ANTONIO

The first full day as Cozza Interstellar has started better than I expected. Morale seems to be up across the board, and not one person has uttered a snide remark in my presence. The company is still being housed on two separate campuses while a new world headquarters is being built only a few miles away on the outskirts of Chicago.

Lauren’s fitting in with the people at Cozza and has easily filled my shoes. She came in with guns blazing, and I think she frightened more than a few people with her don’t-give-a-shit attitude. I couldn’t be prouder of her and everything she’s accomplished with so many cards stacked against her.

Last night after we left the office, she didn’t want to go out to celebrate. Instead, we visited her parents’ graves so she could tell them the news. I stayed by the car, watching her as she wept over their grassy plots in order to give her the space she requested.

Before we left, I took a moment and went to pay my respects alone. But I wasn’t there to say something random. I wanted to tell Lauren’s parents that I would be looking out for her. I went as far as to ask her father if I could have her hand in marriage even though I knew he couldn’t reply. If he were here, I would’ve done the same thing. In some ways, I’m old-fashioned, and I know that her parents’ opinion would mean a lot.

After I said my piece, I joined her in the car and took her back to her penthouse for a quiet evening by the fireplace. There was no major celebration or fanfare. The day which was both filled with joy and excitement was dampened by having to fire her previous second-in-command.

I knew how she felt. Having to let go of anyone was awful, but doing it to someone you’re close with is beyond compare. I felt nothing the day I fired Carlino. No. That’s a lie. I felt a sense of relief that I no longer had to look over my shoulder, waiting to see the light glimmer off the shiny blade he was about to stick in my back.

Standing outside Lauren’s office now, I take a moment to glance around the floor and watch our new employees at work. They’re buzzing with excitement as they place calls and say the words Cozza Interstellar Corp. No other company can match our power and wealth, especially now that the Mercury engine is in full production and every airline company in the world has ordered enough planes to replace their entire fleet within the next ten years.

On top of that, NASA has contracted CIC to fit their newest rockets with the Mercury so that they can begin testing its power and endurance for a possible trip to Mars within the decade. Although I want to take credit, the entire thing is because of Lauren. Her drive to succeed and make her father proud has brought us to this very moment and place.

Loud voices coming from inside her office draw my attention away from the employee chatter. I don’t knock. I press my ear against the door, eavesdropping. I know Lauren would have my balls if she caught me.

“Be reasonable,” a man says. “Do what’s right for the company and step down.”

I lean closer and grab the handle, ready to storm inside and save the day, but something makes me stop and wait.

“Get the fuck out of my office!” Lauren yells.

“You don’t deserve to be the head of this company. Forte only stepped down because you’re fucking him. Under any other circumstances, do you really think he’d do that?”

I storm through the door and lunge at Jim Alesci, the head legal counsel for Cozza. He jumps back, but he trips over a chair, making it easy for me to wrap my fingers around his neck. “You fucking piece of shit.” Spit flies out of my mouth, landing on his face below me. “I will fucking end you.”

Jim struggles under my fingers, but I’m not trying to kill him. I’ve already done enough physical damage to easily be removed as COO of the company, but I take stock in knowing he won’t be around either.

“Do you suck her dick, Antonio?” he bites out as I resist the urge to kill him.

Lauren pulls at my jacket, trying to get me off of him, but he knocks her out of the way with his leg while he’s trying to get free. She loses her balance and topples to the floor near Jim’s feet.

I stand and lift him off the floor with me. I pull my fist back, ready to strike when Lauren grabs my arm. “Don’t,” she says, pleading with me for this asshole.

I turn to her, tightening my grip on Jim’s shirt. “Why? The bastard deserves at least a black eye.”

“He’s not worth it,” she says, calm and very matter-of-fact. “Please.”

Slowly, I release my tight grip and push him backward. “Get your shit and get out of here. You’re no longer an employee of CIC.”

His eyes narrow, and his nostrils flare. “You can’t do this. I’ll make you pay for this.”

“Sue me, Jim. I’m sure the courts would love to hear the sexual harassment suit we’ll bring against you.”

He straightens his arms at his sides and glares at both of us. “I will make you pay.”

I wave him off because Jim talks the talk, but the man most certainly does not walk the walk. Never have I seen him lay into even a low-level employee before, let alone a member of the board. I wonder how many other employees he’s accosted without my knowledge for fear they’d be fired if they reported it.

LAUREN

I expected some backlash after I officially took the helm at Cozza Interstellar, but I never expected it to be from someone on the legal team and a valued friend of Antonio’s.

Jim had never shown one ounce of animosity toward me over the last few months. He didn’t even look at me sideways or make any remarks that could be construed as derogatory.

I don’t know what changed that made him march into my office and demand my resignation. He didn’t have the authority to do it, and I wasn’t going to back down for some asshole who thought he could hustle me right out of a job.

“I’m sorry,” I say as soon as Jim walks out and slams my door behind him.

Antonio turns toward me and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me close. “For what?”

I close my eyes and press my face into his suit jacket. “Everything is a mess right now.”

“No, it’s not. Don’t listen to that prick. You’re exactly where you should be.”

“I’m sure other people are saying the same thing behind my back.”

Maybe not the women within the company, but ninety percent of males are probably at least thinking the same thing as Jim, but they have enough sense not to utter the words to my face.

No matter how many glass ceilings are shattered, there will always be one misogynistic asshole to throw some bullshit in a woman’s face.

Antonio grabs my shoulders and holds me at a distance, gazing into my eyes. “No matter what they think, I never brought an invention to market that will revolutionize the entire aerospace industry the way you did. Don’t let one asshole destroy everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve.”

“I know,” I mumble before exhaling because I’m still filled with doubt. “But I don’t know if I can do this.”

I doubt myself like I never have before. Running Interstellar was one thing. I came up through the ranks and learned the ropes, especially which men to steer clear of over the years, but adding Cozza’s people to the mix puts me in virgin territory.

“You can do this.”

If Antonio and I weren’t in a relationship, I probably wouldn’t feel the same way. With him at my back, I believe everything will eventually work out and we’ll be able to bring the company together to work as one. But doing that rests on my shoulders, and the burden is heavy.

“What if I don’t want to?”

Antonio’s eyebrows turn downward as his eyes search mine. “You don’t mean that. You need to get away from the office for a little while.”

“I do mean it.” I step out of his arms and pace the length of my office. “I’ve been locked away in this office for years, toiling away around the clock to make Interstellar number one and invent something so grandiose that I’d leave my mark on history.”

“And you’ve achieved that.”

“But at what cost? If I hadn’t met you in that bar months ago, I’d be alone, with a bottle of vodka and Tara as my closest confidants.”

Antonio’s shocked by my words, but they’re sobering and true. Over the years, I’ve thought about my stamp on history and achieving my father’s dream. And now that I’ve done everything I set out to do, what’s the point?

“Let’s go away for a few days and relax. Maybe after a weekend away from the city, you’ll feel differently.”

“I want to spend time with your family.”

“You do?” He raises his eyebrows toward his hairline before his lips turn up in a smile.

“Yes. Your mother called this morning to congratulate me, and I’d like to spend time with her.”

Over the last few months, Mrs. Forte has opened her arms as well as her house to me. Feeling lost like I do right now calls for a trip for a little perspective only a mother can give. Even if she didn’t give birth to me, she has enough experience and kindness to help guide me on the right path.

“I’ll get the jet prepped. We’ll leave when you’re ready.”

I almost knock him over as I wrap my arms around his back. Although the ocean calls my name, my heart wants nothing more than to be surrounded by Antonio’s loving yet loud family, where I don’t have to worry about their opinions or judgment.

He presses his hands to my face, forcing me to look in his eyes. “I love you, Lauren.” He smiles softly.

My heart flutters because even though he’s said those same words a hundred times, it never gets old.

“I love you too, Antonio.”

The words come easily to me now. I never thought I’d find someone who would take my breath away and challenge me at every turn, but somehow, I have him.

Antonio Forte makes me think all things are possible.