Life sucks.

One moment you’re on top of the world, the next you’re sitting on the back of a cop car, the opportunity of a lifetime slipping through your fingers. Why the hell things had to turn out like this?

I had the perfect headboard I needed to win the contest. I was hours away from signing the deal, and I was almost sure that Austin wouldn’t be a sore loser about it. In the back of my mind, I held to the notion that he’d act nonchalant about my win, and that our relationship will continue, this time without all the bitter rivalry.

Yeah, I know.

I’m a freakin’ idiot.

But now there’s nothing I can do about it, is there? The board is going to reconvene and decide if our outburst will change anything, but my guess is that we’re both in deep trouble. After all, almost every single member of the board is a prissy asshole, and I doubt they’ll give a contract to first two participants ever in Headboard Fight Night.

Fuck it, I think, reaching for the tub of ice cream sitting on my coffee table. I take a spoonful straight into my mouth, then lean back against my couch and throw my head back, still musing about my situation.

This is fucked up.

I haven’t even been to the office in a week. What’s the point? Now that I ruined this, it’ll be almost impossible for me to score the Clarendon Tower contract. Sure, none of us were aware that Giovanni was working for the both of us at the same time, but let’s be real for a moment…my chances are gone.

So, yeah, why bother with work?

Sure, eventually I’ll have to go back to the office, but it’s going to be hard. I thought that by this time Domina Designs would be ready to take over the world, and now I’ll be stuck with playing second fiddle to Oakmont. So, yeah, I’m definitely not feeling that motivated.

“God, what now?” I mutter as I hear my phone ring. Somehow, I get enough courage to go up to my feet and head to the kitchen, where I left my phone. I pick it up from the counter, see Ashley’s name on the screen and sigh. Probably another one of her ideas to get me out of the house...or, worse, she wants to talk about Taylor.

I consider not picking up—after all, I’m definitely not in the mood to hear about Ashley’s sex life for an hour straight—but I just bite the bullet and press the round green icon.

“Have you seen it?” She fires off right away, not even giving me the time to take a breath.

“No, I haven’t seen anything. What are you talking about?”

“There’s gonna be an event of some kind at the lobby in a few hours,” she says, barely able to hide the excitement in her voice. I seriously hope this isn’t one of her charity galas. I’m done with the tango.

“Yeah, I think I’ll just stay home tonight. I need to—”

“You don’t need to do anything, Tess, let’s be serious,” she cuts me short. “What you’re trying to do is bury your head in the sand and I’ll be damned if I’ll let a friend of mine do that. So don’t give me that shit about being busy or whatever the hell. I’ll be there in an hour and the two of us will go to the lobby together.”

“Ashley, I—” She hangs up on me, the silence of no signal the only reply I get. “Great. Just great,” I finish.

I drag my feet back to the couch, and sink there while pondering my options. Okay, let’s be honest, I don’t have any option left here. Either I get ready and go down to the lobby with Ashley, or she’s going to drag me out of my apartment in pajamas.

I just hope Austin doesn’t go. After everything that happened, he probably hates my guts. That’s what hurts the most—not the contract I lost, or all the prestige and money I thought would be mine. What hurts the most is losing the man I love.

It’s been a week, and we still haven’t talked. There hasn’t been a single text message, or a call. And the last time I saw him, he watched me walk out on him, and that was because I couldn’t keep my cool and act like an adult. No, I had to throw a hissy fit after he told me he loved me.

He lost too.

It wasn’t just me that was in pain.

Even if he was willing to forgive me for that outburst, I bet he doesn’t want anything to do with someone as crazy as me.

FML.

Sighing heavily, I force myself to take a shower and then get inside a sexy dress, in the hopes that maybe my reflection in the mirror will help me lift my spirits. Nothing beats a perfect face of make-up and a tight dress to make me feel better.

But as I start getting dressed, I can’t help but wonder if Austin would like this dress or if he’d prefer something else. I can’t stop myself from doing it, and I wonder how long till it’ll be before I forget him.

My mind whispers the only possible reply: you’ll never forget him.

And, as screwed up as that is, I know that’s the truth. He’s the only man that has ever made me feel as if I don’t have anything to prove. He’s the only man that has ever made me feel in love.

How can you forget about something like that?

Is it even possible?

“Open up, Tess!” I hear Ashley shout from outside my door, banging her fist against it hard. “I’ll kick this door down if I have to! I’ve been going to the gym every single day and I’ve never skipped leg day, so—”

“Cool it, Rambo,” I laugh as I get the door. She takes one look at me and nods appraisingly.

“I thought you’d still be in your pajamas, and that I’d really have to drag you down into the lobby,” she marvels.

“Do you have that little faith in me?” I ask.

“In my experience, broken-hearted women are always a mess. They can’t be trusted to do anything besides eat ice-cream and watch Bridget Jones movies.”

“You’re insane, Ash,” I tell her, reminding myself not to tell her that eating ice-cream and watching reruns of old sappy romance movies is exactly what I’ve been doing. If I told her that, she’d probably drag me to the closest bar she could find and do her best to throw the hottest guys in my direction.

Sometimes, I can’t tell if she’s a caring friend or a loose cannon.

Maybe she’s a bit of both.

We take the elevator down, and I’m taken aback the moment it arrives on the bottom floor. When the doors slide back to let us through, I immediately notice the huge crowd that has taken over the lobby.

“What the hell’s going on?” I ask.

“No idea,” Ashley shrugs, grabbing my hand and dragging me after her, shoulders bumping against shoulders as we cut our way through the crowd. When we finally do it, my jaw drops.

Smack in the middle of the lobby is a whole apartment set in display. I glance at every single piece of furniture carefully arranged there, my eyes widening as I realize that, whoever set this up, took the best of what both Austin and I had to offer.

What the hell is going on?

Did they find another designer?

Who?

“Look at that!” Ashley says, genuinely impressed with the furniture.

My professional eye is working and I’m looking at the craftsmanship.

It’s got the aggressive and brash touches that Austin puts in Oakmont furniture, with the understated elegance and soft curves that I favor in Domina.

Whoever did this took from both of us.

They took the best of us.

We were good on our own. But together, we would have been great.

“What is going on?” I ask for the umpteenth time.

“Thank you all for gathering here on such a short notice,” I hear a man say, and my heart tightens up so much it almost bursts. Holding my breath, I watch as Austin appears from behind the set, confidently glancing at the crowd in front of him.

When his eyes catch mine, he smiles.

Residents in the lobby gather around. It’s a packed lobby, the invitation apparently not specifying what was going on.

“I know you all have questions about why you were called down here,” Austin begins as he looks around the room.

“And this is it,” he continues, waving one hand at the apartment set. “What we’ve been working so hard for all these past weeks. I’m proud to announce that Oakmont Domina has been granted the chance to furnish the new studio apartments.”

Oakmont Domina?

Wait.

What the hell.

“Yes, you heard right,” Austin tells me, almost as if he could hear my thoughts. “Taking the best design inspirations of the two finalists for the Clarendon Tower contract, we joined forces. What you have is the strength and sturdiness of Oakmont fused with the beauty and grace of Domina. An architectural and decorative style that will stand the test of fucking time.”

People are murmuring in approval.

“Oakmont Domina offers the male and female perspectives,” Austin says, looking at me directly now from where he’s standing. “It recognizes that by itself, both may be strong, but flawed. Only together do we have harmony.”

Whoa.

What happened to Austin Randall?

Closing the distance between the two of us, he continues. “But nothing happens till you agree to it, Tess?”

I’m speechless.

“I can’t do this without you,” he says. “And I was wrong. I could never win on my own. I need you.”

I can’t control myself.

“I’m so sorry for walking out on you, Austin,” I say, tearing up. “I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t want you to think of me as losing.”

“But that’s the thing, Tess,” Austin says, getting down on one knee. “Without you, I’m lost. Without you, I’m nothing.”

He’s on one knee.

Wait.

“Tess Armstrong,” Austin says as he takes a box from his pocket. “Will you do the honor of being my partner in life and in business? Will you allow me the privilege of calling you my wife? Will you marry me?”

“YES!” I cry out, wrapping my arms around him and pressing my head against his chest, tears stinging my eyes.

“For all three?” he asks, a smirk on his lips once I stop kissing him.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I exclaim. “All of it.”

“I love you,” he whispers, pushing the hair away from my face and smiling.

Ashley is smiling and crying. Taylor is holding her.

I can make out Malcolm and Sonia smiling at us and Daphne and Dominic clapping along with a bunch of other residents. I don't know where Colt is. Maybe cumming on senior citizens somewhere (that’s another story, for sure).

“We’re going to be amazing, baby,” he says to me. “We’re going to be Oakmont Domina.”

“Only on one condition, Austin,” I say to him, arching my eyebrow sharply.

“What’s that?” he asks, his face serious.

I smile.

“You gotta stop calling the reader, ‘baby’,” I say before I kiss him.