AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re taking a massive risk.”
“Thank you for your input, Nico.” My voice is frosty. “That’ll be all.”
My assistant takes a deep breath, holding it in for a few seconds as if he’s trying to decide whether to fight me on this or not. His shoulders deflate, and he nods. “Okay.”
“Nico, wait.”
He turns, arching a brow.
I gulp. “You don’t have to stand beside me for this. If you want to keep working for my father, it’s probably best to distance yourself from me. You should stay in Farcliff when I go.”
Nico stares at me for a moment, then dips his chin. He agrees. He’s choosing his career over me and even though I know it’s the best decision for both of us, it stings. The finality of what I’m about to do comes into sharp focus.
I watch my assistant leave and let my eyes drift back to the itinerary. I leave tomorrow to make another landmark deal—one I already know my father won’t like.
For once, I don’t care what my father thinks. I don’t care if he hates me for the rest of his life, because this is the first time I feel like I’m doing the right thing. I’m not motivated by greed or selfish desires for recognition. I’m not chasing validation from someone who forced me to grovel at his feet because of an accident that scarred a third of my body.
I’m doing this for me. To prove to myself I can stand up to him. To prove to myself I’ve changed.
And…I’m doing it for Penelope. I hope she sees what I’m trying to do. I hope she forgives me. Circling at the back of my mind are dark, evil fears. Monsters that keep me up at night, telling me I’ll never see my child. Silent fears that echo in my head, telling me I’ve lost my only chance at love.
If I need to blow up my father’s company to prove to her I love her, so be it. If I need to drag myself through the mud and ruin my own reputation, I’ll do it.
Without Penelope, there’s nothing. This is my last chance. My only hope.
Maybe I’m a fool, and this will do nothing to prove to her I deserve her. Maybe I’m digging my own grave, and I’ll look back on these weeks as the peak of my stupidity. Maybe I’ll regret what I’m about to do.
But there’s a slim chance I’ll reach Penelope. There’s a sliver of hope that she’ll forgive me, so I have no choice. I have to do it. I’ll ruin myself to ask for a second chance.
Michael Burgundy is a tall man—six-foot-four or five, I’d guess. He’s heavy-set with sharp, blue eyes. He stares at me above the stack of papers on the conference table, frowning. “I’m not sure I understand, Mr. Gerhard.”
“The contract is fairly simple.”
“You’re selling us the Roston diamond mines for one Nordish dollar?”
“Transferring ownership and the right to all the royalties, yes.”
“But…why?”
“Does it matter?”
He puts the contract down and folds his hands on top of it. “With all due respect, Mr. Gerhard, yes, it does matter. We’ve met a few times now, and our working relationship has been successful thus far. It’s no secret that NRG has struggled in the past few years, and we would never have been able to take on this project in Roston without Gerhard’s capital. Your proposal…doesn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t make sense about it?”
“You’re losing over eight hundred million dollars in potential profit.” He speaks slowly, never breaking eye contact with me. “Why?”
How can I explain that giving this project back to Nord—back to Penelope—is the only way I can prove to her I don’t care about my career? Everything I did here, in Nord, was real? It was for her.
But if I tell Mick that, he’ll think I’m insane. Penelope’s relationship with me wasn’t public knowledge, and I’ll sound like I’ve lost my damn mind. Maybe I have. “I didn’t think the hardest part of this would be to get you to agree to a deal that will basically save your company from going under.” I lean back in my seat, the long conference table extending on either side of us. Beside me, empty chairs line the conference table. Nico chose to stay in Farcliff.
On the other side of the table, Mick is flanked by two lawyers, a man in his fifties and a woman about a decade younger. They’re both staring at me with suspicion in their eyes, keeping a hand on the copies of the contract I provided for them.
Mick inhales. “Mr. Gerhard—”
“Asher.”
He nods. “Asher, can you please just explain to me why you’d be making such a blatantly terrible deal for your own company? You’ve funded the initial mobilization of staff and materials, and basically put together a plan to manage the construction phase of the project. All the outlays so far have been by your side of the joint venture. By pulling out now, you’ll see none of the reward. It’s an outrageously bad deal for you.”
