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Taylor just stared. Charlie was staring at her, and she supposed this was where she said “aha” and pieced everything together, but instead Taylor just shrugged, looking at him for more answers.
“We need you to draw positive attention,” Charlie said, nodding as if that clarified things.
Taylor took a shot in the dark, “So, I need to have meetings face to face, do interviews, and come up with new ideas?” she guessed.
“Well, yes, that’s a start, “Charlie said encouragingly but looking stressed again.
Taylor rolled her eyes in frustration. “Can you just tell me already?” she barked out, restraining herself from shouting.
“We need positive attention Taylor—”
“So you said!” Taylor shouted. “What exactly do you want from me?”
“A wedding.”
Taylor was silent for a beat, and then she blew up.
“What?” she shrieked, jumping from her seat.
Every male recoiled at her response. She was shocked, appalled, furious all at the same time. “What do you want me to do, marry some dude off the street, put us on the cover ofPeople, romanticize us all so that stocks can climb?”
“No,” Charlie said softly.
Taylor exhaled a sigh of relief and closed her eyes. Of course they wouldn’t do that. It was the twenty-first century, and Preston Corp. was a billion-dollar company; well, it had been a billion-dollar company. Of course they had better ideas than marrying her off.
And then Charlie dropped the bomb, “We want you to marry Derrick.”
Taylor’s heartbeat went into rapid, triple-time mode. Her breathing rushed out of control, and things started to go dark. She couldn’t think. Next thing she knew there was calls of concern. She couldn’t answer. Suddenly she felt herself pushed into a chair, and her head shoved between her legs.
“Deep breaths, Taylor. Take slow, deep breaths.” It was Derrick. The sound of his voice so close was too much, and she freaked even more, so she pushed him back. After that, she felt him move away.
Then an internal voice came in; it could have been hers, who knew at that point. But she heard it say,Get yourself together, Taylor, you aren’t a child. Yeah, that’s right, she was an adult. She was Taylor Preston, and she was a twenty-four-year-old woman, and she needed to act like it. So Taylor slowed her breathing down, and things cleared up. And her thoughts did too.
Taylor lifted her head. Her glasses slipped down a bit, and she took them off her face and threw them to the floor. She rubbed her face with both hands and glared at the men in front of her, who all looked concerned, evan Todd.
And just the concern on their faces, like she was a helpless little thing, was her complete undoing.
“Have you all lost your fucking minds?” she exploded, jumping to her feet. She would not be in a position lower than them, no way. Clearly they were all insane.
They all flinched at her words. Obviously they had expected her to just sit there, be told what to do, and just do it. Like a good girl.
Well, that was not the way it was going to happen.
“Well?”
Still there was no response. She zeroed in on Charlie and Todd. “This was your great idea, this was the brilliant way to save an empire?”
Charlie shook his head, probably as much as to answer her as to clear his head of what was happening before him. “No, Taylor, this wasn’t …”
“This was my idea.”
Taylor turned to the source of the words, and found herself staring at Derrick. “Why?” she said breathlessly.
“His and mine,” his father cut in, standing.
Taylor looked between the two. No further information came through. “Talk, now.” She spat the words at them. She was shaking with fury.
“Taylor,” Simon began softly in the same sales-pitch tone Charlie had used just moments before, “Derrick has a colored past.” He let the statement hang in the air. No one else spoke. No one else moved.