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“It’s the past,” he says again. “You, now, you’re the future.” The engine revs to life and before I can ask anything else, Cole kisses me, and the plane is moving. In a matter of minutes, we’ve lifted off, on our way to Houston. On our way to Cole’s life before me.
Cole
Once we arrive in Houston, we settle into a hired car. “Once we get to the office,” I say, “I’m going to have to deal with the asshole running the place into the ground.”
“I’ll introduce myself around and see who knows what about Ashley,” Lori offers.
“I hate that I don’t know more about who she was friends with.”
“Trials are consuming, Cole,” she reminds me. “You knew about the man in her life. It was a whirlwind romance. I doubt anyone knows him. From what we know, he wasn’t someone that let that happen unless he wanted it to happen.”
Lori
He doesn’t respond and I understand. If I were in his place, I’d blame myself, too. Cole and I are alike in this; we need to protect those around us. I love that he wants to protect me, but I will never let him hold the world up alone, just as the recent days have taught me that Cole will never allow me to hold it up on my own either.
A few minutes later, we step inside the Houston high-rise that houses the offices and when we exit to the lobby, I stop as I stare at the name Summer and Brooks etched into the wall, with a list of partners beneath it. “Did it used to say Brooks and Brooks?”
“No,” Cole says, his hand settling between my shoulders. “My father would never have shared that honor with me or anyone. And I didn’t want my name on the wall while he was in charge.” He turns to face me, his hands on my shoulders. “I’m not him,” he says solemnly.
“I know that.”
“You will hear stories.”
“About you or him?”
“Him.”
“Then why do I sense there is more?”
“It’s hard to hear what a monster he was, and not wonder if it’s in the blood.”
“I don’t plan on gambling away all of our money like my father. I’m quite confident you don’t plan on becoming an arrogant ass.”
“Now I’m not arrogant? Because you said I was.”
“Okay,” I concede, “you are, in fact, arrogant, but lovably so and if you act like an ass, I’ll kick you in yours.”
He leans in and whispers. “As long as I get to spank yours.”
As many intimate, erotic things as I’ve done with this man, I still have these shy, wonderful moments with him that curl my toes and heat my cheeks. “I love when you blush,” he adds, with a low laugh, lacing his fingers with mine. “Come. Let’s go rule this part of our world together.”
It’s not long before I’ve met the front office and administrative staff and a few attorneys Cole seems to be fond of before he ends up behind closed doors with the man who we have long known wants to organize a hostile takeover. I don’t actually meet the man. I’m distracted by conversation elsewhere when it happens.
Being on my own is not uncomfortable. Everyone is friendly and while Cole believes I will hear horrible stories about his father, I hear praise for Cole. He’s nothing like his father is a common statement. Help is another. Most people are aware that there has been a decline in the office in Cole’s absence. A few people ask about Ashley and how she’s doing with us in New York, but no one really knows her. She was a loner, at least at the office.
On the pretense of Ashley asking me to find a missing item for her, I search her desk and still find nothing. She cleaned it out well before she left, or someone cleaned it out like they did her apartment. Cole is in his meeting for so long that I hole up in his old office that is empty but for the furnishings now. It’s after five and I’ve settled onto the couch with my MacBook when Royce calls me. “Do you have news on Ashley?” I ask eagerly.
“Where is Cole? He’s not answering his line.” Cole walks into the room, owning it the minute he arrives, power radiating off him that I’ve come to understand. He’s not quite come down from a battle, but he won the fight. “Royce,” I say to him and he shuts the door, walking my direction.
“Put him on speaker,” he says, joining me on the couch.
“I’m here,” Cole says. “I know you’ve been calling. I’ve been in a meeting. Where do we meet up with your man?”
“I’ve been told to step back from this,” Royce announces.
I frown and my eyes meet Cole’s as he asks, “By who?”
“The CIA and the FBI,” Royce says. “We won’t stop pushing, but we need to be discreet and back off. You guys need to back off before you end up pulled into this in a way that won’t allow you an exit.”
