Page 71 of The Bratva's Innocent Sold Bride
“Well, he’ll have plenty of time for you now,” I told her, trying to tease her out of her sudden, somber mood. “When I’m willing to share you, that is.”
She didn’t smile. “But why put in so much money and effort to save it? Wasn’t your original plan to make sure he ended up with nothing?”
“Plans change,” I said with a shrug. “I saw an opportunity and took it. It’s on its way up. Might not ever be at the top of the heap again, but it will turn a hefty profit soon enough. No thanks to Gordon, of course.”
“Are you going to rub it in his face?” she asked, looking uncomfortable. “The fact that he failed and you succeeded?”
“No, there’s no reason to do that. And if there was, I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”
She made a face I couldn’t read, and let her shoulders drop. “And it’s yours now, anyway. No one takes what’s yours.”
“CJ, what’s this about? No one’s taking that company from me, just like no one’s taking you.”
“I know,” she said wistfully. “But what if…”
“What if?” I prodded. Why was she suddenly being so tentative?
“What if I wanted you to give my father back the controlling shares? Or is that too much to ask?”
Her bitter tone astounded me, as well as her request. The company had been part of the payment for her father’s debt. Asking me to give it back stung, as if we weren’t on the same team. What was next, requesting to go to her former home andpretend none of this had happened? I couldn’t believe she still didn’t accept how much I loved her. I turned to her with a look I was sure was much too harsh, and gripped her arms. It was time she learned what was too much to ask.
Chapter 43 - CJ
I could see the change in him, how mad he was. I had asked the mighty Mat Fokin to give up something that was his, something he felt he’d earned, something he’d put time and money into. He was about to make it clear that he couldn’t do that, not even for me, and I prepared myself for the blow. Cursed myself for asking whenever everything else was going so well.
But my father had created that company from nothing, pouring his blood, sweat, and tears into it like it really was his child. He’d made mistakes along the way. Huge, illegal mistakes, but it was for the love of his company, his life’s work. I always played second fiddle to it, no matter how much he’d doted on me, but like an older sibling that gave me a mild case of jealousy, I could never hate it. I could never want to see it destroyed or in anyone else’s hands but its creator’s.
Now, Mat gripped my arms with a stormy look in his eyes, and I wanted to take it all back, say I was kidding like I was about the sheep farm.
Would he choose the company over my happiness, just like my father did so many times? The final time resulted in the entire upheaval of my life, but thankfully, that had ended in happiness, or so I thought until this very second. Was I just part of Mat’s grand plan to build an empire in this part of the world?
Then why did he bother to say he loved me?
He gave me a little shake when tears welled in my eyes. “I’ll give back the shares,” he said roughly.
“What?” I wasn’t sure I heard right when he looked so icy, and his grasp was so tight.
“I can’t believe you’d think for a second that anything was more important to me than you.” He dragged me close, then pushed away to look me in the eyes. His eyes were lightning, more like the morning sky than a gathering storm. “Nothing is more important to me.”
“You’ll really give back all the controlling shares?” I wanted to believe him, and hated having to give him this final test. I trusted him with my life, but the thought of having a constant rift between him and my father hurt too much to ignore.
“He’ll have control as before,” Mat said, running his hands down my arms, no longer holding on for dear life. “But I’ll be keeping some shares since I invested so much to save it. Since we’re family now, I doubt he’ll have any problem with that.”
I laughed, giddy with relief. “Oh, he won’t have a single problem, I can guarantee that.”
My father’s pride might be dented, but he’d put up with far more for Taurus Ingenuity. He’d be so happy that I would be part of his life again; he’d even learn to love Mat. Eventually. Maybe by the time our kids were in school.
Mat grinned. “Now that I’ll have some free time on my hands with that out of the way, I’m thinking of investing in a new computer company.”
“Oh yeah?” I said, pretending I wasn’t about to start lobbying for a job in the next ten seconds.
Masha stuck her head in, looking tired but in a much better mood than the last time I saw her. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Yes,” we both said at the same time.
She laughed, making no move to leave. “Okay, but I just want to share my good news. I got a job.”
Mat’s head spun around to pin her with a glare. “You already have a job.”
