Page 4 of Breakaway

An involuntary groan left me at the sound of Henley purring at me over the phone. The last thing I needed before I walked into the board meeting was an erection. But it might also be the one thing that got me to walk in there and get this shit show over with in record speed.

“Teen in the room!” Reese shouted, dropping a cold bucket of water over my head. Right. Henley chuckled, and I couldn’t be certain she hadn’t done that on purpose as a little payback.

“To be continued,” I grumbled. “Miss you too, Baby Shaw. I’ll talk to you soon.”

I handed the phone back to Reese, and they cringed, acting like I’d jizzed all over the device. Nope, that would’ve been my own phone the other night at the wedding. Which was not the thing I needed to think about right this second.

Taking a few deep breaths, I calmed my raging boner back to its dungeon. A new energy settled in me. I pushed my shoulders back and raised my head high. A power I’d forgotten I’d possessed, until Henley reminded me, emerged.

Leaving Reese in the office with an intern, I managed to threaten them within an inch of their career to ensure no one else entered the office and to call me immediately if anything happened. I wasn’t taking any chances with Reese. The teen in question rolled their eyes, pushing me out the door and telling me I was being dramatic.

Marching down the hall, I busted into the conference room and took the board by surprise. Leaning against the table at the front, I pulled everyone’s attention to me, ignoring Owen Hewitt’s sneer at my arrival. He would learn real quick that I wasn’t one to mess with anymore. I was breaking free from the self-imposed confines I’d placed upon myself after Emila’s death and finally doing what she’d intended for me to do all along.

“I’m ready to take the mantle of CEO, and my first order of business is to fire Owen Hewitt for corporate espionage and embezzlement.”

Shocked outbursts went up around the room as everyone turned to stare at Owen, his face turning purple at the accusation.

“I’m assuming you have proof, Fletcher? These are wild accusations to make otherwise,” Mitchell asked politely.

I smiled, the action feeling good for the first time in the past seven hours.

“Oh, I’ve got loads.” I motioned for security to remove him from the conference room, his tantrum emerging as they carried him out the door.

Damn, that had felt really good.

Taking a seat, I made eye contact with all the remaining board members, giving them the stare I used on countless hockey players, making them piss themselves. A few of them gulped, dropping their eyes. I still had it.

“Okay, what’s the next order of business? I have a plane to catch and a girl to see.”

CHAPTER TWO

Henley

My head rested against the cool glass, lights from light poles blurring in the reflection as Dax drove us back to campus. It had been a long day of traveling, taking two airplanes across multiple states, and dealing with the shock of Fletcher’s news.

The news story that had flashed across the TV was burned into my retinas. I didn’t think I’d ever forget seeing security guards usher Fletcher and Reese into a building. The media had closed in on them as they covered their heads, fear and trepidation warring within me.

“Our sources say that the reclusive CEO of Hat Trick Co has been located and forced to return to vote on the upcoming direction of the company and its bid for the Olympic Committee. No one knows anything about the CEO put into place after the death of Hat Trick’s sweetheart, Emila Haskins, who’d been in power since her father’s death. The company had been shocked when her uncle, Owen Hewitt, hadn’t taken control after her death, assuming he’d be the next in line as the VP. Instead, he’d been placed over a new division, leaving the board as the temporary CEO until the one appointed took their place. Things have been…”

A million emotions had swirled in me—fear for two people I loved, anger that something big had been kept from me, confusion on how this concerned Fletcher, guilt that I’d taken up all the space with my stuff, and regret that I hadn’t been able to support my boyfriend like he’d done for me.

Once the relief that they were safe and not in the hands of the Society, anger flooded me the most, giving me something to clutch onto. The other emotions made me feel too raw, and I needed the burning inferno of rage to keep me focused.

Which, of course, meant I deflated into a puddle of tears the second I got off the phone, no longer able to hold on to the fury.

“Anything from Fletcher?” Dax asked as the sign for Oak Crest Peak came into view. We hadn’t been able to get a return flight until late in the evening since Keaton’s plane hadn’t made the trip to LA. He’d apologized profusely, but he wasn’t at fault. If anything, I felt terrible for postponing the shoot when he’d worked so hard to make it happen with that particular photographer.

“Not yet, but they should be landing soon.” I darkened my screen and put it back into my pocket, returning to staring out the window. None of us were in the talking mood, everything having been said earlier.

“How does calling in sick work here?” Reed asked from the backseat with a yawn.

Grinning, I shrugged one shoulder. I didn’t blame him. It had crossed my mind as well. Getting into bed at midnight to be up at six in the morning wasn’t my idea of fun.

“If I gotta be there, then so do you, mister,” I teased. “We can fall asleep on our hockey sticks together.”

Reed grunted, and I took it to mean deal. Dax slowed the car as he approached a stop sign, turning to look at us.

“Do you want to head to the airfield or just go home?”

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