Page 79 of The Christmas Trap

"It would seem that way."

"And are you happy about it?" Adrian places his whiskey glass on the table. "You seem…preoccupied?"

"Not about the wedding. That’s a done deal. No, it’s about my fiancée." I top up my whiskey glass, then survey the golden liquid. "She’s my choice to take over from me as CEO.”

Toren and Adrian exchange glances.

"Must make things awkward at work," Adrian offers.

"It might have, except she’s so damn good at her job, no one can question her talent. And she’s so hardworking that no one can question her commitment.”

Toren moves his cigar to the other side of his mouth. “Looks like she made an impression on you and the board.”

"More than.” I chuckle. “Lark chaired the last board of directors meeting on my behalf. A few weeks in her role, and she's conversant with the numbers, the past performance, future goals, challenges, upcoming initiatives, all of it. You should have seen her go toe-to-toe with the rest of the board. She’s badass. And resilient. She has a zest for the business that I haven’t had in a while. She also has a natural empathy. It helps her pay attention to employees’ welfare.”Something my pride didn’t allow room for. She, on the other hand, did not worry about it being mistaken for weakness.

James gives me a shrewd look. “So, you're finally doing it?”

I nod. “The first two years, when I took over as CEO, I poured my heart and soul into the job. Turned the business around. Hit the revenue goals. Lined up acquisitions to meet growth goals. Along the way, I hired teammates who’re former military for as many roles as they were qualified for. But I want to do more.”

“You mean, you want to work more closely with veterans?” Adrian blows out a puff of smoke.

I nod. “Lark’s taken over a lot of my day-to-day duties in a very short time. Once she's CEO, I can take on more of an advisory role. I can focus on finding startups which fit my vision while continuing to be there for her as a guiding hand. The rest of the time, I would work directly with veterans.”

“Very honorable. In fact, you make me feel like a right bastard for not having an outreach goal at my restaurant, you twat,” James scoffs.

Toren rolls his shoulders back. "You’re going to have to sell Arthur on it.”

"I’ve spoken to him. And he’s agreed to back Lark for the CEOposition. After all, he's the one who pointed out she’d be the perfect match for me."In more than one way, as it turns out.

As if reading my thoughts. James reaches over and slaps my back. "Sounds like it’s all falling into place. But I do have one question."

I incline my head.

"Are you going to ask me to be your best man?"

25

Lark

“Wait, you changed the groom?” Raya gasps.

She’s seated in one of the velvet chairs lining the lounge outside the fitting room.

We’re at Karma West Sovrano’s flagship boutique, which is basically holy ground for anyone who worships couture. Her protégé runs the place now, ever since she, well, ‘passed.’

Except, there are all these whispers, like mafia-movie-level whispers, that she’s actually in a coma somewhere in Sicily, hidden away by her husband, Michael Sovrano, the former Cosa Nostra Capo.

I love her designs so much that a big part of me hopes it’s all true.

The space smells faintly of roses and pressed satin. Rachel glides around with a clipboard, conferring with the seamstress.

The wedding is a week away.

I invited my sister and Harper over to choose their bridesmaid dresses from the collection. I’m also going to choose a dress for my mother.

Brody insisted on covering the cost for all of them.

I hope to use the dresses to distract them from the many questions they’ll have, now that I’ve spilled the tea. I told them about what went down with my ex. They know he cheated on me with my bridesmaid. And that I’m marrying Brody.