“Sorry to interrupt.” He doesn’t sound very sorry, and I raise my eyebrows, meeting Carter’s eyes as he grins. “But Mr. Ledger is here, demanding an emergency meeting.”
“There’s the board now,” Carter murmurs unnecessarily.
My chin drops to my chest, a dull pain throbbing behind my left eye. All I want to do is go find my wife, crawl into bed with her and sleep for a week. But that’s clearly not in the cards. I’m juggling too many balls and the moment I let one fall, it’ll be Lily that has to face down the consequences.
And that’s something I can’t allow to happen.
“Thank you, Adam. Give me two minutes,” I tell my assistant, and then lean back in my seat. “Send your evidence as soon as you get back to your desk,” I tell Carter. “I want everything my father has done or is planning to do.”
He scrunches his mouth to the side, understanding what I’m not explicitly stating. “You gonna make some waves?”
“Make some waves, or burn it all down,” I say, not realizing how true the words are.
After several hours of talking more than one board member down, I hear a squawk from outside my office. “Excuse me! You can’t just walk in there!”
“Of course I can, Aiden.” The superiority of the tone, as well as the absolute confidence in the wrong name, has me rolling my eyes, just as the door bursts open.
Silvia struts into the room, stilettos digging into the plush carpet I’d paid an exorbitant amount of money to have installed when my namehad been nailed to the door. One of the reasons for it had been the idea of listening to shoes like hers tapping obnoxiously on the original hardwood flooring, and my aching head was grateful for that choice now.
Even popping more pain pills than recommended hadn’t taken the edge off, and it isn’t easing now as I watch Silvia round my desk.
“Silvia, I’m busy,” I tell her, focusing back on my laptop.
She ignores me, perching her ass on the edge of my desk, looking down at me with a smile. “You’re never too busy for me,” she remarks confidently.
I roll my chair to the side, putting a few more inches between us as she crosses one long leg over the other. I avert my gaze when her skirt edges up.
“Darling,” she says, red lips pursing as she flashes me a concerned look. “You look wrecked. Was the honeymoon so bad?” She laughs softly, and it scrapes against my nerves like a bristle brush on silk.
I eye her with a frown. “My honeymoon was fine.” She knows I don’t like her talking about my wife like that, but she takes the dark look in stride.
“Well, I have to admit, I’m surprised you’re back so soon.” Her sculpted brows lift high. “I’m a bit put out that you didn’t call me as soon as you landed.”
“I cut it short for work, Silvia.”
She smiles slyly, as if I’m saying one thing and meaning another. “I bet Lily had some questions about that.” Something flashes through her eyes, but it’s gone with a blink.
“How did you even know I was back?”
She swings her leg casually. “Daddy told me, and I just knew you’d be holed up in here, so I figured I’d drag you out for some food.”
Her smile softens, reminding me of the little girl that I’d grown up with. The one with gangly legs that always tried to keep up with me, even when I wanted nothing to do with her.
I sigh, knowing I have too much to do and that I should turn her down, but my stomach rumbles, reminding me I haven’t eaten today.
She must see the reluctant acceptance, because she hops off my desk. “Come on, darling,” she says playfully. “You need the break, and we needto catch up. Let’s go to Café Bellezza.” She names a cafe just around the corner. “It’ll be quiet before the dinner rush.”
Unwilling to argue with her, I make quick work of tidying my desk and shutting my laptop away in a locked drawer. Once I’m finished, I follow Silvia out of my office, Adam’s mutinous glare already fixed on us.
“Bye, Alex!” Silvia waves gaily at him and as soon as she passes him, his eyes roll into the back of his head dramatically. I bite back a smile, letting her get a few steps ahead.
I call back over my shoulder to Adam, “I’m going for coffee. I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Cool,” he calls back cheerfully. “I won’t be here, so have fun with that.”
I glance down at my watch, realizing it’s already almost five. “Alright. Thanks for your help today, Adam.” I’m close enough now that Silvia can hear me and, hopefully, the emphasis I put on his name, like he hasn’t been my assistant for close to two years now.
The elevator slides closed, and Silvia presses a sharp fingernail against the button for the ground floor. “I think the power has gotten to your assistant’s head. He knows who I am but is always trying to stop me from seeing you. You should give him a warning—he’s been here long enough to know better.”
