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His eyes meet mine and his gaze lingers as if he’s waiting for me to elaborate. My heart pounds with curiosity and fear that this will go badly and I won’t have an office to go back to.
“There are people who earn big paychecks and then there are the people who write them,” Adrian begins. “I wasn’t born into wealth, but I watched my father work his way up to being one of those people who earned his paycheck. And then it was taken away from him after one wrong deal.”
My body goes as cold as the ice he used to play with me earlier.
“I’ve looked into it since then,” continues Adrian, “and it was a bad deal. He made a mistake. But that was after years of making the right decisions over and over, after working his way up only to be knocked down the second something went wrong. Not because it was deserved, but because he made too much and it would be too easy to give his tasks to someone else. Then the person who wrote the big check could simply make back that money by letting him go.”
This is by far the most Adrian has ever shared with me, and my curiosity is piqued again. I don’t know anything about his father, only what I’ve read about him, which is simple. He buys companies, breaks them apart, moves some departmentsaround and eliminates others. He’s the man writing the checks and doing the firing now.
“That company went under within two years,” Adrian says quietly. Judging from his tone, this is important to him. The measured cadence of his words and the look in his eyes as he speaks.
“Without your father?” I manage to ask.
“Partially because of that. Partially because I bought the competitor. I hired my father. As the stock grew, I invested in other companies, including two crucial to my father’s former employer … And I dismantled them.”
Adrian uses a cool, almost bored tone to tell me this, and I’m even more afraid for my job now. He could do anything he wanted with the company. “Vindictive much?” I say, to cover the nervous pulse in my throat.
“He treated certain things, certain people, as if they were disposable. I showed him exactly what that meant. There are highs and lows in this business. Harsh decisions must be made. But the reasoning behind it is what matters. Is it for efficiency? For the bottom line? For power plays?”
“Why do you do it?”
Adrian’s eyes flash. “Because if there isn’t passion behind it, it shouldn’t exist. It’s a waste of time for everyone involved. It will fail, and the only ones who will benefit are the ones who are willing to sacrifice the purpose of it all.” His deep voice is filled with conviction. Adrian believes what he’s saying, and I imagine it’s why he fired so many of the executives today and sent them all packing. He has a passion for this business, not simply an investment.
“I learned a hard lesson early on: if you can’t beat them with morals and ethics, cut their throats and say that it’s business.”
A chill flows over my skin and numerous questions rest on the tip of my tongue. “I didn’t buy Holt and Hanover to cutanyone’s throat,” he states before I can ask. “The numbers are still being run with slight changes.” His tone is one of comfort, but the conversation is anything but. “When I know anything, you will as well. Do not worry.”
I can only nod as a shiver runs down my shoulders and I realize we’re back at the dock. The water is quieter and the chatter from the others much louder.
The waiter returns to check on me just then and he’s relieved to hear I’m feeling better. If my head wasn’t clouded with current topics, I would have blushed violently.
“Are you finished?” Adrian asks after time passes with easy silence, with a patient tone that says I could sit here for another hour, if I wanted.
Once again, I tell him the truth. “Yes.” I put my napkin on the table next to my plate.
“Good. When we get to the car I want you on your knees,” he mutters beneath his breath, standing up at the same time I do. A shiver returns, but this one is heated and causes flutters in places I shouldn’t be concerned with in public.
“So demanding.”
Adrian’s smile seems to light up the dining area. “Are you just now learning that, Ms. Parks?”
ADRIAN
The city blurs by, a streak of grays with splashes of colors as Noah speeds up down the avenue. It’s late, far too late given I have an early morning meeting with the executives of a company based overseas. There’s no doubt in my mind that rescheduling it would not go over well.
Leaning forward, I spread my knees, resting my elbows there and stretch my back, feeling the pull of it in my spine. Without thinking, I stare at the empty seat beside me, where Suzette was yesterday. The corners of my lips pull up, remembering how she squirmed, how easily she gave in. How she melts for me. And how much she loved it.
Today was hell. Meeting after meeting and when she texted that she had plans tonight, I can’t deny I felt loss. With her, I want every moment I can get. This evening held precisely none of them.
“Mr. Bradford?” Noah calls back, peering at me in the rearview although he doesn’t use the intercom.
“Yes?” I answer him and then lean back in the seat, resting my head and meeting his gaze in the mirror.
“Shall I make it a habit of keeping the divider up between us when Ms. Parks joins you?”
The hum of the night surrounds us as I consider his question. There’s no judgment; it’s honest professionalism.
Something I’ve lacked today.