I glanced at the clock on the dash.

Then I swallowed down the pain in the back of my throat. It had been exactly 48 hours since I’d last seen Sophia. But it felt like an eternity.

Noah pulled the key from the ignition, then paused as he turned to look at me.

He must have seen my body tense, maybe noticed me staring with dull unblinking eyes. Either way, when I didn’t make a move to get out of the car, he said, “Don’t worry, Nolan. The meeting doesn’t start for another 10 minutes.” He opened his door and stepped one foot out.

I turned and met his stare. “Ready?”

“More prepared than you look right now.”

I flung my hand across the seat and punched him in the shoulder. “Let’s make history,” I said, following his lead.

Slamming our doors shut, we moved through the damp, cool parking garage, making sure to dodge the puddles. Sprinting up the steps, I was relieved to have escaped the smells of exhaust as we headed across the street. But when I glanced up at the building, it was impossible not to think about Sophia.

This was where it happened.

The day my world turned upside-down.

The hour before I lost her and had to say goodbye.

Slowing to a near stop, I relived that morning. It was like she was here, standing in front of me now. I could still see her eyes pop wide open just before she came flying into my arms. And when I closed my eyes, I could still hear her soft voice sending shivers down my spine, could still see the water pooling in the corners of her gorgeous honey-browns as she came to terms with what she’d just done. The way they glittered underneath the sunshine, staring up into mine as if looking for answers was something I would never forget. I could still feel my stomach clench when noticing the pain crumbling her world apart deep inside. It was half the reason why I was here. Because I, too, needed to know what could have been—what could still be.

Noah let his hand come down on my shoulder as my brain scrambled to find a logical excuse as to why I was no longer with Sophia. Because I swore we were meant to be together. I knew she was the one.

But fate interrupted our plans and showed us it had another idea.

“This is it, right?” Noah dropped his hand away from his brow and turned to look at me.

I licked my lips and nodded. “Yeah, this is it,” I murmured.

Noah glanced at his watch. “Let’s get going then. I don’t have time to waste.”

We hurried into the building, pushing through the front doors as if we owned the place. The cool air-conditioned breeze whipped across our faces and when I spotted the directory on the opposite wall, we made our way there.

“I spoke with Trevor,” I said as we walked.

Noah barely glanced at me as he scrubbed a hand over his face. “The other night, I pushed him too far.”

“He doesn’t blame you.” A man heading straight for me stepped out of my way, allowing me to pass without interruption.

Noah gave me an arched look. “And who does he blame? You?”

I shook my head. “Cooper.”

Noah patted his thigh with one hand, lifting his opposite finger to the directory. Looking for the software company listing, I found myself listening to the men on cell phones pass behind us. I forced myself to block out the distractions and read the names of the listings to better gauge the building’s environment.

“There it is,” Noah said. “Hera Software Technologies—”

“Ninth floor.” I turned to face the elevators.

Passing by the coffee shop, I made sure to inhale the sweet acidic aroma before dodging two more men wearing suits who were deep in discussion. “What kind of name is that, anyway?”

Noah took his hand out of his pocket and pressed the button on the wall, fetching an elevator. “Hera?”

My toes tapped as I anxiously waited. “Yeah. It sounds familiar.”

“It’s the Greek goddess of marriage.” Noah said it like it was common knowledge, but only he would know something like that. He was always good with random facts no one else knew.

“No wonder it’s failing.” I chuckled.

“I don’t know, I think the name fits.”

The light above the doors lit up and a second later the doors opened. We were the first to step inside. Popping a mint into my mouth, I took up residence in the back corner. Leaning my shoulder against the wall I watched as the car filled, making sure to glance at the occupancy notice on the wall. And when the hydraulics pressed the door shut, the speakers above started playing classical music.

“How does that fit?” I was still thinking about Hera.

Noah stared straight ahead, catching my reflection in the metallic door. “Marriage, that’s what an employee and owner’s relationship is, isn’t it?”

“Marriage? Wouldn’t know.” I smiled as I rocked back and forth on my heels.

Soon, we both settled into our thoughts, ticking down the floors as the number went up. I listened to the metal rub against metal, raising a brow to the squeals and squeaks as we were lifted up to the ninth floor. Then, breaking the silence, Noah said, “God, I can’t wait to have this meeting be over with.”

“You and me both, brother.”

We slowed to a stop and the door slid open on floor number nine. I pushed past the smell of stale cigarette smoke clinging to a smoker’s clothing and moved my breath mint to the opposite side of my mouth, hoping to smell that instead.

Noah turned to look at me and said, “What the fuck are we even doing here?”

“Adding to the empire.” I winked.

Noah headed to reception, mumbling something about how we shouldn’t be acquiring more businesses until Coop’s seat in the governor’s chair was secure. I nodded and smiled at strangers, soon finding myself staring at a woman who reminded me of the woman I was longing for. It caused my heart to ache and before I could let the pain fester and grow, I had to look away. Rubbing my face I turned my eyes forward, keeping my focus on learning as much as I could in less than an hour.

“You must be the Foster brothers.” A friendly face greeted us from behind her desk.

Noah introduced us, and without giving it much thought I went to work.

Leaning against the counter, I took my time when looking around. The place had a nice feel, a solid first impression. It was modern, up-to-date, and it even had that vibe—the tech vibe one might expect to find in Silicon Valley. It was safe to say that I liked it. But there was something missing…

“The Fosters.” A man clapped his hands once behind me. “Welcome to Hera Software Technologies.”

I turned to find two men in freshly pressed suits heading our way.

“Men, welcome.” The second of the two men reached out to shake our hands. “I’m Rick. And this here is Shaun.”

Shaking each of their hands, I let Noah do the honors of explaining who each of us were, our positions in our father’s company, and before I knew it we were getting the grand tour.

Weaving through cubicles, I listened to the two of them explain the business. And though I should’ve been listening more intently, my mind was still stuck on Sophia. I knew this was the place that she’d worked—the place that she’d quit. It had her feel—like she had been here before. The same energy and everything. Circling back around several minutes later, we were ushered into a boardroom where two more men in suits were waiting.

Noah was still discussing more of what we had just witnessed as I made sure to properly introduce myself to their lawyers. Then I was quick to dive into the data—all professionally prepared in a three-ring binder. Not wanting to waste another minute, I fingered through the charts—all the important details that gave me an idea of the risk we were potentially setting ourselves up for.

I lifted my head when I heard Rick make some stupid joke about women.

Then, suddenly, I realized what was missing here.

Women.

They were the missing piece—and perhaps the missing link to what this company needed to be turned around and revamped into something successful.

Noah asked the tough questions, bringing both Rick and Shaun back on point. We needed to know why exactly the business wasn’t doing well, how it could be more than just possible marketing failures. We even delved into the details about the location—transit, housing, availability of parking. We needed to know it all.

And before I knew it, I found myself growing bored, glancing at the time.

The scheduled hour-long meeting had flown by and just when we thought we were about finished, there was one important question I couldn’t leave without asking. “Correct me if I’m wrong,” I looked to the men in suits, “but weren’t you just hiring for a middle management position?”

Shaun’s eyes met with mine as he shared a quick glance to Rick. “You’ve done your homework.” They both smiled.

Squinting, I said, “Mind if I ask who got the position?”

“His name is Darren Gill,” Rick said proudly. “He really knows his stuff. Would be someone you might want to keep around.” Rick’s lips curled at the corners. “That is, if you decide to purchase the company.”

Standing, we shook hands and I said, “We’ll run this by our advisory board and get back to you ASAP.”

Noah and I left the meeting feeling relieved to finally have gotten out of there. And once we were safely tucked inside the elevator—alone—I turned to him. “We have to make the deal.”

“Really?” His brows shot high on his head. “That place is going to sink faster than the Titanic with those two goons running the show.”

“They wouldn’t stay.”

He shook his head. “I don’t have a good feeling about this. We would be in way over our heads with this one. I mean,” he shoved his hand through his hair, “who would we even get to lead this company for us?”

Feeling my lips curl upward into a knowing grin, I said, “You let me handle that. You just tell Dad we’re getting into the software industry.”