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“You got engaged?” Tensing at the deeply enraged voice, I whirled around to find Berthold glaring hotly at me, and I cursed silently. “Why didn’t you tell me? Is that why you’ve been going against me recently because some bitch is telling you to?”
“I wasn’t aware my love life was any concern of yours, Bert.” Out of the corner of my eye, Audra read the signs and started to leave, but I raised my hand to stop her. “You stay, Audra! Apparently, there’s been some sort of misunderstanding here.”
A twinge of guilt wiggled into my chest as I snapped at her, but I forced it down to throw back my shoulders. Gathering every single smidgen of whatever emotions I could possibly summon, I clenched my hands into fists by my sides as the silence hung heavy with expectation.
“Let’s get one thing straight here. Particularly you, Bert. You are not my friend. You are not my business partner anymore. What you are is the head of my business committee, and even that is tenuous now. And for the record, yes. Being with Katie gave me a good amount of confidence. And yes, she did push me to start calling you out.” Bert opened his mouth, and Igrowledas I stormed around my desk to get in his face. It seemed to be the only thing he understood, physical intimidation, since he thought that he was so important that his word alone was enough.
Holding his gaze, I couldn’t help the satisfaction that ripped through my chest at the flicker of uncertainty.
“Since you seem to think you still aren’t exempt from the rules, Berthold, let me make it clear. I will do whatever I want, when I want, with whom I choose, and I am under no obligation to tell youanything!” The venom in my tone made Bert back up, but I stepped forward to keep the distance between us as short as possible. His uncertainty intensified, and I could smell it under the rank stench of someone who overconsumed as I scrunched up my nose and held my breath. “This is my goddamn company. This ismyempire, and you might’ve kept it up while I was growing up, but the day I turned thirty, you stopped being a partner. You bullied me into submission for the past nine years, but that’s over.”
“Theonlyreason you’re still here is because, as per my father’s will, you stay on untilyoudecide to retire. Even so, I can fire you if I have good cause, and I haveplentyof good cause thanks to the way you’ve decided to go about expanding. I have plenty enough records of all the underhanded, seedy shit you’ve decided to do, thinking there’d be no consequence. Well, Bert, allow me to clarify this once and only once.” Getting even closer, I stood over Berthold to draw myself as mightily as I could, and he really looked like he’d pass out. Sweat beaded down his fat head, and his labored breathing turned to wheezes, but I just didn’t care anymore. “Resign or get the fuck back into your place.”
“Fine.” Arching a brow sharply, I clenched my jaw hard, and Berthold shot me a bitter glare as indignity drenched his expression. “Yes, sir.”
Holding his gaze for a long, tense few seconds, I nodded with a jerk of my head, and I turned on my heel to catch Audra’s nervous wringing of her hands.
“I appreciate that you’re worried about me, Audra, but you need to understand as well that I count us as friends, but first and foremost, you are my secretary. Whatever notions you have that your opinion can influence my personal life, you need to drop them.” At the very least, I acknowledged that Audra’s interest was out of the fact that she cared about me as a person. I didn’t feel any sort of happiness when she nodded, and I turned back to Bert to frown deeply. “Andyouneed to understand that the only thing I think of when I think of you, Bert, is that you made a decision that killed a person. You are everything I refuse to be as a businessman, and I truly do not care at all what you think of my getting engaged. I doubt you even know what it feels like to even like a woman, let along want to get married to one.”
“Don’t pull that shit. I proposed the contract, Brandon, butyousigned it. I’m not responsible for what happens after that.” His attack sent prickles down my spine, and I stiffened at the nasty sneer that painted Berthold’s face. The temperature in my office dropped like a stone, and he realized after a long, tense moment what he’d actually said. His double chin wiggled when he gulped, and my eyelid twitched as I inhaled a steadying, shallow, frigid breath.
“That’s right. You proposed a contract that ruined thousands of employees’ lives, just as you knew it would. You knowingly sent thousands into financial chaos, and for what, Bert? In the end, that technological supply company barely did anything for us. You stole it because you could, because you like that power you have over others. You took advantage of Steele Supply in the same way you took advantage of my inexperience and inability.” A frosty calm leveled my tone, and Bert paled considerably as I crossed my arms over my chest to lean back on my heels. “A man died, and you’re directly responsible. So am I, because I didn’t stop you... and it’s something I’ll regret for the rest of my life. Get out of my sight.”
Berthold didn’t hesitate to run away, leaving my office door open behind him in his haste, and I deflated like a popped balloon. Reaching a trembling hand to pinch the bridge of my nose, I blew out a hot breath before shuffling to drop heavily into my desk chair.
That Steele incident had nearly ruined me, nearly smeared my professional reputation beyond repair. Even more than that, a man had killed himself because of it.
I didn’t know what happened to his family, and the shame and guilt of it all clogged my throat.
“Brandon..." The soft, tentative call sounded so unlike Audra that it only compounded my shame, and I grasped at my chest as my heart squeezed. “I’m sorry. We’ve been through everything together, and it’s weird to think you made a decision without me. I didn’t mean to imply that it would be a bad decision. Ever since you met this Katie girl, you’ve been changing for the better.”
“That’s because every decision I’ve ever made was a business decision.” Covering my mouth to hide my frown, I sighed through my nose, and Audra set a hand on my shoulder. “I really need that vacation. I’ve typed up instructions for you and everyone else. Berthold is not allowed to doanythingat all, do you understand? He’s not even allowed to take a five-minute longer lunch break. By the time I get back, I want him to want to resign.”
“I understand. I’ll get it all distributed today after lunch.” Nodding, I rubbed my tongue against the roof of my mouth. I’d talked myself out, and that fight with Berthold was particularly exhausting. Closing my eyes, I leaned back in my chair to let my mind run wild with memories.
Bert had assured me for weeks that the Steele contract would keep jobs, and, back then, I was stupid enough to believe him. I read the contract, but I wasn’t adept enough about technical jargon to really understand what it said. He’d used layman’s terms, which I desperately clung to with the justification that he wouldn’t manipulate me. At the time the contract went through, I was twenty-three. I’d only been working the job for about five years.
Most of those five years were spent actively avoiding doing anything that I should’ve been responsible for.
The Steele incident ended dramatically when one man killed himself, and I finally realized that I needed to step up. That tragedy forced me to look at the lives of the people who were involved, not just the numbers on a sheet of paper. Those numbers had children, houses, friends, needs, and wants that I could destroy with a single signature.
“I’m leaving early.” Pushing myself up roughly, I snatched my jacket from my chair as my grumble echoed through my office. Stalking for the door, I ignored Audra’s intense gaze on my back in favor of another woman I’d much rather be with in this moment.
Although I doubted that even Katie could forgive me if she knew. Her father had committed suicide, after all, and it was a wound that had festered rather than healed. We both had our secrets, and as much as I wanted to fool myself, there were some things we couldn’t share with each other.
Just like Katie would never tell me the reason she made sure to get my attention at the charity auction. It seemed like such a long time ago, another person’s memory. Still, I had wondered if she’d looked at me that way because she initially took an interest in me or if she knew who I was.
Either way, she loves me now. It’s not like why matters. People change, and if she originally wanted me for money, she doesn’t anymore.Of that, I had not a single doubt at all, and I closed my office door behind me with a faint smile tilting my lips.
ChapterEighteen
KATERINA
Sitting astride Brandon, I licked my lips nervously and flexed my fingers as he slept in oblivion. He was such a deep sleeper, I found, and my palms tingled wildly as I watched his chest rise and fall steadily. Anxiety warmed my face and tightened my gut, and I curled my toes absently.
The ‘cruise’, which had really just been Brandon trying to hide the fact that he bought a real, rather large yacht for this occasion, forced me into tides of unrelenting bliss. Nights filled with intimacy and days spent enjoying each other and the wonders of traveling meant I never had a moment to myself. And the shocking part was that I didn’t want to be by myself, even for a second.
Reaching to trace his nose and cheekbones, up around his eyes, and along his jaw, I couldn’t help but smile when the slight wrinkles in his forehead smoothed. His soft groan caressed my ears, tugged up my smile, and I leaned down to kiss his lips as he dragged a heavy hand up my thigh. My naked skin tightened when he tugged me down to roll us onto our sides, and I gasped when our leisurely kiss deepened.
