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I swallowed, looking around at the destruction I’d created in my own space. I was losing it. Truly. My life was unraveling, and it wasn’t about to get better if I continued to ignore what was really eating at me.
“No,” I answered flatly. “I wasn’t attacked.”
“You did this?” She didn’t bother to hide her dismay. “Why?”
I inhaled deeply.
“I… I don’t know. The insurance isn’t going to pay out, and… I…”
I pursed my lips.
“That girl has you spun into a tornado,” Sage accused me, her body still curled into a ball. I extended a hand to help her up, and she begrudgingly accepted it now that she saw I was no danger to her or anyone else. “You haven’t been right since she showed up here.”
“I know,” I agreed. “And I need to do something about it.”
Sage smoothed out the front of her A-line skirt and primped her dark hair lightly, struggling to regain her own stoic expression, but I could see I had shaken her to the core. She maintained a safe distance from me, and I gave her space, my heart still pounding wildly in my ears.
“Your fixation should be on the casino right now,” she told me. “There are renovations that need to be done as a result of the blast, and you can’t forget your other buildings in the process.”
“I am well aware of what my empire entails.”
She paused and peered at me.
“I thought you might need a reminder,” she offered tautly. “Given your state of mind this past week.”
She eyed the trashed office meaningfully.
“I can’t stop thinking about her,” I admitted. “I went to the compound, and they were talking about the wedding—”
“You have to stop thinking about her!” Sage interjected. “Or are you waiting for the rest of your empire to crumble, too?”
I chewed on the insides of my cheeks until I tasted blood. Of course that wasn’t what I wanted. I had poured blood, sweat, and tears into my work, building against insurmountable odds.
But I had never come up against anyone who had roused what Bianca Barrett had roused in me.
“There’s a solution,” I said slowly, knowing she would not like what I had on my mind.
“No,” Sage said.
Arching an eyebrow, I returned her look. “No?”
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s a bad idea. Your only thought should be about rebuilding the Golden Halcyon, especially if the insurance isn’t coming through.”
“They’ll come through. We’ll sue. Get in touch with the lawyers and have them file a suit immediately. What do we pay them for if not for things like this?”
“I’ll do that, but, Atlas—”
I eyed her, but she didn’t hold back.
“Forget about Bianca Barrett.”
“I cannot!” I thundered, throwing my open palms around. “Can’t you see that I’m failing?”
“You must!”
“If it were so easy, I would have done it by now.”
We stared at one another in yet another silent standoff. We’d had far too many of those lately. In all the time that Sage had been working for me, I had never gone head-to-head with her so much, nor had I attacked anyone in my employ.
