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I furrow my brow, my concern deepening. “What kind of meeting? And when?”
“Pretty much right now, at nine thirty.” Ann-Marie shrugs, her confusion mirroring my own. “I don’t know what this is about. I only got a vague notification about it from your uncle’s assistant. It’s in the conference room.”
I know right away that something isn’t right here. There’s only one reason why my uncle would schedule a last-minute meeting without telling me about it and without giving me any time to prepare for it. And it wasn’t a good one.
“Do you want me to call her back and ask?” Ann-Marie wants to know.
My mind races as I stand up, my chair scraping against the floor. “No, thank you. I’ll go and see for myself.”
She nods, her expression still slightly miffed. “Let me know if you need anything.”
I stride down the hallway, the heels of my shoes clicking on the marble floor. My thoughts are a whirlwind of frustration and suspicion. I’ve been steadfast in my determination to keep my father’s legacy alive, to protect the company he built from the ground up. I know my uncle sees things differently, but I never expected him to stoop so low as to arrange a meeting without my knowledge.
As I reach the conference room, the door looms in front of me like a barrier to secrets I’m not prepared to face. I take a deep breath, my hand gripping the handle as I push the door open.
The scene that greets me, however, is not what I anticipated. I only find my uncle’s assistant bustling about, arranging documents and setting up the room for the meeting.
My brows knit in confusion. “Where’s my uncle?”
The assistant, a middle-aged woman named Margaret, looks up from her task and offers me a sympathetic smile. “Madison, I’m so sorry you had to find out like this.”
I can feel her eyes on me as I reach for a pile of documents on the table in front of me. My fingers tighten around the document I’d picked up, my eyes scanning its contents. “What is this? ‘Up-and-coming 3D printing technology’? This doesn’t make sense. My uncle has always opposed investing in 3D printing. We have been arguing about this for months. And now, he suddenly arranges a meeting about this, without telling me?”
Margaret sighs, her gaze sympathetic. “I know this must be a shock to you. But your uncle has been having discussions behind the scenes. He’s considering this offer seriously.”
“Offer?!” I’m almost screeching at this point. “How can there be an offer? I never agreed to any of this!”
My confusion deepens as I glance around the conference room, the pieces of the puzzle not fitting together. “Did he really think he could go through with this without telling me?”
Margaret’s expression grows rueful. “He gave me strict instructions to not let your office know until this morning. I’m really sorry, Madison. You know I wouldn’t just—”
“No, of course not, it’s not your fault,” I hurry to assure her.
Margaret has always been a sweetheart to me, and she loved my father. It must be hard for her to be put in the middle like this.
I lower my head to look at the document in my hands again. The irony isn’t lost on me. My uncle, who’d always criticized my ideas about 3D printing, is now secretly considering a deal centered around that very technology. A bitter taste rises in my mouth as I realize the extent of his deception.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” Margaret asks, already standing by the door and ready to leave.
“Thank you, Margaret,” I say with a nod, my voice tinged with frustration. “I’ll handle it from here.”
She offers me an apologetic smile before quietly leaving the room. As the door closes behind her, I’m left alone with my thoughts and the documents that hold the key to this unexpected turn of events.
Sinking into a chair, I read through the papers, absorbing the details of the potential deal. It’s a lucrative offer. Very lucrative, in fact. Under any other circumstance, I would praise my uncle for being able to bring such a generous offer to the table. But this is not about money.
I check the time and realize that the meeting will not start for another ten minutes. Just enough time to confront my uncle and possibly bring a halt to all of this before it even begins.
I tuck the documents under my arm, my mind set on confronting my uncle, and I storm out of the conference room. But as I try to turn left, to head for my uncle’s office, I’m stopped dead in my tracks when I bump right into a large, suit-wearing individual.
The pile of documents falls out of my hand, gently floating down to the ground and piling up around my feet as I stare up in disbelief.
Standing before me, in a dark gray suit, sporting an annoyingly charismatic smile while he crosses his strong arms in front of his chest, is the pesky but sexy stranger from the dojo—Chase.
Chapter 7
Chase
Once again, I have rendered her speechless. But this time, she’s not the only one fighting for words. Her presence in this hallway is the last thing I expected. The sterile fluorescent lights overhead cast a stark glare on the polished linoleum floors of the office building, almost blinding me as I try to make sense of the sight of her.
