“Forget we even said anything Miss, but a word of warning, don’t let yourself get caught alone with Mike Collins if you catch my meaning.”
It all makes sense somehow, and I feel bad for Logan all over again.
His own company, something he’s worked so hard to build, and he has to deal with people trying to bring him down every minute of his workday.
Moving through the huge glass doors, I catch sight of my dad’s head over some partitions instantly, and he looks up as if by instinct, waving me over.
“There’s my dad, thank you,” I tell the guard, “…for everything.”
He tips his finger to his cap in salute and I rush over to my dad.
“Honey? What’s the matter. Why were you with security? Have you been crying?”
Good old dad, there’s no putting anything past him, but I can’t tell him the truth, no way can I tell him the truth.
“I just got lost, and a little upset is all. They just showed me where you were,” I tell him, half-truthfully.
Only leaving out the part where Logan Parker ate me out on his desk for a half-hour and then I imagined him doing that to every girl in the building and storming off like an idiot…
Ugh!
I notice a third security guard in front of a closed door, making those other two guys look puny. He’s almost as big as Logan.
Logan.
“What’s going on, dad?” I ask, noticing just how concerned he looks.
“I dunno sweetie, it’s just weird. When I saw you just before, Mr. Parker took me aside, telling me to go with Campbell down here to PR and that he’d get in touch later today or maybe tomorrow about a promotion. Then not two minutes after we all got back down here, there was security in front of Campbell’s office and Mike Collins took off like a bat outta hell.”
“I think Mr. Parker might just be cutting away a little dead wood, dad,” I hear myself saying absently, making him give me a quizzical look.
“He only told me to come down and make sure you found your way alright, to your new job,” I continue, hoping my dad buys my story.
“And what else is Mr. Parker telling you?” he asks, looking more like a protective father than an employee.
“I think you might be right about that internship,” is all I can manage.
I don’t like lying to my dad, but I don’t want to lose my chance at being with Logan either.
“I’ll head back up now, you might have your new office before you know it,” I tell him, finally feeling myself smile again as I tip my head towards the closed door with the guard out front as I sense my dad shaking his head once again.
Unable to believe myself just how this day’s panning out.
Chapter Ten
Logan
I know when to act and when to wait, but this waiting… it’s killing me inside.
I’m not sure how long I’ve paced until I finally stare out the window, looking over the fifty-foot high red letters on the building that spells my name, reflected in the hotel’s glass opposite.
None of it means anything without her anymore.
None of really meant anything in the first place, not until she walked into my life.
She can’t just walk away, I won’t let her.
What are you gonna do… force her to love you? Make her come back?
I talk myself into a tight ball of nerves, reminding myself to just wait, to be patient.
Something always presents itself.
But sometimes a man has to do what he has to do, he has to act.
She did ask if I was the boss, didn’t she? She also told me she was mine. She fucking told me.
I can’t force her to love me, to even come back but I can sure as hell tell her how much I love her. How much I need her.
The company be damned.
As soon as I have the thought, the moment my heart lifts at the thought of Chrissy in my arms again as I remember how damn fine she felt with my hands running over her… the taste of her still in my mouth…
The god damned phone rings again.
Never a minute’s peace, not for twenty fucking years!
“What!” I snarl, snatching up the handset, swearing I will fire everyone today if that’s what it takes.
“Mr. Parker...I’ve had a disturbing phone call from Mike Collins and Campbell… Campbell what’s his name, from Public Relations.”
It’s the most senior board member apart from myself, Alex Haywood. Been with me since the beginning.
“So?” I hear myself spit, glad he hasn’t come to my office in person, my hands are white-knuckled and itching to lash out at something.
“I’ll tell you this in confidence, Logan, a lot of us on the board are unhappy with the way you’re running things. A meeting’s been called and it doesn’t involve you. There’s talk of a hostile takeover, with a lot of support from other-”
My growl silences him. I sound like a wounded animal, but an angry one too.
I hold the majority share of the company, always have and always will, but this is how the dice rolls. Fat cats wanna get fatter and they can’t stand to see a younger man at the helm. A man with principles.
A man with some conscience.
Off the top of my head, doing the roughest math, I know I could get out. I could let even just the majority control slip by a few percent and still have enough money for ten lifetimes.
More than enough for one lifetime with Chrissy.
With our own family…
The only business I really want to be in now, the only company worth keeping.
But I’m as stubborn as I am strong, and I don’t take threats or orders from anyone, no matter who they are.
“Campbell’s under independent investigation,” I reply dryly. “Mike Collins is next and I can add your name to the list if you want, Alex. I won’t have you, the board,
