Page 37 of Broken Destiny

Dear God, I hope they like it.This presentation meant more than business. It represented everything I had fought to rebuild after losing him—my confidence, my independence, and my belief that I could stand on my own.

I gathered my notes, holding them firmly in my hands.

Drawing in a deep breath through my nose, I slowly exhaled through my mouth, allowing the tension in my shoulders to ease. Then I straightened my posture and walked toward the conference room, ready to face whatever waited on the other side of that door.

As I walked through the office toward the conference room, a few of the employees looked up from their desks. I offered them a warm smile and greeted them with a quick, “Good morning, everyone,” exchanging a few nods and polite responses before continuing down the hallway.

“There she is, the star of the presentation for this project,” Liam said as I approached the room.

The other man’s back was turned toward me.

I smiled and stepped inside, looking at Liam first.

Then I turned and held out my hand.

And the world spun in front of me.

Everything inside me locked up at once. A heavy sensation dropped into my core, and my muscles weakened instantly.

The blue-green eyes I had once loved stared back at me.

“Jiya, this is Caleb Evans of the Evans Group,” Liam said. “Mr. Evans, this is my partner and sister-in-law, Jiya Flores.”

My body and mind seemed to shut down as I stood there staring at him.

How could this be possible? How could he be the client?

Thousands of thoughts crashed into my mind, and every single one of them made me want to run to the nearest exit and disappear. I had been so distracted by running into him at the restaurant the other night that I had forgotten to ask Liam who the potential clients were.

This was my fault.

I could have been prepared.

I could have spared myself this shock.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Evans,” I said, my eyes still locked on his.

Caleb’s warm hand closed around mine.

The same hand that had once sunk into my hair. The same hand that had caressed my body. The same hand that had comforted me and made me feel safe… a long time ago.

“Good afternoon,” he said, and his eyes continued to hold mine with a hard, unreadable intensity.

“Please have a seat so we can begin,” Liam said, ushering him toward a chair. “Can I get you a cup of tea or coffee?”

“Coffee, please,” Caleb said, not looking away from me.

“Sure,” Liam said, glancing between us with a slight frown.

I pasted on a smile, trying to assure Liam that everything was fine, but my stomach felt rock hard.

How was I going to do this? How could I talk about the presentation now? How could I stand there and face him?

The past had a cruel way of returning when I least expected it. First, my birth mother, and now Caleb. I had barely begun sorting through one squall, and now another had arrived without warning.

Emma’s father.

My first true love.