And I can’t even hold a grudge for it. It’s brilliant. From an alliance formed when they were just teenagers to the bittersweet victory of today, he seems to have done everything he set out to do. Everything.
His day of reckoning has finally come. And ironically, I’ll be the one to gift it to him.
But not without seeking some justice of my own.
When the door opens and closes some minutes later, I keep my gaze out the window but can feel his hesitance from feet away.
“Well done, Tobias, but you had to know I’d figure it out.”
Silence. A long minute of quiet followed by another. I can feel his eyes on me, my spine prickling in awareness, my heart fluttering in my chest.
“I didn’t care if you did.” The timbre in his voice combined with the thick foreign lilt has my eyes closing and my heart lurching into rapid rhythm. For years I dreamt of hearing his voice, and for years I’ve replayed echoes of his soft murmurs during our most intimate moments.
“So why didn’t you show up?”
“It wasn’t necessary.”
“You mean I’m not worthy of a handshake? Or at the very least a little gloating on your part.”
“No gloating necessary. I’m well aware of your position to deny me this. But you never cared about his company.”
“Why now? Why did you wait so long?”
“I wasn’t sure I wanted it anymore.”
“What’s changed?”
“Nothing, except deciding I did.”
Despite my mission with my own career, I haven’t so much as touched Roman’s company since I inherited it because though I hold my grudges close, it was never supposed to be mine for the taking.
“This was supposed to go down years ago. What happened? Did you take pity on a dying man?”
“Plans changed.”
Quietly exhaling, I turn and lay eyes on him for the first time in six years. It’s a shot to the chest which robs me of breath and ricochets when his eyes collide with mine. In those few seconds, I’m engulfed in flames, my lips parting slightly as we take in the other, at a loss for words.
He’s cruelly beautiful, as he’s always been, even more so now. He’s larger than life in the outdated office. His dark suit clings to his physique, his build just as magnificent as it was years ago when I felt his naked flesh under my palms, and our breaths mingled.
No memory I have did him justice. From the surreal ember color of his eyes to the cut of his jaw, to the majestic strength of his nose, down to his light crimson lips, he’s spellbinding. And just as I recognize the fire in his eyes that I’ve longed for with every beat of my betrayed heart, they cool considerably before slicing like diamonds down my form.
“I see we’re going with an openly hostile reception. I would think this would be a good day for you, Tobias. A celebration. You won.”
“I won nothing.” His tone sends a chill down my spine.
“I’ve been well, thanks for asking.” I take a step toward him to engage, and he stiffens. “You’re going to give it back to them, aren’t you?”
One sharp nod.
“They deserve it. I won’t fight you on that.”
Another nod as he sweeps me as if he’s trying to make sure I’m unharmed. I’m fucking not.
“But I won’t let it go fully, either.”
He snaps his eyes to mine. “Can’t you just be done with this?”
“In the last six years, I’ve been no burden to you. I did what was asked of me.”
“I told you not to come back, Cecelia. I meant it.”
“Yeah, well, sorry about the inconvenience, my father died. I have business here.”
“Your father died two years after you left, you didn’t show up then. But if you want to use him as an excuse, then let’s get this over with so you can go.”
I square off with him. “Sorry. I no longer take orders from you.”
“You never did. And this doesn’t have to get ugly.”
“Except it will because I won’t be manipulated by you again. And I want answers.”
“Let it go. We were foolish people then, who did stupid shit. Your part in it ends in this room.”
“Stupid…” I draw the word out. “Well, I’ve definitely felt that over the years.”
His nostrils flare as I draw closer, the energy between us crackling with each step, making it harder to breathe. Volatile eyes scour me before he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Do you want an apology?”
“Now that would be worthless. What you did to me was unusually cruel, don’t you think?”
“It was necessary.”
“Necessary…no, I don’t like it. And cruel might be mild in comparison to what it was. Merciless might be the better word. But I’ve tried really hard not to hold it against you because it came from a place of pain. At least it did at first.”
His jaw feathers with irritation and my palm itches to slap and soothe. Physically I can feel every emotion rolling between us, but I want so much to break this tension because it hurts.
His voice is barely a whisper when he speaks. “What do you want?”
“I want you to talk to me. Grant me a conversation.”
“I have nothing to say.”
“I have plenty.”
His nostrils flare. “Then let’s hear it.”
“No,” I say softly. “I don’t think so. Not this way. Not with ears on the other side of that door.”
“This was a mistake,” he barks out and runs a hand through his hair, ruining the composed look of it. “The deal was—”
“We’re still in negotiations,” I snap, striding toward him in anger. “You plotted and schemed using me as a ragdoll, and you’re the one who’s aggravated? I’m not going to deny you this, but how dare you stand there and have the audacity to act indignant about it?”
“Again. You were never supposed to be involved in any part of this. From day one, I told you to stay the fuck away. But you didn’t listen.”
“And you stayed away?”
He levels me with his response. “It meant far more to you than it did to me.” Inside I’m dying, his words hitting as hard as he intended. I glance back out the window to keep him from seeing the sting. Tension thickens as he speaks from behind me. “Everything has moved on without you.”
“Good to know.”
“Just sign the papers and go home. You’ll be a rich woman.”
That comment has my focus back on him, my glare full of the offense I feel. “Money means absolutely fucking nothing to me. And I’m a successful woman already without this deal.”
“I’m aware.”
“Are you?” I cross my arms. “Is that part of moving on?”
“We’re not going back there.” His voice is steel, the edges of the blade slashing across my chest. Why can’t I let go of this man that so clearly despises me? I had suspected as much, but now it’s blisteringly evident. In a way, I cost him his brother, as my father did his parents. Maybe he has every right to hate me and vice versa, so why can’t I hate him back?
Electricity sparks the longer we share space, and I can feel the increase in the thrum between us, while he tries to feign indifference. But it’s still there. And how I wish it weren’t. How I wish that fate or karma or whatever it is that decided to tether us together would disappear and release me, release us both. But it’s there, and it’s so loud, it might as well be the pound of a drum.