We stand there sort of facing off, both of us too shocked to speak.
Even though I’m speechless, my brain is still able to r eplay a series of sex-flashbacks that might make me
blush if I wasn’t so pissed off. The hot throb of his spilling cock as he came so hard I was overflowing with it, my
body squeezing his in clenching, pleasure-heavy pulls.
It’s hard to reconcile that my beautiful lover is the same man who’s about to ruin my life.
I heard what he was saying as I walked in the door. We’re not fucking budging on fifteen. There’s not a
snowball’s chance in hell that company is worth even close to that much.
He’s wrong. It is worth that much. Much more than that. Or it could be if I only had enough time to get it
there.
It’s very possible that I’m good enough at my job to do that. Sure, it’s also possible that I’m not. If my
decr epit old man Board is any judge, I’m not up to the task. But de ep down I know I am.
“Wait a minute.” It’s the brother Cash introduced as Colton. His gaze is on Noah, who’s still staring at me in
mute shock and stunned disbelief. Then it slides over to me. “Lucky Ashton? The L. of L. Emerson Ashton stands
for Lucky?”
“Yes,” I confirm. It doesn’t take a Ph D to figure out that Colton is the brother who set Noah up on our blind
date. I know the story. And he knows at least half my
alias, which might as well be the whole thing. It’s easy to see that Colton understands what’s going on
here—and why his brother looks like he’s just seen a ghost.
Noah finally speaks. “Lucky n —” At exactly the same time, Colton bursts into raucous laughter. “Ho-o-ly
shit.”
“What?” Cash asks, still in the dark. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a little bit of a snafu with your latest
deal, bro.” Colton seems to find this hilarious.
I don’t know if it’s the overload of emotion I’ve experienced over the past 72 hours that’s making me feel
madder than hell. I fell in love this weekend, it’s as simple and life-changing as that. To realize that I’ve fallen in
love with an asshole sort of breaks my heart in slow motion as I’m standing here glaring at these three
ultra-powerful, loaded-beyond-belief, kings-of-New-York brothers who eat people like me for breakfast and spit
out their bones without a second thought.
That’s why they’re at the top of the heap. Because they don’t care about anyone but themselves. Obviously.
Because they—and especially him, the CFO with no heart—would like nothing more than to steal my father’s
company right out from under me.
I decide in the moment that I’d rather go bankrupt than take their fifteen million of pity money. Actually, it’s
not even pity. Just hard-ball greed. They know they’re getting a bargain and they couldn’t care less about how
much it’s going to hurt me.
At least with bankruptcy you don’t owe anything once you’ve declared it. So what if you can’t borrow, your
credit’s shot and banks won’t even look at you for a decade. The upside is that you don’t have to pay back
high-interest loans for years to come. At this point I’ll take it.
Maybe the Irish banks won’t have that information. Maybe they won’t care. I’ll have to renew the old passport
my mother had issued for our trip when I was three that I’ve let lapse. I’ll start a new life.
Me and my little blue-eyed baby. I don’t wait for Colton to explain to Cash what the situation is. “I came here
to negotiate.” My voice sounds cold. I’m looking right at Noah when I say it. “Since your CFO has very clearly
stated that you’re not willing to budge on fifteen, then there’s nothing to discuss. Because that number
doesn’t work for me.” I turn to Cash. “Thank you for your time. There’s no need for me to take any more of it.
The deal’s off.”
Before I burst into tears—my new thing that I have no idea how to control—I walk out.