Page 79 of See You Maybe

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Page 79 of See You Maybe

The betrayal sliced deep.

“You should see your face,” Kyle snickered, thrilled by her pain. “You are so pathetic. Do you really think Declan Bloom would want a cold fish like you? He’s a billionaire. He’s probably had even more top shelf pussy than me. Good for him though that he figured out quicker than I did what a loser you are. Maybe we should compare notes.”

Don’t respond. Don’t say anything.

When Kyle saw he wouldn’t get the response he wanted, he feinted toward her, and when Olivia lifted her hands to protect her face, he laughed again. “You always thought you were so much better than me. So much smarter than me. Look at you now. What your parents always said is true. Your desperate need to be the center of attention is why you’re so miserable—why you were such a failure as a wife and a woman. Pathetic,” he spit.

Olivia swallowed hard, hoping the pain from each of his barbs lacerating her heart didn’t show.

She knew her parents had never understood her. They hadn’t even tried to hide their disappointment and disapproval when she told them about her divorce.

“Is your job really more important than your husband? I read that stress can cause infertility. Maybe you should take some time off. Kyle can provide for you. He loves you.”

Olivia hadn’t bothered to explain herself. She’d learned early on that any complaints she had about her marriage would always be turned back on to her.

She’d caught her parents looking at her sometimes like she was a changeling. Some alien species swapped in the crib for their sweet, biddable baby. Or, in her mother’s view even worse… another version of her own mother.

Kyle jabbed a finger in her face, dragging her from her thoughts. “You better not do anything to fuck with my money, Livvy, or I promise you will be sorry.”

Long after he was gone, and she’d locked her office door, Olivia sat at her desk and trembled.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Atlanta—Present Day

The first interview of the day was with Richard Armstrong. It had been the man’s company, and it seemed appropriate to start at the top and work down. Arriving at the building that morning, Declan kept his face turned forward, refusing to give in to his desire to search for even a glimpse of Olivia.

The need to see her burned inside him, but after the scene yesterday, he knew it would draw unwelcome attention if she were the first person he called for an interview. Declan forced himself to be patient.

The older man sank into a chair in the conference room where Declan had set up temporary operations. He received no pleasure taking this man’s company from him, and because he knew how Olivia felt about him, Declan was prepared to be generous.

“As I’m sure you imagine, I don’t need another CEO at this company.”

“I figured.”

“However, in a gesture of—let’s call it good will for what you’ve built—I’m prepared to offer you two-thirds of my original offer for your shares, in exchange for today being your last day.”

Declan watched surprise skate across the man’s eyes. It wasn’t a secret the man was ill, his time on earth limited. Declan might be a bastard, but he wasn’t that big of a bastard. Not to people who didn’t deserve it, Declan amended in his head.

“Are you going to fire everyone right away?”

Declan shook his head. “No. The bones of this business are good, and some of the products in your development pipeline are interesting. It will take some time to fully assess the potential. However, you have bloated overhead, and you’re over-leveraged. In order to make Armstrong Electronics attractive to future buyers, cuts will need to be made.”

“The XEROS development required it.”

“XEROS has been developed. You don’t need all the research staff or technicians any longer.”

Declan flipped through the pages in front of him until he found the one he wanted and slid it across the table. “The executive compensation and perks packages are ridiculous. Particularly based on what I can see regarding some of those executives’ performances.”

Richard scanned the page with a frown. “Those retreats were necessary for team building.”

“But only the board went? Aren’t you all family?”

“Ky—I thought it was a good idea. It’s what all businesses do.”

“The country club membership for your son? His shooting club membership? A brand-new Porsche as a company car?”

“It’s important to network.” The man didn’t sound as if he believed what he was saying.