Page 3 of The Price of a Promise

The words felt like an edict, reinforcing the truth so that neither of us forgot it.So that it became a weapon that we both could wield in the war that was sure to unfold soon.

Because no matter how much we loved each other, no matter how close to our MBAs we crept, only one thing truly stood a chance of coming between us.

Allan Margulis and his iron grip on his daughter.

CHAPTER TWO

CORA

Clouds swirl.

Evergreen undertones dance in the air.Axel is near.

His raspy laugh threads through me.The cocksure smile appears above my face.He is lined with cumulonimbus fringe and self-assuredness.The velvet softness of his kisses consumes me.

“Will you marry me?”

Of course I will.I want to say it.My heart is dying to say it.But I can’t move my lips.Axel’s handsome features are wrought with confusion.

An alarm is ringing, warning me of the decision I have to make.

I jolted up in bed, panic streaking through my veins.The alarm, at least, wasn’t a dream.My phone was ringing next to my bed, but Axel wasn’t close—he was in New York City.A world away.Too many miles and I felt every single one of them in each breath I took without him near me.

I fumbled to grab the phone, Axel’s proposal weighing heavily on me.He hadn’t asked me to marry him in real life, but I dreamt almost nightly of his proposal.We just talked about marriage as inevitable.The way our MBAs were inevitable.The way Axel choosing pepperoni pizza above all other varieties was inevitable.

The way my decision regarding the family business was inevitable.

I drew a deep breath when I saw who called: my father.I cleared my throat before I answered, trying to hide the groggy evidence in my voice that I’d fallen asleep after my morning Pilates class.

“Hey, Dad,” I said, forcing brightness into my voice.

“Cora Bug.”My father’s gruff voice was at odds with the pet name.My father always had an agenda, and his word choices weren’t exempt.He had so few tender touches for the women in his life that when he employed sweetness, it worked harder for him than any of his employees.“Let’s talk schedule.”

“Of course.”I swung my feet off the bed, heading for my discarded planner in the living room of my condo.The warmth I’d felt from the infrequently used endearment was rapidly fading.“How are you?”

“Let’s talk about next weekend.”

I flipped to the appropriate pages as the familiar iciness spread across my chest.“Okay.”

“You’ve been offered an exciting opportunity.One you’d be remiss to let slip by.”

Exciting for who?My gaze landed on the open blocks of the upcoming weekend.My Friday afternoon mastermind course was the only thing written there.The blank space contained the only constants in my life:studyandvideo chat with Axel.

“What is it?”

“A partnership, and a path into the future.”

The iciness in my chest turned to iron.My eyes fluttered shut.“Let’s hear it.”

“The board of directors and I have been engaging in the long-range planning for the company.Obviously I can’t be CEO forever.And though it’s still at least a decade away, I’m thinking about what will happen after my retirement.Of all the available options, there’s only one that interests me, and that’s with my Cora Bug at the helm.”

I was thankful he couldn’t see me, since I was sure my face would give away my conflict.I’d been avoiding this conversation since high school.Every day spent at grad school pushed me closer to the point of no return.

Running the family business felt inevitable.My father expected it of me.But I’d quietly avoided the topic for years, declining to give solid answers until I could figure out what made sense.

The only problem was, I wasn’t sure when anything was going to make sense.I didn’t want to run the business at all.But what I wanted to do—run off with Axel and build a start-up together—was the one thing that my father would almost surely never permit.He wouldn’t just look down on it.He would refuse to see it altogether.

“The board and I have decided that it’s time to diversify.We’ve got our eye on a few different industries, but any move I make is going to be with you in mind.This isn’t just my legacy.It’s your future.”

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