Chapter 5

Zach

As I slipped into bed that night, I expected the usual difficulties drifting off. Most of the time, I stared at the ceiling for ages, going over everything repeatedly and trying to figure out what I could’ve done differently. But I fell asleep almost at once, my head filled by the young woman who had stormed out of here a few hours before.

I wasn’t sure why, but Jessibelle had hooked inside my thoughts like no one else had since Alana. And even then, when I’d laid eyes on Alana, it was a different kind of attraction. She was stone cold gorgeous, no doubt, but in a more explicit way models often were, the kind of sexy that hung on the bedroom walls of dozens of teenaged boys. Jessibelle was a little different, a little more delicate, and it wasn’t until I went over the contours of her sweet body in my head that I realized how attracted I was to her.

I woke up early the next day. Well, early for me, at least. It was before noon when I rolled out of bed, and without thinking, I headed straight to my bathroom to deal with my facial hair. It wasn’t until I was halfway through trimming it that I realized what I was doing, and I blinked at myself a couple of times in the mirror.

I was actually getting ready for work. It had been so long since I’d gone to the office. I stared at myself and cracked a smile. This was the closest I’d felt to human in longer than I cared to admit.

I showered and headed to my walk-in closet. I hadn’t been in there for ages. What, with wearing t-shirts and sweat pants all the time, I hadn’t needed a suit.

I ran my fingers over the fabric, tilting my head at my collection of high-end suits as I decided what to wear. I hadn’t worn a suit in so long, I felt like I was going to prom, jittery with nerves at the thought of heading in to the office and seeing her once more. She’d be with the executives in the legal department, no doubt, figuring out how best to get me back to work.

It turned out, all they had to do was send a pretty lady and have her chew my ass to snap me out of the bullshit I’d been going through.

I headed down to the garage and eyed the various cars in front of me. I loved this damn garage. It was one of my favorite places to be. I didn’t know a whole lot about cars, but I knew what I liked. Sometimes luxury, had a ‘17 Rolls Ghost for that. Sometimes I liked sporty. The Viper was good for that, but right now—I wanted fast.

So, I chose the black Bugatti and got in.

I closed the door, placed my hands on the wheel, and let out a long breath. Was I really going to work after all this time? Just to see some girl I thought was hot?

I guessed I was. I started the engine and pulled out of the garage, blinking in the light of the day. It had been so long since I’d been out in the morning, and it was beautiful.

I had an hour-long drive to the office, plenty of time to talk myself out of what I was doing and turn around. But I didn’t. My mind was oddly clear this morning and I focused on the feel of the power beneath me and the crisp morning air on my skin, which seemed to lift my spirits.

I pulled into the parking lot, and my reserved spot had a black BMW sitting in it. Couldn’t blame them, I’d been out for so long. I pulled in next to the Beemer, and took a long deep breath. This was it. Running my hand over my stubbled chin, I grinned. I wasn’t sure how long this feeling would last, but I’d take it for the time being.

I got out of the car and walked up to the glass double doors, steeling myself before entering. The receptionist glanced up and blinked at me before her eyes widened. “Wow. Good Morning, Mr. Rose.”

“Morning, Chelsea,” I responded and she went for the phone on her desk, probably to alert my brother that I’d just walked in.

I knew they’d lost faith in me. The thought churned in my stomach, a reminder I’d fucked things up, maybe beyond all repair. When my depression took over, I’d let my business go to shit. I could barely get myself through the day, much less a billion-dollar business. The shareholders hadn’t taken long to start asking questions, to start shifting the power within the company. Luckily, I could rely on my little brother to keep things relatively steady, but I was swiftly losing my grip on the deals being negotiated, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I was phased out entirely.

I marched up the stairs to the executive suite with a sense of resolution I hadn’t come across in myself for a long time. It was an amazing feeling, the power pulsing through my veins at being in the office again. It was probably a dangerous concept, throwing myself straight back into work like this, but I had to see her again, the woman who hadn’t taken my shit, the woman who had kicked my ass into feeling at least a little less depressed for a day. She’d done what so many people couldn’t, and I had to see what it was she had that made her different.

I arrived outside the legal department door, paused, took a deep breath and then pushed it open. A dozen heads lifted, and all of them stared at me in complete shock. But, there was only one person I was interested in.

Jessibelle.

“M-m-mister Rose?” She got to her feet, my sudden appearance throwing her off. She offered me a stunned smile, and her eyes traveled slowly up and down my body. I enjoyed the little hint of her attention and reveled in it a good few seconds before I replied.

“I’m here to follow up on our meeting yesterday.” I took a step toward her, ignoring the rest of the eyes on me. “About our strategy?”

“Of course.” She blinked up at me a couple of times. Her eyes were outlined with a dark liner that made them stand out against her pale skin, and her hair was swept up on top of her head. I wondered what it would look like down, falling around her shoulders, but dismissed the thought. I could fantasize about her all I wanted when this meeting was over, but not before then. I was still here to do a job, after all, to make sure my company stayed under my control, even if a small part of me enjoyed the surprise on her face.

She led me through to a small meeting room, opened the door for me, and took a seat on one side of a heavy, old-fashioned polished wood table. I watched her shift back and forth in her seat, trying to get comfortable under my gaze.

“It’s good to see you,” she blurted out. “In the office, I mean. Good to see you in the office.”

“Well, I figured it was about time,” I conceded, looking at her expectantly. “So, that strategy we were discussing yesterday?”

She ran her fingers over her hair, and her eyes lit up. I grinned. What in the hell did she have planned for me?

“I was thinking about everything last night,” she admitted, lowering her voice as though she didn’t want anyone else to hear. “About your case.”

“I’m listening.” I nodded for her to continue.

“Well, the shareholders are planning to challenge your continued control of the company on mental competency grounds,” she began.

I kept my composure, to keep from yelling or saying something I’d regret. Logically, it made sense, given my behavior over the last few months. But to hear those words out loud? After all I had done for this company? All the money I had made for those bastards? That was a kick in the balls. But I just said calmly, “And how do you plan to stop that?”

“I think we need to challenge them on the same grounds,” she replied excitedly. I opened my mouth to protest, but she held her hand up to stop me.

“I know it sounds ridiculous,” she continued, “but it buys us some time and forces them to turn in on themselves. It could cause some squabbling and fighting, enough that they’d have a hard time presenting a united front. And we could use that for now until we can come up with something a little stronger—more definitive.”

I raised my eyebrows and sat back in my seat. It was a ridiculous idea, but she was right. It might buy us enough time to get my shit together and reclaim control of the whole company. Technically, I still had power over most of it, but the shareholders had moved me out of any hands-on positions of power since I’d retreated to my place. I had just been too lost in my depression to give a damn.

“Okay.” I said, leaning back in my chair. “And how do we go about doing that?”

She launched into her plan to make everything work, and I sat back and let her talk. It had been so long since I’d been around anyone else that anything more than a few words here and there was more than I could manage. I grinned at what she was proposing. This was so ballsy, so out there, but it might just work. I loved the way her mind functioned, the way her eyes lit up and she gestured when she talked. She was far removed from my type on paper, but in person, there was something about her that made my blood run hot in my veins. I crossed my hands behind my head and listened, happy to hear her voice and more than happy to enjoy the company of this woman who got me going in ways I couldn’t put into words.