“Something strange is putting it mildly.”
He put a hand on the back of his skull. “So, what did they say, what happened?”
Sticking the heels of my palms against my eyeballs, I laughed sarcastically. “Well, nothing too huge. They just expect me to marry a stranger who's known for sleeping around, and if I don't, everyone here loses their jobs. Oh! And I'm supposed to give the Birch family a grandkid!”
Gram was silent. I pulled my hands away to find him staring at me in horror.
I smiled sadly and said, “Yeah. That's the face I made, too.”
“Nicky. That's... how can they do that?”
Pacing the room, my voice grew tense. “They're blackmailing me, that's how. Legally I can't be made to do shit. But if I don't, I'll never become CEO! Everything I worked for, just... just gone! Over with!”
“Being forced into a marriage like this isn't worth any level of job status.”
“It's not just the status. It's time. Energy.” Running my fingers through my hair, I gave a manic grin. “I killed myself for this company. How can I walk away from it? Lose everything that was waiting for me? I had the potential to be something! Taking that away isn't right! And what about my promise to you?”
His smile was stale. “Oh, Nicky, that doesn't matter.”
“No.” Stepping forward, I grabbed his shoulders. I needed him to see the severity in my expression. I took my promises seriously, and the one I'd made to Gram years ago—when I'd stumbled in on him crying after my mother had berated him over being useless—had been the most serious of all.
I loved my brother dearly, and he deserved some karma for everything he'd gone through.
“I told you,” I said firmly, “When I become CEO, you can stop scraping your nose on the ground around our parents. I'll be in charge, you won't have to feel so... so uncomfortable here.”
“Listen,” he said, “Do what's best for you. That's all you should think about.”
It didn't make sense. People should always fight for their future, why wouldn't Gram? I'd always pictured Gram and I running this place, I trusted him more than anyone.
What if I couldn't give him that future anymore?
“But I promised,” I whispered.
Shrugging, he reached out for me. On impulse, I leaned in, embracing the hug as fiercely as he did. “It's only money,” he said against my scalp. “I'd find a new job. So would you. So would everyone.”
Everyone.
How selfish was I being? There were hundreds of people relying on their jobs here, and Gram wanted me to do whatever I felt was right. He wasn't interested in forcing me to marry someone, and he had a lot to lose if I didn't go through with it.
I need to think about how my choice affects others.
Marriage would let me keep the company. I could become CEO, let everyone remain financially secure. I could have everything I'd always wanted.
And something I don't want.
Abell. That bastard.
I'd get the company in the long run, but in the short run, I'd be dealing with him.
Giving Gram one more hug, I stepped out of his big arms. “I need to get out of here. If I see Mom or Dad right now, there's no telling what I'll do.”
He chuckled, looking over my head and out the open door. “Better go, then, here they come.”
I spun, seeing them facing away at the end of the hall. “Dammit.”
“Go,” he said, “Before I have to explain to Security why you gave the heads of the company black eyes.”
Laughing, glad he'd eased the mood, I backed out the doorway. “Alright, see you later. And... thanks. I mean that.” In a rush, I fled down the hall as fast as my heels would let me go.
Gram was my brother, no matter how my parents treated him. He'd always been good to me, and though I couldn't do much for him, someday... if I was CEO...
I could give him anything he wanted.
I just had to do the one thing I dreaded.
Rounding the corner of the building, I headed down the sidewalk. It wasn't even noon yet, but the New York sun was smudged behind thick grey clouds. December was looking more grim than the cheerful decorations on the street lights wanted to suggest.
I hope the Metro isn't packed. Though I could afford a car, I didn't own one.
I'd never learned to drive.
That never got in my way, though. I had public transport, or the convenience of private car companies. Parking in this city was a nightmare, so personally, I felt blessed not to own a giant metal monster.
It's time to go home. A hot shower and clean clothes are waiting for me. Once I'd gotten out of my sweaty outfit, I'd be able to think clearly. And I had a lot think about.
Eyeing the big fluffy clouds, wondering if we'd get snow, I walked right into something solid. “Aah!” I cried out, my balance going off kilter. Stumbling backwards into traffic, I had no way to stop my momentum.
Shit shit shit!
All those thoughts about cars, and now, one of them was going to crush me in the street. There had to be some irony in that.
I'm going to die! I...
Strong hands grabbed me, circling my lower back while squeezing my wrist. “Easy there,” a voice chuckled.
I knew that voice.
Lifting my eyes, I stared at Abell's intimately close face. There were electric blue flecks in his irises, his broad, fit body casting a shadow over me darker than the storm clouds above.
When I gasped, his scent swarmed my head—maple pancakes and pine. He smelled like a damn bed and breakfast out in some quaint countryside. My stomach even rumbled a little, a fact that made me turn red.
Both of us looked down at his hand where it was gripping mine. Yanking myself free, I put some space between us. I rubbed my wrist, feeling his warmth linger. “You,” I said, hating how breathy I sounded. “What are you doing here?”
He jerked a thumb to the side, indicating a yellow Ferrari. “This is where I parked. Why are you still here? You booked it out of that meeting over twenty minutes ago. I figured you'd be as far away as you could get by now.”
My blood was still rumbling from my near death by passing cars. Wiping my clammy palms as casually as I could on my jacket, I forced them to stop quaking. “I got pulled aside for... business reasons. I am in charge at this office, after all.”
No way I'm telling him about my talk with Gram.
He bowed his head slightly. “Not surprising, you were trying to take 'charge' with me all night.”
The reminder of our hookup brought new thoughts into my skull. They popped like bubbles, but I didn't enjoy the contents.
This is the guy I need to marry if I want to keep my future.
Everyone's future.
He stood in front of me in distressed jeans and an open leather jacket. Beneath it he was clad in a pale grey, too-tight-because-the-world-needs-to-know-he-has-a-rocking-bod T-shirt.
And he did have a rocking bod.
I'd seen it in all its glory.
Last night, Abell had pressed against me so firmly I'd expected his tattoos to leave ink stains on my skin. For all of his issues, he had some good qualities.
Too bad they were all bedroom related.
The rumors about his entitled nature and arrogant, over-sexed personality were pretty easy to believe. Whenever anyone at the office brought up Birch Industries, the girls would inevitably start whispering about the 'bad boy son' of Corin Birch.
Of course, they called him Abram, because no one had met him in person long enough to know what he preferred to be called.