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We have dinner in the living room, eating takeout while watching movies, as casual as we possibly can be. Cannon is out of his suit, a rarity, and is wearing gray joggers and a white t-shirt. It feels so domestic that I consider pushing the conversation off for another night, but it just can’t wait any longer.
“Just say it, Candace,” he says out of nowhere, and I feel like a deer in headlights. “It’s clear something is on your mind.”
I take a deep breath and, with my heart in my throat, tell him how much I've loved living here with him in his penthouse and how wonderful it's been—getting close to him, learning all his little quirks and nuances—but I desperately miss my career. I explain to him how much being a magazine writer means to me, how it’s my dream, and how working remotely just isn't fulfilling the desire inside of me to better myself.
He’s silent as I explain that I'm also worried about my future. I'm afraid that since he's the CEO ofElite Editions, no one will hire me if I look for a different job while still being his girlfriend. I’ll have a reputation of someone willing to sleep their way to the top, even if that isn’t what is happening between Cannon and me at all. I don't want to jeopardize our relationship, but I also can't ignore my own desires and goals.
“I just don't know what to do,” I finish miserably. “I wouldn’t even bother you with this, but you’ve been doing this job for so long that I was hoping you could tell me what my next steps should be.”
“You’re still taking your online classes, right?” he asks, deadpan.
I nod. “Yes, but–”
“So why isn’t that fulfilling enough for you? You’re furthering your education. Isn’t that the same as furthering your career?”
I pause, surprised. “Cannon,Elite Editionsis paying for my college, which meansyouare. I can’t just take that money without being a fully engaged employee too. It’s wrong.”
“Then quit, and I’ll pay for it out of my personal account. I told you that you’re mine and that I’ll take care of you, so justlet me,Candace.” Cannon sounds desperate and tired.
“I don't want to sacrifice my own happiness and ambitions that I’ve worked towards all on my own. I don’t want you to pave the way with money for me,” I insist, but he scoffs, laughing cruelly as he stands up. “Cannon, please–” I try to say, but he waves his hand in the air, cutting me off.
“What part of ‘you’re mine’ don’t you understand? I take care of you, Candace becauseI want to.I want to give you the world and all you want is this damned entry-level intern position…fuck!”
He rakes his hand through his hair. “I thought we were done with this conversation…thought we had put it to bed, but this is going to haunt us forever, isn’t it?”
He’s all but yelling now, and I sit in shock, not exactly afraid but taken aback by his anger. Cannon looks down at me, opening his mouth to continue his tirade, but the sight of me, eyes wide and face pale, stops him in his tracks.
“I’ve got to get out of here and get some air before I say something I regret,” he grits out, stalking to the door and grabbing his keys. “Just…don’t wait up for me. I need time to think.”
I can feel my heart breaking, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. “Cannon, please don’t go!”
My pleas fall on deaf ears, though, and with the sound of the door slamming, my hopes for a peaceful solution shatter into a million pieces, scattered all over the little life I’ve tried so hard to build.
5
CANNON
The Jaguar takes the corners with ease, the engine purring as it climbs the twisting mountain paths effortlessly, the cold air from the open window burning my face and clearing my head of all the thoughts of self-loathing there.
Candace is the woman I’m going to build a family with. Hell, I know she isn’t on birth control, and she might even be pregnant now, considering how many times I filled her up with my seed. I’ve worked my entire life to build this empire of mine, and now that I have someone to take care of, someone precious and worth the entire world, she rejects it all.
Candace is so dead set on forging her own path that she doesn’t see that I want us to thrivetogether.I can give her everything…it’s all I’ve ever dreamed of, but I just had to fall in love with the one woman that won’t accept what I’m offering.
“Damn it,” I murmur, punching the leather steering wheel before hitting the gas even harder. The Jaguar jumps forward more and eats up even more of the mountain road.
For a single second, I thought of letting her go, but it’s an absolute impossibility. I will never let her go, never, but that doesn’t mean I know how to fix the problem of her stubbornness. I know she sees our future together as clearly as I do, she just doesn’t want to admit it to herself.
As I drive, I try to come up with a solution to our problem. I know Candace’s career is important to her and I don't want to stand in the way, but I also can’t see her climbing the ranks atElite Editionswithout there being problems since she’s now my woman. There are bound to be complaints. Hell, there already are! I love her and I want her to be happy, but I don't know how to find a balance.
I fell for her passion and drive, and I knew I wanted to support her in any way that I could. But I know she doesn’t want to quitEliteand she won’t take the money I’m offering her, so what else can I do?
I lose track of time, and eventually, I reach the top of a mountain overlooking the city. The view is breathtaking, and for a moment I forget about my problems as the twinkling lights of the Seattle I love fill my vision. I exit the car, leaning against the still-warm hood and welcoming the chill of the air as I contemplate the last month of my life. I know I can't run from my problems forever. I have to find a way to make things work with Candace, even if it means making sacrifices. But which one of us will be doing the sacrificing?
On a whim, I pull out my phone and scroll through my contacts, wondering if there's anyone I can talk to about this. I have few friends, but I see the name of an old friend of mine that I went to college with and pause. We haven't spoken in years, but I decide to take a chance and give him a call. Something in me is telling me it’s the right thing to do.
Greg and I graduated together, but where I went into serious journalism before foundingElite,Greg’s niche was vacation and travel journalism. It has always seemed shallow to me, but his own magazine,Worldwide Wonders,has taken off with a popularity to rival even my own publication. An idea takes hold in my brain, and I run with it.
Greg doesn’t answer right away, probably taken aback after seeing my name pop up on his phone. I’m shocked he has the same number, considering it’s been almost twenty years since we graduated, but he always has been a man of habit.
