Page 42 of Power

“Yeah,” I said, the words tasting like lies, “that has to be what it is.”

Because he was right, wasn’t he? There was no way I could develop feelings for anybody within two days. Hell, I’d never even been in a serious relationship. How would I know what the early stages felt like?

So, why didn’t that feel like the truth?

“Plus,” Axel added, pointing his glass at me, “you’re used to women throwing themselves at you like you’re the last helicopter out of a disaster zone. It’s probably refreshing, having someone who tried to push you away.”

“Damn it.” I took another sip of whiskey, letting it burn down my throat. “Whatever it is, I can’t stop thinking about her.”

“It’ll fade,” Axel said with the confidence of someone who’d never let anything stick long enough to leave a mark.

“How do you know?”

“Because it always fades. Trust me. This is just lust. It’ll go away faster than that hangover she gave you.”

I worked my jaw from side to side, trying to swallow the angry retort building on my tongue. Out of anyone I could’ve called tonight, I’d chosen Axel for a reason. He was nothing if not consistent in his disbelief in love, as allergic to emotions as anyone I’d ever met. The very notion of a relationship was like a flu to him. Something you avoided at all costs, something you took action against at the very first symptom. So, yeah, when I found myself pacing after Scarlett left, Axel was the one I’d called to talk some sense into me.

Why then did his words piss me off?

“I’m going to call her.”

“It’s midnight,” Axel said lazily, checking his watch. “Even psychos need their beauty sleep.”

My stomach twisted. Why hadn’t she stayed until midnight, the sarcastic timeline I’d set early on, when she could run away like Cinderella? Why had she left earlier? When we’d been together on that bluff overlooking the lake, I thought I’d caught something in her eyes that told me she was feeling this too.

“Tomorrow then.”

Axel glanced at his watch. “Don’t you have the big announcement tomorrow?”

Holy shit. I hadn’t forgotten about it exactly, more like it had been shelved to the back burner of my mind. Somehow, the entire weekend had flown by, and the only thing that had consumed my thoughts was Scarlett.

Tomorrow was the big announcement that my private equity firm had acquired a new company. We’d kept the identity of the acquisition private for several reasons. First, it was a hostile takeover, and I never counted my chickens before they hatched. Second, there was still that crucial signature missing on a page,which I would insist on havingbeforeI took that stage in front of thousands of employees—some in person, some on live stream—to let them know that I was now the one in charge. The person with control over the direction of their company and their jobs.

“Trust me.” Axel’s voice cut through my thoughts. “You’ll wake up tomorrow and feel differently.”

“Will I?”

Axel set his glass down with a decisive clink. “You know what I think? I think this is the first time you’ve managed to go two days without obsessing over work, and that’s the real high you’re chasing. Two days without being Jace Lockwood, corporate shark. Must be a personal record.”

“I love my job,” I protested.

“Even sex becomes a chore if you do it eighteen hours a day.”

The words hit too close to home. Maybe he was right. Tomorrow was the biggest day of my career after all. I’d bet everything on this acquisition, put all my poker chips into the center of the table, so to speak. If it imploded, for any reason, my entire business could crumble.

It was only natural to have nerves, right? Only natural for anxiety to manifest in strange ways. Maybe that was all this was: displacement. Easier to obsess over a beautiful woman than face the weight of tomorrow’s announcement.

Besides, even if these were true feelings, if Scarlett ever found out the truth about who I really was, what I’d done in my past, she’d never want to talk to me again …

20

SCARLETT

“Okay, that was the last thing I expected you to say.” Dakota’s eyes were as wide as the coffee cup clutched in her hands.

I shifted in my tiny seat, hyperaware of the five hundred other people packed into this makeshift conference room. The air felt thick with tension and whispered speculation. Up front, the empty podium waited beneath stark fluorescent lights, its microphone standing ready for the person of the hour. Any second now, our new owner was going to walk onto that stage.

“What can I say?” I toyed with my employee badge. “It was a wonderful weekend.”