Page 9 of Hostile Takeover

It’s all over her clothes, her face, and the table.

Linda doesn’t know what’s happening. Her mouth is hanging open and she’s speechless as she looks around with wide eyes. “That shouldn’t be…”

I look at Kyra and immediately know that she’s responsible for the malfunctions. Those beautiful cheeks are blushing and she’s staring straight ahead like a guilty kid who is being questioned about a broken window.

Linda realizes it too. She snaps her narrowed eyes on her niece and grits her teeth.

“Excuse us for a moment,” she says in a low tense voice as she abruptly stands up. “I’d like to have a private word with my CEO.”

ChapterFour

Kyra

“How could you do this?!” Linda shouts as she sits on her desk and glares at me.

I sink into the chair with my arms crossed and look up at her.

“I was doing this for you.”

“For me?!” she shouts. “What are you crazy?! Have you lost your mind?! How could sabotaging the sale possibly be for my benefit? You were doing this foryou, so you wouldn’t lose your job.”

I shake my head, even though there might be a kernel of truth in there. “I was doing it for you. I swear! You’re going to go on a trip and have fun for a week or two, and then what? You can’t sit still, Aunt Linda. You’re going to go nuts with nothing to do all day! You’re going to drive yourself crazy and then you’ll miss working here and it will be too late. The company we built together will be gone!”

She sighs as she looks at me.

“I’m not going to change my mind, Kyra,” she says in a softer tone. “This has been on my mind for over a year.”

“Ayear?”

She nods.

“I thought you… liked working here with me.”

“Nothing has made me happier,” she says as she slides off the desk and sits in the seat next to mine. She grabs my hand and leans in. “But I need a new adventure. I need to get out of this office and into the world. I’m not getting any younger, Kyra. I’ve been alive for sixty-two years and I’ve been stuck in an office for forty-three of them. I want out.”

“You’re not going to change your mind?” I ask as the painful realization starts to sink in.

She shakes her head as she smiles sadly at me.

“I’m sorry about the way I sprang it on you,” she says, tapping my hand. “I should have given you more time to process it. It’s just, Mr. Raven called out of the blue and, I… I had to take the opportunity.”

Butterflies flutter in my stomach at the mention of his name.

I knew he was hot, but… Seeing him in person is a whole other ordeal. I can still feel his big strong hand tingling on mine.

“I’m sorry I tried to sabotage the deal,” I say, feeling awful. “That was… immature of me.”

Aunt Linda chuckles. “It sounds like something I would do,” she says with a laugh. “We’re more alike than I even thought. What did you put in that lotion anyway?”

“Glue,” I say with a laugh. “The washable, non-toxic, kids’ kind. She’ll be alright. Pissed, but alright.”

“She was the lawyer,” Aunt Linda says with a smile. “She’ll forget all about it when she gets her big commission check from the sale.”

“I hope.”

“And what about that Brandon guy?” she says with a grin. “He seemed to like you.”

I burst out a laugh. “Yeah, right.” Like he would be interested in me. He probably has a supermodel girlfriend. Or two.

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