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Rachel’s gorgeous smile spread warmth through me like a glowing fire on a dark winter’s night. She was my world, my everything and I was hers. For that moment in time, I thought I was the luckiest man on earth.
I’m so lost strolling down memory lane that I almost jump out of my chair when my secretary Gladys knocked on my open door.
“Sorry, sir, but you didn’t answer your phone,” Gladys says, likely noting my wide-eyed expression. “Rachel Bradly is here for your meeting. Shall I send her in?”
My heart races madly in my chest as I glance at the clock. It’s 9:58 a.m. At least Rachel’s on time, but I need a moment to collect myself. “Thank you, Gladys. Send her in at ten sharp. And please close the door.”
“Yes, sir,” she says before withdrawing.
I immediately begin pacing the room to calm my nerves. I give myself an internal pep talk:You’re the boss, you’re in control here. Rachel can’t hurt you anymore. This time around, she’ll be the one left broken and abandoned.
A few more deep breaths and I’m ready for battle.
Chapter seven
Rachel
“Mr.Daltonwillseeyou now,” Rhence’s secretary says to me. She’s a middle-aged woman, a little on the heavy side, but highly proficient at what she does. I’ll give him points for not hiring the stereotypical hot piece of eye candy for a secretary. The man obviously didn’t build a billion-dollar corporation being stupid.
“Thank you,” I say as I rise from the sofa, smooth my suit jacket, and heft my laptop bag onto my shoulder. As I progress toward the door I try to ignore the fact that I’m about to be face to face with the man who swore he’d love me to his dying day and then vanished from my life.
Gladys opens the door to Rhence’s office and I step in, willing my heart to slow the fuck down. My breath catches in my throat at the sight of him. Why does he have to be so unbelievably handsome? Even in jeans, a button-down shirt, and a sports jacket, he still looks like he just stepped off the cover ofGQmagazine.
“Hello, Rachel,” Rhence says, motioning for me to sit in the chair across from his desk. “Glad to see you made it on time.”
Oh, here we go, I think as he lowers his six-foot frame into his chair.
“Sure,” I say, trying to stay focused. “Traffic wasn’t too bad, and all your elevators are working.” Jeez, I sound like an idiot. Is that amusement on his face? The bastard.
“So,” he taps at the keyboard of his laptop, “let’s take a look at your financials.” He grimaces dramatically and sighs. “Lot of work to be done there,” he glances at me, “especially for a financial services firm.”
The insult clears the fog from my head. “As you can see from our four previous quarters, we had outstanding financial performance. It was only after one of the founding partners left and stole half our clients that the business began to suffer.”
He cocks a brow at my defensiveness. “But you’ve had two quarters to correct for the departure and to bring in new clients, right?”
I squirm a little in my chair. “Yes, but Quinn was our chief sales director, and we’ve been struggling to find a suitable replacement within our salary range.”
He nods pensively, never taking those damnable, stunning green eyes off me. “That’s an area I can certainly help with. I’ve recruited top talent from Goldman Sachs. I’ll arrange a meeting for you later this week.”
I scoff. “We can’t afford Goldman Sachs on our budget.”
“Youcan’t afford it, but Horizon can,” Rhence says coolly. There’s no emotion in those eyes, just pure cruelty. He’s obviously come back into my life because he’s not done making me suffer. What in the hell did I ever do to this man to make him treat me this way? We were supposed to get married, for Christ’s sake!
“Fine. When do I get to meet him?” I pull my laptop out of my bag.
“Her.”
“What?”
“When do you get to meether? The name is Eliza Crowner.”
My brows hitch up. “Oh. Ok.”
“She comes highly recommended. I think she’s exactly what your little firm needs. She’ll really turn things around.”
I quickly search for her on LinkedIn. Of course, she’s picture perfect, and her credentials are impeccable.
“As I’m sure you’ve noted,” Rhence says with an edge to his voice, “she’s a Harvard MBA, like you.”
