Page 93 of 12 Days

He looks up at me and obviously hasn't even noticed his assistant hovering.

"Ethan, I'm trying to figure out how to proceed with the formula. There's got to be a way around this. We just have to change things up and do as much as we can to prepare for the fallout," he says.

He's right I think. All might not be lost. Despite the scattered scene, I think we can pull things together and keep this company on track.

Of course, in the future, we'll avoid a catastrophe like this. In the future, we'll hold our cards a little bit closer to our chests and not trust the first girl who captures our hearts.

It's easier said than done, though. Not everyone wins us over. In fact, no one has managed to do this before.

So it’s funny that I don't normally trust anybody, but here I am, trusting Alyssa. I can't be the only one who's still thinking about her even in the midst of this disaster.

I decide it's time to find out.

"Will everybody who's an assistant, HR, or PR please leave the room?" I say with authority.

Everyone stops what they're doing, and they look up at me. They can tell from my serious expression that I mean business and soon they scatter. It's just me and the guys, and we can finally have an honest conversation.

"Hey guys, listen to me. I'm mad as all hell at Alyssa, we have every right to be. But I haven't given up on her. Some part of me believes that she's real that she's still into us. And there's got to be a very good reason for doing what she did. Am I alone in this?"

Ty looks up from his paperwork.

"No Ethan, you're not alone. I feel the same way. I would do anything for her even if she stomps all over me in the process."

"Great. It's great to know I'm not in on this alone." I say.

The other guys tune in with the same sentiment.

Simon says, "I just think Alyssa got a little out of line.."

"My thoughts exactly," I say.

There's a lot of testosterone flowing in this room. There's a lot of anger too. But I think Alyssa has us so tightly wrapped around her finger that we would do anything just to continue to be with her.

That's gotta tell you something about the woman that she is. She's literally the only one I would be saying this about. If any other girl had done this to me, she'd be out the door fast.

Alyssa will always have my heart. This is the point I'm at now. Long gone are my bad boy days. I'm ready to commit. That is if I can ever trust her again.

Tristan speaks up.

"We have to get to the bottom of why she did this. It just feels so out of character…did we misjudge her?"

And Owen chimes in, "I'm concerned about our company. We have to keep her reputation intact. But I'm with you guys. I don't want to lose Alyssa in the process. She has to have a good reason for doing this. We have to just pick up the pieces of this mess."

I look around the room and gaze into the guy's faces. We worked so hard to achieve all that we have. There's nothing underhanded going on here. So how can we be in trouble?

Everything we've done is aboveboard, basically. All we've done is try to make a great product. Surely Alyssa can see that.

If she can't, or she doesn't have a very good reason for this, I worry to think what the future holds.

If I lose her, I lose everything. Screw the company. She's the one I want. I want vengeance upon her but only in the bedroom.

What can I say? That's just the way I am.

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