“You rotten bitch! You think you can get away with this? You better think again little girl.” Maxim stood in my doorway, arms crossed over his growing belly, face red and twisted in anger. “I demand that you undo this legal maneuvering immediately!”

He looked like a cartoon character. A handsome salt and pepper cartoon character, but still. At the moment he just reminded me of a child throwing a tantrum. I pushed off my desk, feeling badass in my red leather jacket on top of an all white outfit and crossed my arms, smacking my lips in admonishment.

“Maxim, such language for a gentleman.” He didn’t’ appreciate my teasing tone but I felt too good to care. I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist whatever Blake was offering for those shares, but I had hoped he would have enough respect to heed my warning. “You really should have read that shareholder agreement Arden had you sign.” Maple never said much about her brother, but he was sharp as hell. He knew his shareholders, snakes that they were, and used it against them while they very likely looked down their noses at the man who created his own wealth.

“It was a standard agreement,” he insisted, all bluster now.

“You sure about that? Because I read over it recently and, I’m pretty sure clause C isn’t standard.” A morality clause, who would have ever thought to put that in but Arden? “Too bad you didn’t offer me those shares first.” It wasn’t too bad at all, actually. He had the chance to do the right thing and he chose not to, that meant I could feel good about doing this to him.

“Fine, dammit, I’ll sell the shares to you.”

I shook my head, laughing. No, giggling. “Oh no, we are well beyond that Maxim. Clause C has been enforced and your seven percent reverts back to Out & About Apparel. Which is me.” He sucked in a breath, probably to say something vile, but I stopped him because what I had to say next would really piss him off. “Not to worry though, your initial investment will be returned.”

He was so mad he was damn near apoplectic. “That’s just a hundred and fifty grand!”

With my sweetest smile and voice, I turned to him. “What a nice life you lead to think that sum of money is paltry.”

“I’ll appeal this,” he threatened, pointing one wrinkled old finger at me.

“You can try.” He knew there was nothing to be done, but just in case. “If you’re so certain I can’t prove you’re in breach of contract, go right ahead.”

“That’s fine, the shares will be worthless soon under your leadership anyway.”

I laughed because we both knew that was a damn lie. “Then it’s too bad you couldn’t do what you should have.” I let him hurl a few more insults my way, barely resisting the urge to laugh at a few of his more colorful phrases, and then I called security. “Have a nice life, Maxim.”

As soon as he was gone, Talia ran in with wide eyes. “Oh my god, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, he’s all bluster.”

“You’re a badass, girl. Want to tell me all about it over dinner tonight?”

“I’ll let you know, okay?” I wanted to go see Blake. For some reason I just wanted to talk to him right now, to look at his face. I couldn’t explain it. But by the time I walked across the lobby of his building and got into the elevator, I knew I was in deep trouble. Because I needed to feel connected to him in the aftermath of…shit, I didn’t know of what. All I knew was that I wanted to share this victory with him, knowing full well he might not appreciate it the way a boyfriend should.

Not that he was my boyfriend. He wasn’t.

Yet here I was, at his place of business with his executive assistant smiling up at me like I held her favorite dessert in my hand. “Go on back, he’s just signing some contracts.”

“Thank you, Meg.” At her blink of surprise, I smiled. “He talks about you a lot.”

“Ditto,” she said, burying her face to hide a blush and waving me back to Blake’s office.

Meg had said he was alone, but as I drew closer to the door I could hear two voices, one of them female. Very, very female. I knew, based on the pit in my stomach, that I should have just gone inside. But I sat there and listened. “If you would have just agreed to marry me for those shares we would both have what we wanted instead of you seducing that chubby chick.”

Chubby?! Curvy, thank you very much. But she sounded like a woman who ate salad with her dressing on the side.

“I was never going to marry you, Christianne.”

Her laughter was sexy and melodic. The bitch. “Maybe. Maybe not, but if you weren’t so tied up with banging that purple haired bitch, I could have enticed you. I still can Blakey, feel how wet I am for you.”

If Blakey did that I might throw up. Hell, I might do that anyway, but first I needed to push the door open, to see if this temptress was as hot as she seemed to think. She was hotter. And more naked than I’d imagined in black lace, lined with white ribbons shot through it. Legs as long as any model’s, sexy curls hanging down her back, tits pushed up to her neck.

“Touch my pussy Blake, I’m so wet.”

“Stop this!” he growled, looking up at her just as he caught my eye from the door. He held my gaze for a long moment, frozen, in shock or fear or maybe it was just plain indifference. Either way I didn’t plan to stick around for an answer.

Blake made no move to stop me or to push the gorgeous leggy woman away, so I made it easy on both of us and walked away.

I refused to get angry, or cry because it wasn’t worth it. I always knew things would end and it wouldn’t be pretty. I guess I just thought it wouldn’t happen yet. My legs were wooden as I walked away from his office, from his assistant and his building. I needed to get home where I could feel my feelings, grab them by the neck and drown them in wine.

* * *

“He called again,” Talia said as she stormed my office, stack of blue papers in her hand. “I’ll just leave the messages right here, ignore them however you please.”

I rolled my eyes. “Do you have anything work related to talk about?” It seemed like every time she came into my office she found a way to bring up Blake.

“Yes. Everything is all set for the retro launch party next Friday. All you need is a retro outfit to fit the theme and we’re good to go.” Talia practically vibrated with energy at the thought of a party.

“I have just the thing. A teal bodysuit with wide legs and a glittered halter bodice. I even have silver wedges to go with it. All taken care of.” The last thing I felt like doing was partying, but I had no doubts Blake would be there and I needed to look like hot stuff. Like I didn’t want to rip his damn throat out.

“Damn girl, you are going to be the hottest damn thing at this party. Next to me, of course.” Talia laughed and told me all about her lowcut gold dress. “Fine, I’ll stop bothering you about Blake. But he hasn’t stopped calling.”

“He’s just upset because he didn’t realize the last time he fucked me would be the last time.” It had taken me a couple days to realize it, but it was true. He was looking for a way out, thinking he had Maxim and didn’t need me anymore, had chosen to end it in a way that ensured I wouldn’t come crawling back.

And I wouldn’t do that.

Ever.

“I don’t believe that for one fucking second, Poppy. Would it be the worst thing in the world to just listen to what he has to say?”

Not the worst thing in the world, no. “There’s no point. Nothing he could say would change anything, and whatever he said right now would be because Maxim’s shares fell through.”

Talia fell down in the leather chair beside my desk and crossed her legs at the ankle. “You obviously like him Poppy, why are you trying to ruin it?”

I threw my head back and laughed. “I’m trying to ruin it? Talia he was about to have sex with someone else, less than twenty four hours after he had sex with me, and he never denied it when she accused him of seducing me for the company.” That’s the part I couldn’t get over, the fact that he never tried to deny or defend it. The implicit truth of her words. “I’d say he ruined it all on his own.”

“And he’s trying to fix it!”

I groaned. “Are you and Maple working together on this? She won’t let it go either.” And I was damn sick of hearing about it.

“No, but my guess is that we both saw how happy you’ve been.”

“I’m always happy,” I insisted, because I was. Just because my life didn’t revolve around dating and finding a man to split my assets with in ten years, didn’t mean I wasn’t happy. “My life was just fine before Blake and it’ll be just as fine now.”

She stood, giving me a skeptical look that pretty much called me out as a liar. “If that’s your story, then I’ve done my duty as best friend. But you should really ask yourself what you saw, what you heard and if any of it is worth walking away from a man who brought you to life.”

“So you’re saying I was a terrible bore without him?”

“Dammit, you know that’s not it. But falling in love has given you a new kind of confidence that, honestly, is a joy to watch. Look at what you’ve done as CEO of a company you didn’t know anything about this time last year. I just wish you could see what I see. You were always awesome, but being in love has put this gloss on you…anyway, that’s my two cents.”

“Who said anything about love?” I’d barely heard anything else she said once she started throwing around the L-bomb. “Neither of us are in love.”

“I’m sure thinking that does make all of this easier. Even if it is a lie. I ordered from the deli down the street for lunch, something guaranteed to put a real smile on your face.”

“Thank you, Talia. You’re wrong this time but thank you anyway.” She flashed a sad smile before leaving me alone with my thoughts. Thoughts I refused to let veer towards the tall, blue eyed man who refused to leave me alone. Instead I focused on work, future plans for the company. If I decided to keep the company.

The work itself was great. I found it exciting and invigorating, working with all the different teams towards the same goal. But the day to day politics, they drained me.

Luckily, I still had a few more months to decide.