Page 99 of Stolen Kiss

Jensen

I leanedback in my office chair and took in the view from my window, not really seeing anything.

I was too lost in thought.

I’d thought things would be better now that Emilia and I had taken the very next step forward in our relationship, but that wasn’t the case.

Not at all.

Things seemed even more complicated, including the secrets hanging over my head like a dark cloud.

A knock on my open door brought me out of my thoughts and I swiveled my chair around. Alan stood in the doorway with a file in his hands, his eyes closed off and his steps unsure.

My cousin and I had a complicated relationship.

I had mostly forgiven him for all the shit he pulled three years ago, but that didn’t mean I forgot. Hard to forget when I got my daughter out of it. I loved Elodie with everything in me. In the two years since she came into this world, it was hard for me to think back to a time when she didn’t exist.

What made me wary of Alan was his decision that had made me realize I could no longer trust him like I had once done. I had needed to say goodbye to Emilia for good to clean up his mess, and that made it hard to forget what he’d done.

Who knew Fate would show me something to laugh about after my resolve?

Alan and I had been close growing up. I didn’t have a little brother, but I thought of him as mine, and I had protected him in every way possible. Sometimes I wished we could go back to that, but then I thought about the darkest moments of my life, and how he had been directly involved in creating them.

We weren’t close anymore.

But looking at him now, I didn’t know why the weight in my chest suddenly felt unbearable.

“Yes?” I asked.

He came into my office and placed the files on my desk. It was usually his assistant delivering these to me.

That was the deal we’d come up with.

Though he’d remained in his position as COO of one of the biggest banking investment firms in North America, he no longer had the power that came with it.

Every single decision he made was now carefully vetted by either me or my CFO. The board had no idea this was even going on, and should someone catch wind of this, I would be powerless to stop them from voting him out.

“I reviewed the case Kinsley Financial sent over,” he said. “I thought they had some pretty good ideas, and I like the proposal Maxwell Kade sent us. I’ve already written my counter proposal, though I think what they have is pretty solid. My notes are all in there.”

I nodded.

We had been working with Kinsley Financial for months now, a firm that was quickly dominating the U.S. as the leading lending institute.

We had been coordinating with their CFO, Maxwell Kade, in Chicago as they moved forward on a construction project happening in London. Their first international contract was estimated to range in the nine figures. It wasn’t something I would have entrusted Alan with. I wouldn’t blindly believe he had done his homework and knew the true worth of the company.

Working with the Kinsley’s CFO had been a learning curve, mostly because the man left nothing to chance. He was in control every step of the way, and I knew Alan would have caved under pressure. But in front of all the shareholders and board members, it was Alan’s name as the front man for the project, though every decision made was my own.

“Thank you,” I said, going back to my computer. The screen had long ago shut off. It wasn’t like me to be so distracted at work, and I had Emilia to thank for it. Emilia, whom I’d had to say goodbye to this morning before I left for work, and fuck if I didn’t miss her already.

I shook the computer awake and would have gone back to work, but I realized Alan was still standing there. I looked up and met his gray eyes.

“Is there anything else you need?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said hesitantly. “Elodie mentioned you seeing someone?”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “Since when do you gossip with two-year-olds?”

“Since you stop telling me anything.”

---