decided to rat us out? She’d screw herself over just as much by doing that, but the stakes were high and it was making me paranoid. I was getting crazy enough to expect the most bizarre and impossible outcomes, just trying to be prepared and stay on top of it all.
For a moment I thought about how much I was going to lose if Mark knew the truth. This wasn’t the only business that I shared with him and acted as CEO. Being the owner, he could easily fire me. I’d still have my name, but it would be hard to get amazing jobs without people asking why I’d been dropped, in the first place. And having to tell them it was because I screwed the owner’s daughter didn’t sound like a good way to get a second interview.
People were taking our pictures left and right, and I could already imagine the headline that would be present in magazines and newspapers the next day. Heartstring, the billion dollar company focused on uniting two people, was bought out by the business tycoons Mark Whitaker, Jordan Ashford, and newcomer, Catherine Whitaker. Hopefully we’ll see some new features that’ll make the app better than ever.
At one time, who owned what businesses wasn’t important. That was the last thing that people wanted to hear about, but now it was all the rage. The bigger the company, the more people were interested in knowing who ran it.
I’d had my face on the front of several magazines, at this point. To say that I was used to it was an under-exaggeration. And the reason wasn’t always because of a business takeover. They’d named me one of the country’s most eligible bachelors which was how I had ended up with the line of women that constantly wanted me.
But, I didn’t want any of them. The only woman that I wanted was the woman that I wasn’t supposed to have. I couldn’t stop my gaze from going to Cat, as we all settled around the table. She looked so excited, and it was written all over her face how big this was for her. This was her opportunity to break out into the business world. This was her time to shine and prove to people that she could do this, that she was just as much of a tycoon as her father was. She could make a name for herself outside of her father.
I had thought that signing this piece of paper meant that we were free from burden, that we no longer had to worry about the fact that Mark could take this away from us if he’d found out the truth. That we would be safe, but, now I was realizing the exact opposite.
What if Mark wasn’t the worst case scenario? When people found out about us, and people would find out, wouldn’t they discredit her? There were already whispers that everything she’d achieved was because of her father despite her stellar grades, accomplishments, and attitude. People were quick to blame it all on nepotism although that was hardly the case.
But if people found out that, not only was her father a huge businessman, but she’d been sleeping with me, another large name in the industry, nobody was going to take her seriously. They would think that all of her accomplishments were because of either her father or myself. Nothing she did would ever be taken seriously, and with how hard she had worked, I knew that was the last thing that she wanted.
Breaking it off with her had nothing to do with me not liking her. In fact, I cared about Cat more than I was willing to admit. And it wasn’t just because we’d slept together, and she was a beautiful woman, although that was part of the reason. She was someone that I could have seen myself being with in the long term.
But, that wasn’t an option. In the case where she had to pick between her occupation and a family, I knew, without a doubt, that she would pick the first choice. But, she wouldn’t see things the same way that I did, I knew that. If I tried to explain it to her, she would just think that it was some kind of excuse rather than acknowledging the truth for what it was.
If she was going to be with me, then she had to kiss her credibility goodbye. She wouldn’t make it in this world, not really. And I wouldn’t even give her the option of picking me over work. She had done too much to get where she was, and I wasn’t going to let that all be for nothing because she’d met me.
It didn’t matter how mean I had to be. This thing between us was officially over.
“And, now all you have to do is sign on the dotted line, and the company belongs to you two gentlemen and you, lady.” Lucas threw Cat a grin, and, briefly I wondered if he had a thing for her. My anger spiked before I realized that it didn’t matter whether he did or didn’t, although he was married. I wasn’t her boyfriend, and she could go out with whoever she wanted. There was nothing holding her back, not anymore.
And who wouldn’t notice such a beauty? For a man not to acknowledge her, he may as well have been committing a sin. She was different from anyone and everyone else. Men would notice that and want her like there was no tomorrow. After she appeared in these magazines, she would have a long line of suitors.
Even if I broke her heart now, over time she would forgive me and forget about me. She’d be able to have the career that she wanted and a man who was on her side. Would they care for her as much as I did? No, but they would care for her enough. And Cat being happy was the most important thing to me.
I took my pen and signed my name along the line before looking around and smiling at everyone. Mark didn’t return my smile. My eyebrows furrowed, but I tried not to think about it. My eyes fell on Cat, who looked ecstatic with what she’d just done. She beamed at me and gave me a thumbs up before she cleared her throat, remembering that she was trying to stay professional.
Mark leaned towards me, and I realized this was the first time he was talking to me today. Usually, the two of us were very talkative, but, for some reason, today had been different. He had taken a seat, and he looked out of it. He smiled every once and a while, but that was about it. And never were the smiles directed at me.
Something was off.
“It would be terrible if this entire transaction was ruined because of someone’s misconduct and poor decisions.” The words made me freeze. I looked at Mark, and without a doubt in my mind, it became clear to me that he knew the truth. My heart was burning like a wildfire, and I reached out and gripped the edge of the desk where nobody could see.
Now, my answer was concrete as if it had been written in the stars. Cat and I had to stop seeing each other. My eyes glanced down, and I saw that Mark had already signed the paper. But, that wasn’t the only way that he could rip us off. It seemed like he was only mad at me. None of his anger was directed at Cat, and that was fine.
All of this was my fault, and I was more than prepared to take responsibility for it. But that meant never seeing Cat again unless it was strictly for business.
