Acquired Asset

Home > Other > Acquired Asset > Page 22
Acquired Asset Page 22

by ZN Willett


  The boardroom was full and it was standing room only. Obviously this was a last-minute meeting. Meetings were usually held in the large board room, however that was being painted so everyone was crowded into the smaller one.

  “With this new information brought to our attention, I think a vote is in order,” Porter said.

  “I agree,” Millicent seconded.

  “Not without Joseph!” Christopher stressed.

  “Christopher, we need a strong, healthy, CEO. If the stockholders find out that he is ill, it will have a negative effect on our stocks,” she added.

  “Not as negative as it would be if he had died,” I said loudly, and plainly.

  Everyone turned to look at me. My eyes stayed on a surprised Christopher as I walked forward.

  “Sorry, I’m late. My invitation was delayed. Since Joseph is not here, I can speak directly for him. Yes, he had a minor incident, though nothing that would affect his ability to run this company. With me behind him, we will bring it to a more profitable state than it is currently. However, vote us out, and you’re voting for the Colbys old ways. And, if memory serves me correctly, none of you had received a dividend check in the amounts that you did until the Cordells took over.”

  Millicent protested, yet my only focus was on Christopher. When he said to the members, “Why don’t we set up another meeting, with Joseph, to discuss this situation?” Millicent objected, along with Porter, but the rest of the Board members agreed to hear Dad out. We adjourned, and as everyone filed out, I stood there waiting for Christopher.

  Rage wasn’t the word. I felt betrayed, used, and stupid. I wanted to kill him. Slow and painfully. Disturbing visions flashed through my mind as thoughts grew of exactly how I could cause bodily harm to him.

  The moment Millicent walked up to me and said how sorry she was to hear about Joseph, all I could see was red. The control that I had always cherished during times like these wavered for a moment when I lunged toward her.

  Christopher instantly grabbed my arm as his mother walked past with the same smirk that he had inherited. I wanted to snatch it off her face. But, my arm was burning from Christopher’s touch. I looked down at his hand, as he eased it away from my arm.

  The room cleared and all that was left was us two. As angry as I was, my heart had been ripped in half. Even when my mind kept saying, “I told you so,” I couldn’t have made this up. Christopher had to feel something for me. The memories of everything he had done and said washed over me, and as much as I wanted to have an ounce of hope . . .

  “Quinn, please let me explain.”

  “What could you possibly say?” I hated that I sounded weak. I tried to muster up strength, but I was directing all of it to the tears that were forming in my eyes to keep them from falling.

  He told me that he loved me.

  “I tried to stall on Joseph’s whereabouts for as long as I could.”

  He made love to me for hours.

  “When my mother received a whiff of something strange, she started snooping, and was drawing too much attention to his absence.”

  I told him about Ken.

  “I had no other choice. I told my father, and asked him to help me, help you. He was the only person I thought I could trust. He never wanted this. It was entirely my mother. I told him how much I loved you, and asked him to do this one thing for me.”

  I told him I loved him.

  “The moment my father had called telling me first that he was sorry, I knew what he had done. He had betrayed me! As if telling my mother was going to make up for everything he had done to her.”

  My chest crushed in and I couldn’t look at him anymore. I turned away, and the moment he grabbed hold of me again, I screamed. “Don’t! Don’t touch me! I trusted you!”

  “Quinn—”

  “I can’t look at you. I was a fool . . .” I walked away.

  “We are not going to do this!” Christopher yelled behind me.

  “We? Where was the ‘we’ when you told your family about my dad!” He grabbed my arm. “Colby, I’m going to take that precious manhood you love so much and ram it up your ass if you touch me again!”

  He released my arm as I stormed toward the elevator. The moment the door opened, all eyes were on us. You heard a few weak, “Hello’s, and Mr. Colby’s,” as I stepped inside.

  “Get out,” he demanded. They all stood wide-eyed and I stayed planted. Then he said, “Get. The. Hell. Out!” Everyone scattered.

  Christopher stormed in as the doors shut. He slammed the stop button and the elevator came to a screeching halt. “Christopher!”

  “You’re going to listen. No more running, remember?”

  “You betrayed me, and you think I’m going to stand here and listen to more of your lies?”

  “I didn’t lie to you, Quinn! I did everything to protect you—”

  “From what? Your pathetic excuse of a family? What I needed was protection from you!” We stared at each other for a moment before I took a step back, and clapped my hands a few times. “Well done. I actually fell for all of it. I’m sure you and mommy dearest had a few laughs while you were stabbing me in the back.”

  He plowed forward and pinned me against the wall. “I messed up by not telling you when I found out. Forgive me for thinking that you had enough to handle as it was! I trusted someone who I thought was worthy—that was my error alone. Still, like you, I failed to realize who can be trusted.” He focused deeper into my eyes. “Would I be here, begging you to listen to me, if all I wanted was to hurt you?”

  “Who knows what goes on in that masochistic mind of yours.”

  “I love you.”

  “Stop! Just . . . stop it. You throw those words around as if you know what they mean. You have to have a heart to understand them. But, why would you need one? You’re truly a master at your craft. Your skills even fooled me.” The pain that filled my empty soul was becoming too much to bear. “Now, I warned you Colby. You have five seconds to back up before they have to pick your ass up off the floor.”

  I glared at Christopher. Pulled the stop button, and pushed him aside as the elevator proceeded to my floor. I tried to stay strong, and not expose the weakness that was buried deep inside. My heart was telling me one thing, although my mind was refusing to listen to my heart. Shock waves of pain sparked through my heart telling it to get in line. The fog of uncertainty hovered over me while visions of our time together saturated my thoughts.

  The moment the elevator doors opened, I bolted out of there. The tin box was suffocating, and Christopher took every breath of air away from me. I was almost to my office door when he suddenly grabbed me, and pulled me through the door. I protested with my fists and ordered him to, “Let me go!”

  He said nothing as he dragged me across the office, and planted me down on my couch. I immediately stood back up and said, “I’m going to rip your balls off—”

  “Shut up!” he yelled, which startled me. I glared, and opened my mouth to protest and he said, “Joseph just had a damn heart attack. You are not going to the hospital in this state!”

  “How dare you tell me what I can—”

  “You are going to stay here and listen! You’re going to think before you speak. And you will use that brain of yours and finally analyze the situation and see that whatever you think happened didn’t! Damn it! Think, Quinn! If I were going to screw with you, I would have done it in a different way. I know you’re surprised—I owned up to that—but everything I did today was to protect you. You can be mad, say I’m an asshole, punish me, whatever you have to do; nevertheless I know you still love me. That will not change.”

  “You bet—”

  “I don’t have to. I see it in your eyes.” He paused. “Yet, I never want to see hurt in them again.” We stared at each other as I watched his torn expression become something more. “But, right now, you will have to—”

  There was a firm knock as my door swung open. “Are you okay, Quinn?” Justin came in cautiously star
ing at Christopher and me. “We could hear you down the hall. Is it Joseph?”

  “No. This asshole just . . . he stabbed me in the back and it seems may have stolen everything from us.”

  Then from behind Justin I heard, “I warned you!”

  “Guy, what are you doing here?”

  Christopher turned to me. “Why the hell is he here?” he seethed.

  We all paused at the intensity of his tone. Me, frozen by the stare he was shooting in my direction. Then, I remembered that I had scheduled a meeting later that afternoon with Justin and Guy who was assisting him in the build outs. I was almost about to explain. “None of your damn business! He has nothing to do with—”

  Christopher’s shadow towered over me as he suddenly moved within inches of my face as his darkened eyes dared me to continue.

  “You should have never trusted him,” Guy said.

  Christopher turned and leaped forward, enraged. “Who are you to judge me? You don’t know me!”

  I shouted, “No, but I do! You’re a selfish prick, who—”

  “Loves you!”

  Guy laughed. “Please, Quinn is not going to fall for that.”

  He turned back toward Guy, this time grabbing hold of his jacket as he slammed him against the door. “Say another word asswipe!”

  “Christopher!” I ran over and grabbed his arm. “Justin!” I looked over as he stood watching like this was all for his entertainment. He helped me pull Christopher off of Guy. “Can you two please give us a minute?”

  “Hell, no! Who knows what he will do to you!” Guy insisted.

  Christopher tried to push out of my arms. “Justin, can I meet with you later?”

  “Good idea,” he replied. “Are you going to be okay? I may like the dude, but I will be happy to lay him out on his ass, Q.”

  I shook my head. “I need to speak to Christopher, privately.”

  Justin grabbed Guy and left the office. I turned toward Christopher and we stood scowling at each other.

  What could I say?

  “I feel as if I’ve been torn in two,” I admitted.

  “I never wanted to hurt you, Quinn. I was only trying to protect you.”

  “You should have told me!”

  “I can’t change that.”

  “Why?”

  “Which question? Why I didn’t tell you, or why I tried to protect you from what my mother was doing?”

  “Both.”

  “You were dealing with enough already. Did you forget that I was there when you saw Joseph lying in that hospital bed? I was there when you cried into my arms in relief when the doctors told you that he would be okay. I was the one you held onto at night for comfort. You heard Joseph; he would die fighting for this company. I didn’t want to be the cause of any more pain. I did everything because of you.” He stepped closer to me.

  “I want to believe that,” I breathed out.

  He stood directly in front of me. “It’s the truth.”

  I stared into his eyes, wanting to believe him, yet my mind was saying, “Don’t be fooled again.”

  “Quinn . . .”

  The sound of his voice cut me to my core, and I wanted to tell him that I understood. I wanted to tell him that I would have probably done the same thing if I had cared about anyone in his damn family.

  “I need to pick up Joseph.” I grabbed my things, and he stepped in front of me.

  “Wait before you tell him.”

  “That he was right about you?” I huffed.

  “Give me some time to straighten this out.”

  “Maybe if you had told me in the first place, we could have worked it out together, and this would have never happened in the first place. You know, I feel sorry for you.” He tilted his head. “After the smoke clears, I will still have my dad. You . . . will have no one. Nevertheless you are Christopher Colby . . . I’m sure your bed won’t be empty for long.”

  He grabbed hold of my forearms bringing me into him. “Whether you believe me or not, I do love you. If I have to spend the rest of my life proving that to you, so be it. No one can hand pick their family. And they will always be my family. But you . . . you’re my heart.”

  My own heart skipped as his words crushed me deeper. All of the strength I had mustered up was quickly drained. “I can’t do this right now. I need to pick up my dad.” He reluctantly released my arms.

  I rushed out, as Asher passed me stating, “Mrs. Colby wanted to see you.”

  I bet she did.

  “Could you tell her that I’ve gone to the hospital? Never mind, I’m sure she already knows that.”

  “Umm, Quinn, she is—”

  “I know you need to get to poor Joseph, however before you rush out, this will only take a moment,” Millicent stated, from behind Asher.

  “Why in the hell would I listen to anything you have to say.”

  “You’re going to want to hear this.” She stretched out her arm to the meeting room across from where she was standing. I followed her in as she closed the door behind us.

  “What do you want?”

  “I want you to think about your father, and convince him to step down.”

  “You are truly delusional. Why would I do that?”

  “To protect your job.”

  I wanted to choke her. “I don’t have time for this—”

  “When Thomas becomes CEO, Christopher will take over as President. I’m willing to keep you on as VP. But, continue to fight me on this and you will be stripped of your title and what’s left of your precious company. It will all fall under the Colby umbrella, and it will be as if Cordell Hotels never existed.”

  I slapped her.

  Now, normally, I would have never condoned such violence. I allowed my emotions to take over, as I thought about my Mother’s and Father’s hard work being destroyed by this bitch. Nevertheless, I was surprised by my actions. Millicent looked as shocked, yet pleased.

  So, I slapped her harder.

  That wiped the smirk off of her face.

  “I will never give you my company,” I said.

  “You won’t have a choice. Sadly, I did admire your zest and drive, but you started thinking like a man and used what’s between your legs to manipulate the situation. Although I can’t blame you, many women go that route.”

  Now, I was going to kill her.

  The door swung open with Christopher looking red-faced and pissed while Asher stood behind him wide-eyed as if he had been chewed out. “What the hell is going on?” He directed to his mother.

  “Just a little girl talk.”

  He turned toward me. “Are you alright?”

  The hurt that burned through my veins was now fueled by the hatred I had for that woman. “Christopher, so you know, I am going to destroy your mother.”

  He gazed at me before a hint of that smirk showed up on his gorgeous face. “I wouldn’t think any less of you.”

  I wasn’t surprised when Christopher was at the door. I wasn’t even upset when he barged in and pushed me up against it. He stared at me. He was waiting for a response that was not going to come. “I only thought of you,” he said.

  I blinked a few times, trying to clear the moisture away from my eyes. “I know.”

  There was a gleam of hope in his eyes. “I love you.”

  He stood waiting . . . while I stood pondering. I loved Christopher with every fiber, but the power he held over me had me drowning in fear. I was unable to protect myself from the unexplainable force that Christopher had over me. At times, I thought I was losing my mind. Love was supposed to feel pleasant, at the least. Not this gut wrenching agony that turned your mind and body into clay that seemed to only be molded by him. I was Quinn Cordell dammit! Yet, Christopher Colby owned my soul.

  “I know you love me,” he interjected.

  “I do.” The moment those words escaped, I could see his shoulders relax.

  I looked up, holding the pools of tears in my eyes from pouring out, as I stood trembling in both anger an
d defeat. I had let my guard down, and allowed Christopher to take what was left of me. He had my heart, to do with as he willed. From the first moment that I had seen him, he had owned me. I looked back into his eyes. I was searching for something I knew I wouldn’t find; the reason for all of it. I looked for the reason why the man was able to take the last part of me, and why I was so willing to let him take it. “It’s not enough.”

  He stood wide-eyed, riveted for a moment before finally saying, “We can work this out together.” I shook my head as I watched the turmoil in his eyes unfold before mine. He looked back and forth from my eyes and breathed out, “I won’t.” Then, he suddenly grabbed hold of me planting a firm, yet passionate kiss on my lips. I surrendered, while he took his time, as tears released from my soul, with each lapse of our tongues. My chest grew tighter as he pulled me in closer. I could have died alone by the pressure of his grip as he pushed me harder against the door. When we came up for breath, he said, “I will not let you go.” I said nothing, choked by the lump in my throat. “Quinn . . . look at me.” My body did as he always commanded. “I will find a way to make this right.”

  I knew he would. I was sure he had already come up with an idea. I, for one, wasn’t against killing the bitch, but I only thought about Joseph. I laughed to myself. He would have thought the same thing if the tables were turned. Christopher pushed off of me, and sneered at the fact that I was laughing. So, I asked, “Even if I kill your mother?”

  He gave me a crooked smile. “You’ll be standing in a long line, beautiful.” We stared at each other for a few more moments before he asked, “How is he?”

  “He’s sleeping. It may take a few weeks before he gains his strength back.”

  “I guess you didn’t tell him?”

  “That’s what your mother wants: to put him in the grave.”

  His hand glided up and down my arm. “Let me take care of you tonight, and we can strategize in the morning.”

  “No,” I said abruptly. “I think it’s best if we take some time apart.”

 

‹ Prev