Page 91 of Until You (Forgive Me)

“I’m listening,” Isabella said, flipping her hand over and squeezing his.

He smiled down at their joined hands, a tingle shimmying up her arm.

“Sebastian,” Christian said.

“Seb? Your best friend and CFO?” Isabella asked.

“Yes. Sebastian. He could take over as interim CEO until you and the board can find a suitable replacement. Seb’s more than qualified and has only stayed with me because of his loyalty. He has all the qualifications and the knowledge to run a big firm. He’s completely trustworthy. You will have the majority vote on who takes over. The benefit is, if you change your mind and decide you want to run the firm, Seb can be your guiding hand.”

“But you need him,” Isabella said. “Seb leaving will leave a hole in your organisation.”

“It will,” Christian said. “I won’t lie to you. But Seb has a good team working for him. He’s already suggested his replacement. If you do decide, you want to go with this option.”

“You’ve asked him?”

“I didn’t want to make a suggestion without asking the person involved. Seb is more than happy to step in, but if you’d rather he didn’t, he wanted to make it clear there will be no hard feelings.”

“Why would he want to help me? He hasn’t seen me in years.”

“No, but he still remembers Scarlett’s best friend. He also knows what you mean to me.”

Isabella dropped her head, not sure what to make of Christian’s last statement, so she ignored it.

“If I go with Seb, and the board agrees. What happens next?”

Christian went through his plan of action. Isabella listened in awe. This was how he became a billionaire in less than eight years. He left no stone unturned.

“The next board meeting is scheduled for a week next Wednesday. We have a little under two weeks to sort everything out and get you in front of all the main players.”

Isabella knew she was staring. She could not believe all the information Christian had just put forward. He would be a formidable foe. She was glad he was her friend.

“Two weeks...” she said slowly, taking it all in.

“Oh, we have dinner with Henri and Patrice and Richard and Annelise this Saturday,” he said, sitting back with a grin.

Isabella couldn’t suppress her smile.

“Really?”

She knew her excitement sounded childish, but she had missed those women. They had become her friends over the past year. Annelise could also give her an update on The Retreat. From what May had said when they had last spoken, she’d been a godsend.

“Yes, really,” Christian said, reacting to her sudden mood change, his own smile widening. “I thought it might add a little light relief to the proceedings. As they are both in town this weekend, I thought it was the ideal time for us to get together.”

Isabella got up and threw her arms around his neck. He encircled her waist and pulled her down onto his knee before kissing her, with a passion that she was fast becoming addicted to. Isabella’s fingers curled into his hair, pulling him closer and deepening their kiss. Christian’s hands began a slow exploration. The stress of the past couple of hours melted under his touch, as it ignited a fire in her core, burning away any residual thoughts or fears and replacing them with pure desire.

Chapter Forty

Isabella

Isabella decided she wanted to bring Danielle into the know regarding the business, especially after having a long conversation with Seb. Danielle sat on The Board of Directors and had instant access to all the members. Isabella knew if she started communicating with them out of the blue, it was likely to reach Pierce or Edward, and that was not something she wanted. Christian had been sceptical, but had bowed to her logic. She was the one who knew Danielle the best and had spent time with her over the past few weeks.

Danielle had cried uncontrollably when Isabella told her what happened, and the money Pierce had stolen.

“I’ve let you down again,” she sobbed. “What must your father be thinking? I promised him I would look after you and look at the mess I’ve made.”

Isabella had spent fifteen minutes soothing her stepmother. There was little benefit in pointing the finger. What they did was done. They needed to rectify it.

Christian had come with Isabella, and they laid out their plans once Danielle was calm enough to listen. Danielle pressed her lips together, her jaw set firm by the time they had finished.

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