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As if he can sense my nervousness, he puts a hand on my knee and meets my eyes. “You can do this,” he tells me. “I’ve got everything you need.”
“I know. I’m just a little anxious. But let’s get started.”
“Okay.”
He gives my knee a small, reassuring squeeze. Then he pulls up a chart on his laptop and begins to speak, laying it all out for me.
18
WILLOW
A few days later,I stand in a parking lot, staring up at one of the many large office buildings that stretch toward the sky in the middle of Detroit.
I’ve never even been this near to an office building like this before, but I have to go inside. The board meeting is being held up at the top, and my stomach is in knots.
I was barely able to consume anything more than coffee and toast this morning, and now I’m regretting even that as sourness tries to climb up my throat.
But I shove it down, swallowing hard and dragging in a deep breath.
Of course, the guys are with me. They can’t go up into the meeting with me, no matter how much I wish they could, but having them here right now is comforting. It’s better than nothing, that’s for sure.
Malice takes my hand in his, squeezing it lightly. “Remember you deserve to be there,” he tells me. “You walked through fucking hell to earn that right. Don’t let them intimidate you.”
“Right.” I nod, squaring my shoulders. “I’m not afraid of them.”
“Good.” He grins, and it’s sharp and savage. “Fuck, I wish I could be up there to watch you take down Olivia. I wanna see the look on that smug bitch’s face when you beat her at her own game.”
“I’ll be sure to describe it to you in detail when I get back,” I promise, finally smiling a little.
Malice kisses my cheek, his stubble scraping lightly over my skin, and then Vic moves in.
“Deep breaths,” he tells me, and I do the breathing technique I picked up from him. “Good. Remember everything we talked about. You know all you need to know to win this. You’ve got it.”
I nod, smiling when he reaches out to brush his fingers over my wrist. From Vic, in public, that’s practically a bear hug, and it goes a long way toward making me feel better.
Ransom dips in next and kisses the corner of my mouth, careful not to smudge my makeup.
“Give ’em hell,” he murmurs. “Show those rich fuckers that you’re worth a million of them.”
“I’ll do my best,” I whisper back.
All three of them are so confident, sosurethat I can do this, and I soak it all up, letting it chase away the dread that’s been building up in my chest since I woke up this morning. Even if I have to go up there by myself, I won’t truly be alone.
So I step away from them, stiffening my spine and moving toward the building’s entrance with quick strides.
Even as the distance between us grows, I can feel their support, their love. It’s something I’m carrying with me, something nothing can shake.
I’ve been reading some of the romance novels Malice got for me in my downtime and before bed, and I smile to myself as I step into the cool interior of the lobby of the building. My three men are definitely better than any of the guys in the books I’ve read so far. More dangerous, but much better.
“Can I help you, ma’am?” the woman behind the front desk asks, looking up from her computer at me.
There was a time when just walking into a place like this would have gotten me thrown out. When it would have been so clear that I didn’t belong, in my scruffy clothes, shrinking down to try to hide myself.
Now I keep my expression cool and my head held high. I’m dressed up in the kind of business clothes people wear to these kinds of places, a nice blazer in a dark blue color with a pencil skirt and matching pumps.
I definitely look like someone who goes to important meetings all the time, and the outfit was chosen specifically for that. If I’m going to do this, then I’m going to do it all the way.
I’ve learned a lot more about this world that my grandmother inhabits since I was first brought into it, and while it won’t ever be where I want to belong, I feel less like a fish out of water than before. I’m learning how to function in the upper-class world of wealth, backstabbing, and deceit.
