Chapter 4 CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4

The Sharks.

Aria Hartwell.

The phone buzzed in my purse during the quarterly review meeting and I felt my entire body go rigid because I knew exactly who it was. The loan sharks had perfect timing and always seemed to call when I was trapped in situations where I could not answer, and this meeting with the entire board, and Cassian of course, watching and me present our expansion strategy was definitely one of those situations.

I tried to focus on the presentation and on the slides, but my phone buzzed again and then again, and I could feel sweat gathering at the back of my neck despite the cool temperature in the conference room.

Cassian was the first to point that out. "Miss Hartwell, do you have an emergency?" His eyes went to my phone that still buzzed on the table.

"No." I gulped shakily and retrieved my phone, turning it off immediately. "I'm sorry for that little distraction." I apologized to the board because it was better to do that than let Cassian make me seem incompetent right now. And those calls from the loan sharks were the main reason why I couldn't be seen as incompetent.

"Good," Cassian nodded and flipped his files. "Miss Hartwell, do you have the correct numbers on the projected ROI for the Miami property?"

I did have them because I had prepared this presentation for three nights, but the way he asked the question, even when he had the hardcopy of the files I was presenting, made me hesitate. Was there a mistake? Or was he just trying to jilt me into making a mistake?

I hated the fact that Cassian's presence always made me second guess myself, and doubt if I was actually doing a good work. There was another buzz on the table which distracted me for a second, and it turned out to be my second phone. I didn't even realize I had brought it with me.

"Are you sure you don't want us to take a break, Miss Hartwell, so that you can attend to your personal party life?"

That sent some of the board members laughing in the room The burning anger in my chest was immediate as I switched off my the second phone and fumbled with my laptop, trying to pull up the spreadsheet. I wasn't going to cry even though this felt humiliating, but the shimmering was in my eyes, and when I looked up, Cassian caught my eyes. And I knew he saw the tears I was holding back. I hated him so much that I wished he was the one who died instead of my father.

"The Miami property shows a projected ROI of eighteen percent over five years," I kept my voice was steady even though my hands shook slightly as I clicked through the slides. "We have already secured three anchor tenants and preliminary interest from two more, which puts us ahead of schedule for full occupancy by the sixth month."

The board members nodded and asked their usual probing questions, and I answered each one with the competence I had worked so hard to prove. Cassian hadn't asked any question yet, and I was waiting for him to. I didn't know what it would be, but I knew that it would be something else that he would try to use in embarrassing me. I wouldn't give him that benefit of seeing me cry or making me look incompetent in front of the board. And to think I had eleven months and some days to go through this...

The meeting finally ended and the board members filed out with their usual pleasantries and compliments about my presence as a co-CEO, and I waited until the last person left before I grabbed my purse and almost ran toward the bathroom, glad that Cassian hadn't tried to ask a question.

"Aria." Cassian's voice stopped me at the door and I turned to find him watching me with an expression I could not quite read. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine," I said, and the lie tasted bitter on my tongue. I was more pissed and surprised that he acted as if he cared. "Just need to use the restroom."

"Your phone has been going off for the last twenty minutes." He stepped closer and I hated how my body responded to his proximity, how my pulse kicked up and my breathing changed. "Is everything okay?"

"It is fine," I repeated, and I clutched my purse tighter against my chest like it could shield me from his scrutiny. "Just a friend who does not understand the concept of being in a meeting."

He did not believe me and I could see it in the way his eyes narrowed slightly and in the tension in his jaw. "If something is wrong, you can tell me."

The offer was almost laughable because Cassian had been my enemy for thirteen years and the fact that we had slept together once and were now forced to work side by side did not change that fundamental truth. I could not tell him about the loan sharks because if the board found out about my gambling debt, they would vote me out immediately and I would lose everything including my life.

"There is nothing wrong," I said firmly, and I moved past him toward the bathroom before he could ask more questions.

I locked myself in a stall and finally looked at my phone and my stomach dropped when I saw fifteen missed calls and three text messages, each one more threatening than the last.

The final message made my blood run cold: Time is running out, princess. We know where you work. Maybe we should pay your office a visit and discuss your debt with your business partner.

My hands shook as I typed out a response and promised them some money by the end of the week and begged them not to come to the office. I knew I was running out of options and running out of time. I needed to figure something out and fast because if they exposed me, everything I had worked for would crumble and Cassian would get exactly what he wanted, which was full control of Hartwell Industries and my complete removal from the picture.

When I finally emerged from the bathroom, Cassian was waiting in the hallway and leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, and the sight of him there sent a jolt of awareness through me that I tried desperately to suppress.

"You were in there for fifteen minutes," he said, and his voice was calm but his eyes were sharp and assessing. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Stop asking me that," I snapped, and my fear was making me defensive and irritable. "I am fine and I do not need you monitoring my bathroom breaks."

"I am not monitoring anything," he said, and he pushed off the wall and moved closer until he was standing directly in front of me and I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. "But I know when someone is lying to me and you are a terrible liar, Aria."

"And you are the expert on recognizing lies," I shot back, and the words came out sharper than I intended. "You have had plenty of practice after all."

Something flickered in his expression and it might have been hurt or guilt or both, but then his jaw tightened and he stepped even closer until I could feel the heat radiating from his body. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," I said, and I tried to step back but my back hit the wall and suddenly I was trapped between cold plaster and Cassian's overwhelming presence. "Just let me go."

"Not until you tell me what is going on," he said, and his voice dropped lower and took on that commanding tone that made my knees weak despite my anger. "Someone is calling you repeatedly and you are terrified and trying to hide it, and I want to know why."

"It is none of your business," I breathed, and my heart was hammering so hard I was sure he could hear it.

"Everything about you is my business," he said, and his hand came up to rest on the wall beside my head and caged me in. "We are partners now whether you like it or not, and if something is threatening you then it threatens this company and it threatens me."

The possessiveness in his voice should have made me angry, but instead it sent heat pooling low in my belly and I hated myself for the reaction. "You do not own me."

"Do I not?" His other hand came up to grip my hip and his thumb traced circles against the fabric of my skirt. "You are wearing the perfume I mentioned I noticed and you styled your hair differently this week, and right now your pupils are dilated and your breathing is shallow and you are thinking about that night at the gala just as much as I am."

"You are delusional," I whispered, but my voice lacked conviction.

"Am I?" He leaned closer until his lips were inches from mine and I could feel his breath against my skin. "Tell me you do not want me to kiss you right now and I will walk away."

I opened my mouth to say exactly that and to push him away and to maintain the professional distance we were supposed to have, but the words would not come because my body was betraying me and leaning toward him and my hands were coming up to grip his shirt.

"That is what I thought," he murmured, and pushed himself away from me.