Take Me: Part 3 (Power Play #3) (3 page)

A long silence draws out between us before Isaac’s head tilts forward in a tight nod.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. There is no
us
.”

He doesn’t say anything else before he spins around and stalks out of the apartment. I slide off the bed to go after him. I don’t know why. There’s nothing I can say that will make anything better. But by the time I make it to my bedroom door I hear the front door to my apartment open and then slam shut.

The sounds of the slamming door are still echoing throughout the apartment when the first few tears begin falling from my eyes.

When I head into the office on Monday I’m dreading the inevitable confrontation with Declan. One way or another we’re going to have to talk about what happened over the weekend—from his overbearing actions to the fact that I completely ruined BMG’s chances of getting the European deal signed. I can’t imagine that Isaac would want to deal with us at all after the way I ended things between us.

But all of my stress and is needless because when I get to the office I discover that Declan is out of town on a business trip for a few days. He didn’t mention anything about it to me before, but it’s not like he runs his entire schedule by me. At least he’s one less thing I have to worry about for a few days.

The next few days are the longest days of my life. Isaac doesn’t even try to call me after he left my place in a rush on Sunday night. It takes every ounce of my willpower to not call him and try to explain myself even further. I can’t help but think about how pained he looked when he’d said that there is no
us
. It’s not like that statement came as a shock—I’m the one who’d said it first—but the way it felt coming from him was much worse than I could have expected.

With each passing day the silence from Isaac gets harder and harder to handle until I’m left wondering if I might have made a mistake. Is it possible that I’m overreacting to everything? Am I making a big deal out of nothing?

I try to tell myself that it was the right thing to do. But with every day that passes it gets harder and harder to remember the reasons I made the decision in the first place.

On Wednesday I get to the office at the usual time, but when I make it to my desk there’s already a Post-It note stuck to the monitor of my computer. My stomach twists tightly even before I begin reading what’s written on it.

Come see me when you get in,

Declan

Declan’s back already? And he wants to see me?

My mind races through all the things that Declan could possibly want to talk about first thing in the morning. He probably wants to know where we stand on the European deal. It’s been days and I still haven’t received a single text or phone call from Isaac. I’m going to have to tell Declan that it’s not going to happen.

When I get to his office and tap on the door, he calls for me to enter. My pulse races as I step inside. His office is nearly a mirror image of my own, but there’s something very foreboding about it this morning. Declan is stooped over his desk, scribbling something on a piece of paper. He’s wearing one of his expensive, tailored suits and he barely gives me a passing glance as I sit in one of the leather chairs across from him.

I sit there and wait patiently for him to acknowledge me. He’s focused on writing something on his computer, and when he finally finishes he leans back in his expensive chair with a satisfied grin on his face. His crystal blue eyes take all of me in, there’s a jovial lightness to them this morning.

“You’re probably wondering why I called you here,” he states, matter-of-factly.

“The thought had crossed my mind.”

I wish my voice didn’t sound so uncertain and nervous. Now he knows just how nervous I am.

Declan studies me for a moment longer before he stands and makes his way around his huge, oak desk. As he eases himself into the leather chair next to me, he says, “There was something I needed to say, and it’s been a long time coming. Too long.” He crosses his legs and rests a finger on his lip as he watches my reaction.

Oh boy, here we go. I guess if we have to have a heart-to-heart we might as well get it over with. I nod for him to continue. He taps that finger against his lip, studying me for another couple moments before saying anything more.

“I owe you an apology,” he says, simply.

Did I just hear him right?

“An apology?” I repeat, dumbly.

He nods.

“I’ve been acting like an entitled little brat ever since you came back to town. And I’ve been treating you like the little girl you were when you went off to Cambridge all those years ago.” He lets out a soft breath as his lips pull into a gentle smile. “I haven’t seen you for the woman that you’ve become. And for that, I’m very sorry. I hope that you can forgive me.”

I stare at him, blankly, for what feels like an eternity. Declan just… apologized? It’s the last thing I expected when he called me into his office. It takes a while to process exactly what he’s saying, and to remember how to use my words to form sentences.

“It’s no big deal.” I wave a hand, dismissively, suddenly not wanting to give him a piece of my mind on the very thing he brought up.

He leans forward a little, drawing closer to me, and gives a quick shake of his head.

“No, it
is
a big deal. I need you to know that I do see the woman you’ve become, the woman you were always meant to be. And it’s time that I start treating you like that woman.”

Heat rushes to my cheeks with every flattering word he speaks, and an embarrassed smile spreads across my face. That might have been the sweetest thing Declan has ever said to me.

“Thank you. I really appreciate that.”

It’s about the only thing I trust myself to say. Declan studies me for another second, then the soft smile on his face spreads even wider.

“Good. Now that we’ve got the important stuff out of the way, we need to talk some business.” My insides twist a little as he takes on a more serious tone, but not enough to overcome the high I’m still feeling after the sweet things he said. “Where do we stand on the European Deal?”

But
that
is enough to wash away anything good I might have been feeling.
 

“I don’t think that’s going to work out.” The admission of defeat sounds distant and empty, as though it’s someone else speaking the words.

“What do you mean?”

“Things with Isaac…
Mr. Drake
… ended up not going so well.”

The jovial look on Declan’s face melts away and one of concern takes its place. He leans in close to me and takes me by the hand. The sudden feel of his skin on mine catches me off guard.

“Are you okay?”

I shrug my shoulders and try to manage a soft smile.

“I’ll be fine.”

Declan’s blue eyes search me for a while, as though he’s trying to determine just how far he can trust my words. If I’m being honest, I’m not sure if he should trust them at all.

“Tell me everything that happened.”

I let out a soft sigh and then launch into the story of what happened on Saturday night after I left the club. There are details I omit, but I tell him how I came across the folders of pictures and background checks on the company. To my surprise, he doesn’t seem very phased by this revelation—not nearly as much as I had been. I finish by telling Declan that I told Isaac we couldn’t be seeing any more of each other.

When I’m done, Declan waits a long time before he responds. His lips purse together thoughtfully, as though he’s digesting everything I told him down to the very last detail. He’s still holding my hand, and he gives it a gentle squeeze before he speaks.

“You did the right thing.”

“But we needed that contract. Doesn’t this mean that…”

My voice trails off as I remember what Declan had told me at the club. He’d told me that we needed this contract to help us stay afloat a little while longer. He’d told me that without it we were going to have to start making some
tough decisions
. And
tough decisions
meant we were going to have to start letting people go. Possibly people that had been working at BMG since before Daddy passed away.

Declan squeezes my hand again, and fixes me with a comforting smile.

“We can only cross one bridge at a time, and we’ll cross
that one
when we get to it.” His smile tugs a little wider. “But as for Mr. Drake, you did the right thing. You have to stay true to yourself, to your family here in New York and at BMG.”

Declan’s being sweet again, but it doesn’t have quite the same effect as before. I’m not entirely convinced that pushing Isaac away really is remaining true to myself. If it is, then this whole remaining true to yourself thing kind of sucks.

“But what’s going to happen with BMG? How are we going to come up with the money we need?”

He looks at me thoughtfully, his lips pinching together as he considers the question.
 

“We’ll figure something out.” His eyes fall down over my body one more time. “My day is full of meetings, but maybe we can get together later and try to figure something out?”

I nod

“I’ll check your schedule and get a meeting setup for this afternoon.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of getting dinner…”

“Oh.”

A nervous cold tightens around my chest, caught off guard by the thought of getting dinner with Declan.

“Do you already have dinner plans?”

I shake my head.

“No. Dinner sounds nice.”

I walk around the rest of the day with Tawny’s voice in the back of my head. It feels like a lifetime ago that she was teasing me about Declan being interested in me. After everything that had been going on with Isaac I had nearly forgotten about it, entirely.

Is tonight’s dinner going to be some big, romantic gesture? Or maybe I’m just overthinking it, like everything else?

We meet at a nice restaurant that’s not too far from my apartment. He’s already waiting for me when I get there. He’s still wearing his expensive, tailored suit, and he looks way too refreshed for someone who just finished a long day at the office. His face spreads into a big smile when he sees me come inside the restaurant.

“You changed,” he notices, immediately.

I flash him a smile.

“I need to get out of work mode when I get home. I guess I’m just not used to being in an office all day, yet.”

He leans in closer to me. I catch a whiff of his cologne--it smells amazing.

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” I nod. “We don’t ever really get used to being cooped up in the office all day. It’s not natural. We are hunter-gatherers, we were made to roam wild and free.

I let out a tiny laugh.

“I guess you’re right. It always seemed like Daddy was cooped up in the office, though. He never seemed to have a problem with it.”

“Your dad was the hardest worker I’ve ever met. No one comes close to him.”

I hold myself higher, somehow encouraged by what he said, even though it really had nothing to do with me.

“Shall we get a table?” he asks, and I nod.
 

After we’re seated and order some drinks we make some small talk for a while. If there was any nervousness I was feeling earlier about having dinner with Declan it melts away, quickly. It doesn’t take long before we’re acting just like it’s old times. We fall into a natural rhythm with each other. It’s nice being able to connect with him like that, again. He asks me how I’m settling in, and I tell him all about the never-ending adventure that is my roommate.

“I’ll have to meet her sometime,” he says.

“Maybe you can come over for dinner or something.”

He gives me a smile, but it fades as the conversation slows down.

“So I was going over the budgets today with the accounting department…”
 

Suddenly a chill settles in around me. It might have something to do with the gravity of his tone.

“What did they say?”

He gives me a grim look.

“It’s not good. Apparently we needed that European deal a little more than I had originally thought.”

I can feel my heart breaking as what he’s saying really settles in. Declan remains silent while he gives me a moment to process what he’s telling me.

“What does that mean?”

“It means we’re going to have to start making some tough decisions soon. Sooner than I had first thought.”

My stomach feels like it just started a free fall. And amidst the flood of thoughts and worries that are all rushing through my head at the same time, I can’t help but wonder if this is all my fault. I can’t help but wonder if BMG’s downfall is going to be because of me—if Daddy’s company is going to go under because of me.

The logical business part of me knows that this fear doesn’t make any sense. It knows there had to be a million decisions made to get us into this situation, and I wasn’t a part of any of them. But that doesn’t go very far toward making me feel any better.

For a moment the whole situation seems insurmountable, but then a thought occurs to me. I don’t know why I had never thought about it, before.

“How much do we need to keep things going for a while longer? I’ve got some money, I could reinvest it into the company.”

“No!” I jump back, startled by the harsh outburst. “No, I can’t let you do that.”

“Why not? It’s not like I’m doing anything with all of that money, I’m more than happy to help.”

Declan’s eyes flash quickly before he composes himself.

“Hannah, I can’t let you do that.”

My brow furls, tightly.

“It’s my money, I can do with it as I please.”

His look is hard and defiant for a moment before it softens again. He tilts his head in a slight nod.

“You’re right. I’m not trying to tell you what to do with your money, only that putting it into the company wouldn’t be a good decision.”

“Why not?”
 

The anger inside of me is building. It’s not like there are a lot of things that I can do to help in this situation, so why won’t Declan let me help where I can?

“Because I promised your father that I would look after you. Because even if you put your money into the company, it’s not going to fix the problem. It’s a bandaid that will only barely cover the wound. It’s a waste of your money.”