Page 45 of Power

The past clawed at the edges of my mind, but I shoved it back down.

A petite brunette from HR appeared. “Mr. Lockwood? They’re ready for you.”

I squeezed Marcus’s shoulder. “We’ll finish this later.”

As I strode toward the stage, my head of HR buzzed in my ear like an anxious bee.

“They’re nervous, Mr. Lockwood. And some are angry.”

“Once they research my company, they’ll realize wesavejobs.”

“Right, well, the current sellers haven’t exactly painted you as their savior.”

“Fantastic.” I straightened my tie. “Because that’s exactly what I need. All these people preprogrammed to hate me.”

“Just … reassure them. And don’t give them a reason to dislike you more. We need them to be on your side. We want no complications. No problems.”

“Understood.”

I walked onto the stage, projecting the confidence of someone born to lead.

Until one set of eyes stopped me cold.What in the holy hell?

Scarlett. The woman who’d spent the weekend driving me absolutely wild, who’d blindfolded me and made me beg, whose taste still lingered on my tongue, was staring back at me. Her shocked expression mirroring my own.

22

SCARLETT

I swear to hell, my heart left the room. Ran away screaming, leaving my body behind to deal with this unimaginable new reality.

No. No. Dear sweet baby Jesus, no.

Any hope of becoming invisible evaporated when Jace’s eyes found mine in the crowd, like out of five hundred people, his internal GPS had decided I was true north. Because of course it did.

Universe: 1, Scarlett: 0.

Some women might squeal at catching the hot CEO’s attention. Maybe flip their hair, shoot knowing glances at their besties, and start planning their power-couple Instagram aesthetic. Me? I was calculating the fastest route to the nearest toilet before my breakfast made an unauthorized public appearance.

This was my worst-case scenario, wrapped in a nightmare wearing a designer suit. Because one weekend of no-strings-attached fun had just turned into a tangled web ofoh shit, what have I done. The universe wasn’t just laughing at me. It was rolling on the floor, crying tears of joy at my expense.

My carefully constructed world of independence was crumbling beneath me.

I’d spent my entire life calculating every single step with one singular purpose: to never let a man have any control over me. Having a successful career meant financial freedom, and financial freedom meant no man could ever hold power over me like my dad held over my mother, who lacked the financial resources to leave her abuser. My career was my freedom. My safety net. My everything.

And now? The guy who’d seen me naked less than twelve hours ago had the power to destroy it all.

He could take away my paycheck. He could take away my ability to pay for my rent, keep a roof over my head. Not to mention my mom’s. He had the power to take away my ability to keep Buttercup fed and happy. Worst case, and this thought was making the instant thundering of my heartbeat slam even harder, I wouldn’t even be able to find a new owner for her in time, and she’d get slaughtered because when people couldn’t afford to take care of horses anymore, there wasn’t an animal shelter on the corner you could drop them off at, and?—

“Good morning.” His voice carried through the room with wavelengths made of sex. “I’m Jace Lockwood.”

“Holy crap.” Dakota’s eyes widened, and for a second, I swore there was something more behind her reaction than just shock about my weekend.

But I couldn’t focus on it long enough to figure it out. I was too busy, you know, having a panic attack.

“Scar?” Dakota’s voice was echoing in my head. A seriously bad sign.

So was the cold sweat on my forehead and the rebellion brewing in my stomach. I bet I wouldn’t even make it to a countdown from ten before catastrophe happened.