Page 119 of Bargain With the Boss

“Iworked for.Me.” My mother’s face flushed as the anger overrode everything now that she was caught in her lie. “You’re barely a speck in this creation of mine.”

“Barely a—” Shock and hurt flooded my bloodstream until the room went dark with it. “I do everything for this company. I was gone less than a month and you nearly destroyed the holiday line because you don’t know anything about the backend of this company. The distribution and manufacturing is in a constant state of flux, and you need to talk to these companies we work with, not just make demands. We nearly lost our Malaysian manufacturing contract because of your changes.”

She quietly sat behind her desk. “They just aren’t used to a strong woman in power.”

“Good business is making solid relationships with your partners. You’re too worried about your awards, and interviews, and photo ops to understand how the business works anymore.”

“I earned every one of those awards.” Her voice was shrill.

“I earned them,” I said with a rising pride. “I’m the one that has turned this place into a thriving business. And I would have been the one who brought us to another level with my garden idea.”

“Pathetic idea,” my mother sneered.

“Not such a pathetic idea.” Xavier said as he walked to my side. “In fact, her proposal will be rescinded as part of the merger. We’ll be taking that with us when we return to Crescent Cove.”

She popped up from her chair. “She’s going nowhere.”

“I believe Max will have some ideas about that.” He turned to me. “The garden center idea deserves the space to thrive without your so-called changes.” He ignored my mother, his gaze focused on mine—unwavering.

“How did you know about that?” My voice cracked.

He took my hand. “I had a long talk with Jude.”

I had to swallow down a lump. “You really came here for me.”

“I did. And I’ll keep doing it for the rest of our lives.”

I dragged in a sharp breath.

“I love you, Duchess. I wanted you free of her—no strings.” He glanced at my mother. “That is unless you want the merger to fall apart.”

My mother sat down again. Her silence all I needed to know.

She would never choose me over her precious company. Her fame and power.

“I thought not. There’s going to be some restructuring going on here.” He pulled me into his side, his strong arm aroundmy back. Supportive in a way I’d never known in my life. “And until you get your company off the ground, we’ll see if your team wants to relocate to the Cove.”

“Xavier…” At a loss, I had to lock my knees before I fell in a heap.

“We need more help with FHK and if you trained them, I know we can put them to work. And it will give you time to make your own plans.”

Overwhelmed, I lifted a hand to his cheek. “Thank you.” I lifted on my toes and brushed a kiss along his cheek before I stepped back and faced my mother. “How fortunate for you that you’ve had people shadowing my team.”

At her stony expression, I knew that was just one more lie she’d told me.

She had one—Robert. And he didn’t know shit about running the creative end of the company.

I pushed down the hurt.

I shouldn’t be surprised. She’d never treated me as anything other than her employee anyway.

“The holiday line is locked. You’ll have to figure out the rest, Mother.”

“I started this business alone. I don’t need you.”

Xavier gripped my hip, standing behind me stiffly. I reached back and found his hand. “The funny thing is that’s just one more lie. You do, but I don’t needyouanymore and that’s the difference.”

“You’re nothing without me and the Keller name, Sydney.”