Page 39 of The Founder's Power

“I didn’t either,” I say, “but I think I need help. Not with the business. Or… not just that.”

Another pause. “Where are you? I’ll come over.”

Something breaks inside me. Not a collapse. A release.

I lean back in the chair, phone to my ear as I give him the address of where we can meet up. When I hang up, I don’t feel like I’m failing because I need someone.

I feel like I might be learning how to finally live.

* * *

Reid meetsme at a private lounge on the edge of the city. It’s not my usual place—no exclusivity, no suits, no one here looking to make a deal. Just worn leather chairs, shelves of old books, and jazz humming low through dusty speakers.

He’s already seated when I arrive. Casual button-down. Sleeves rolled. Same easy confidence I remember, untouched by the need to prove anything.

“Didn’t expect your name to flash on my phone,” he says as I sit across from him. “Figured you were too busy building the Great Wall of Kincaid.”

I manage a hollow laugh. “Turns out it wasn’t so great after all.”

He watches me and waits. He’s always been patient. One of his greatest strengths, actually.

I take a sip of whiskey, trying to decide where to begin. Then I set the glass down and say it straight. “I’m losing everything.”

He doesn’t blink. “Tell me.”

I look down at my hands. Now isn’t the time for bullshit or a polished, sanitized version.

“I’ve spent years building something so controlled, so protected… that I forgot how to let anyone in, and now I’m watching it fall apart. My company. My relationship. Me.”

His voice is calm. “And Vincent Grey?”

I stiffen.

Of course he knows. Everyone in our circle does, but Reid worked with me for a time, and he saw more than most, but I don’t know if even he knows the full truth about Vincent.

“He was my friend,” I admit. “We came up in the same circles. Same ambition. Same fire. But where I wanted to build, he wanted to own, and when he realized he couldn’t control me… he turned.”

Reid leans back, hands folded. “And you buried it.”

“Of course I did,” I say bitterly. “I made it fuel. I told myself if I could outwork him, outgrow him, I’d win, and for a long time, that worked. He did his thing, and I did mine, but then he came back around, swooping in… and he got inside my head. Not just professionally. Personally.”

Reid nods to encourage me to keep going.

“He twisted things around on me, undermined relationships, and made me question people. Myself. And the worst part? I let him. I let him make me cold. I shut people out. Time and again. My business grew successful, and I figured there was no reason to change, but somewhere along the line, I forgot how to let anyone in permanently, and I shut out the one person I…” My voice cracks.

Reid doesn’t interrupt or prompt me.

“I love her,” I say finally, “but I pushed her away. More than once. I was scared. When I started to feel like I could need someone, I panicked.”

“And now?” he asks.

“Now I’d give up the whole damn empire to get her back, and I might lose it because Vincent weakened me enough that Veridian Holdings is trying to erase me now, so it’s not only about her.”

“So what is it about?”

I grit my teeth and drain the rest of my whiskey. “It’s about what I became trying to win a game I never needed to play.” I meet his eyes. “For the first time in my life, I don’t want to win. I want to heal, and I don’t know how.”

Reid leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “You just did the hardest part,” he says. “You told someone and admit out loud not just to me but to yourself what your issues are.”

---