“Yes.” Her father’s tone was grave, and it sent a nervous chill skittering down her spine. What was it with his preoccupation with the man? Ever since his comment about them, she’d been on edge. Now, she was even more so.
“Care to elaborate?”
“If you want more details, then you’ll show up and learn along with everyone else.”
Sabrina’s hackles rose, as did she. Flattening her hands on the desk, she looked him square in the eyes. “Daddy, I know your name is the one on the front of the building, but I run this business now, and I don’t appreciate you coming in here and taking over whenever it suits you. It’s a slap in the face.”
“Excuse me?” His rounded shoulders pushed back, making him appear like a formidable wall. She almost shrank back, but at the last second held her ground.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I feel disrespected. Have I not been doing a good job of running things since you’ve been gone?”
“Yes, you have.” There was a pause, in which she could sense the “but” coming, and she held her breath. “Then I heard some things, and now I’m not so sure.”
“Some things? Would these things happen to be what you called me about before?”
“They are.”
“And I told you they were baseless.”
“And then I showed up at your apartment today to find out you’ve been seeing someone and never said anything, and I’m sorry, pumpkin, but the timing is too convenient. Especially after I spoke with a few of my constituents, trusted constituents at that, and got proof.”
“What are you talking about?” Her nerves ratcheted higher. There was no way in hell there was proof of anything. They’d been so careful.
“Pumpkin, I’m not mad at you. I want you to know that. I’m upset at the situation.”
Sabrina clamped her mouth shut and ground her molars. She didn’t have all of the details, and despite wanting to go on the defensive, she wasn’t about to say anything incriminating. Yet. She wanted this so-called proof.
Her father waved a dismissive hand. “Like I said, we’ll address this at the meeting. Until then, don’t run off half-cocked. And please trust me when I say that this is far more complicated than you can imagine.”
“I don’t like the cryptic crap, Daddy. I’d rather you just spill it here and now rather than let this…whatever this is, fester between us.” Meet the bull head-on, as he used to say. Her father had always been full of wisdom, but today, he was letting her down.
“I don’t mean to be that way, but like I said, trust me. There’s far more at play here than you know. I’ll see you in the boardroom at ten o’ clock. Until then, please be careful…and…” He paused, mulling over his words. “Do me a favor and stay the hell away from those Hargreaves boys.”
He turned and was gone before she could ask him what the hell he’d meant by that. Stay away from them? Why? She couldn’t fathom a solid reason that would make him distrust them in any way…except…
Well, that cinched it. Putting together everything he’d said, everything he’d alluded to, it was obvious that her father had put the pieces together and figured out that she’d lied. He knew all about their relationship, and he planned to confront them, today, as a group.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sabrina tried to head her guys off at the pass, sending texts and even trying to call, with no luck. Wherever Conner, William, and Oliver were, whatever they were doing, none of them were answering, and she couldn’t reason out why.
Were they ignoring her? Were they purposely avoiding her? Had they found out what was going to happen and had jumped ship, leaving her to sink or float on her own?
No, she reminded herself, they wouldn’t do that. They’d sworn that they would weather the storm if it came to their shores, and now it was here. So where were they?
With each minute that ticked by on the clock, Sabrina felt like she was losing another piece of her mind. At this rate, by the time they reached their meeting, she’d be a total head case.
She made a vain attempt at work, but by the time the clock rolled around for their meeting, she’d accomplished a grand total of nothing, and she felt as if she’d had too many cups of java, her hands and legs shaking as she stood to walk down the hall and face the music.
As the door to the boardroom came into view, standing open to emit the bright fluorescent lights inside, she reminded herself that, no matter what her father had to say, she had done nothing wrong. Loving someone wasn’t a sin, just as loving three someones wasn’t. She refused to apologize for that. She refused to be shamed or cowed. This was her life to live, not theirs, and as long and she and her guys were happy, that was all that mattered.
Reaching the door, she paused to take a deep breath and stepped inside.
Her father was already there, sitting at the head of the table where she usually sat, with Mr. Hargreaves at the opposite end, looking a slight bit displeased, leaving her to wonder if they’d already shared words or if the constipated look he wore was because of the tension in the air.
“Gentlemen,” she acknowledged as she strode confidently to the table and took up a chair beside her father. It was the closest she was going to get to the one she normally occupied, and it rubbed her wrong that she had to sit there at all. It was just another reminder that, even though her father had supported her taking over for him, he’d done so reluctantly and with much reservation and persuasion on her part. So when he came storming in like he did today and stripped her of her station, it was a painful reminder of where she stood, not only with men in the business overall, but with her own father.
They waited another five minutes before her guys showed up, with Conner leading the pack, and the way they were dressed and carried themselves reminded her of her earlier concerns. They obviously knew something was up, and they’d come to face it head on.
Still, buoyed by their presence, Sabrina gave Conner a faint smile as he pulled out the chair directly across from her. Unfastening the button that held his suit jacket together, he sat without acknowledging her.
One by one, William and Oliver followed, creating a wall of their own on one side of the table, their attention focused on the business at hand.
Sabrina couldn’t help feeling like an island unto herself. Could she have been that far off the mark to think that they were going to come into this as a united front?
“Thank you for joining us,” her father began. “I understand that you had this meeting set up for a brief update on the progress of the merger.”
“That’s right,” Mr. Hargreaves acknowledged. “I’m surprised to see you here today, Jonathan. Special occasion?”
Sabrina noticed the way her father’s jaw ticked before he said, “You could say that. I came into some unsettling news recently that begged closer attention. I thought this would be the perfect time to address it.”
A quick assessment told Sabrina that she was bad at reading people. At least, the ones at this table. They had excellent poker faces, which didn’t help her position any.
“Mr. Hargreaves—”
“Charles,” he grunted, cutting her father off. “No need for formalities. We’re all friends here.” His thin smile was tight, as though even he knew that wasn’t entirely true. The temperature in the room was downright icy, and it had nothing to do with the thermostat.
“Charles,” her father conceded. “As you know, we have a lot of mutual friends, acquaintances, and business partners.” Charles nodded, and her father continued. “That being said, it goes without saying that when something is amiss, it doesn’t stay private for long. People talk, Charles.”
It was increasingly clear that whatever her father had on Charles Hargreaves, it was damning. Otherwise, he would never have come all this way or started a private conversation in this manner in front of all of them. So either he wanted Sabrina and Charles’ boys present because he wanted witnesses, or because they were all involved in some way.
It was a mystery that
eluded Sabrina, though. She couldn’t figure out if it was to do with her and the guys, or Charles, or all of them combined. For a brief moment, she wondered if there was something shady going on with the deal they’d made, the merger falling through perhaps, but then she dismissed the idea. She’d combed through those documents with a fine-tooth comb herself. If there’d been anything—anything at all—amiss, she would have found it.
“I’ve no bloody clue what you’re going on about, Johnathon.” Charles huffed, clearly growing annoyed.
“Oh, but I think you do. In fact, I know it.” Her father pushed out of his chair and walked to the closed door, opened it, leaned out and shouted, “Shawna, bring me that envelope please.” A moment later, a shadow appeared on the other side of the closed blinds that covered the wall of windows, and then her father returned, carrying a thin manila folder. When he reached his seat, he slapped the folder down, creating a clap loud enough to make Sabrina jump inside.
“Do you wish to carry on with your story, or shall we lay it all out on the table?” Pointed stare glued to Mr. Hargreaves, whatever her father had on the man said it was no small thing and he meant business.
Sabrina tried to exchange questioning glances at her guys, but they were actively avoiding her. What the hell? Did they know what was happening here? Did they have some part in it?
With tensions mounting and questions growing in number, she held her breath, waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. And when it did, it was going to be huge.
“So you know then.” Charles’ cryptic reply held finality, as if he were giving up a ruse.
“That you set up this whole merger as a way of getting insider knowledge of my business, of stealing away my best clients, and of robbing me blind in an effort to bankrupt my company while uplifting your own and solidifying Hargreaves Direct as a cornerstone in both the UK and US markets? Yeah, I figured it out,” her father stated bitterly.
Sabrina’s shock must have been written all over her face. She could barely breathe, just listening to the words spill out of her father’s mouth. How much had they known? Were they an active part of it? No, she refused to believe it. For all the denial she wanted to hold onto, however, it was dashed in the next instant.
“I could have dealt with that, Charles. My company is solid, as is my reputation. I could have bounced back and addressed you and your corrupt practices like men, but my daughter?”
At this point, Charles looked away, lifting his chin toward the bank of windows overlooking the city as if he didn’t care to hear another word.
What was her father saying? Sabrina’s head felt like it was in a vacuum, her hearing fading with each damning word that fell from his lips. She knew where this was going, even if she didn’t want to believe it. Inside her head, she screamed for him to stop talking, to not take away the one shred of dignity she had left.
Not to break her heart.
She could already feel the tingling burning in her nose when he said, “You sent your boys after my daughter. To distract her, to seduce her. You directed them to play with her mind so she wouldn’t see what was really going on under her nose.” He turned his attention to her. “Which one is it you’re dating, Sabrina?”
She. Couldn’t. Breathe. Couldn’t believe anything she was hearing. They were supposed to be in this together. They were supposed to care about her. All that time they’d spent together, talking, laughing, loving…and it had all been a…lie?
It was impossible to wrap her head around the concept, even as her heart broke into pieces, one for each man she loved.
And she did love them, she realized. It hadn’t even been a conscious decision. She’d merely grown into them like a second skin, as if they’d always been a part of her.
“Which one, pumpkin? Which one lied to you?” her father growled, practically foaming at the mouth for vengeance. Clearly, he was out for blood, but Sabrina? Well, she was…dying inside.
Looking at each of the guys in turn, she finally—finally—found herself locked in their matching stares, and she didn’t like what she saw there.
As if they had any compassion for her at all, they managed to look as heartbroken and lost as she was. As if they weren’t blatant liars, cheats, and scammers who’d set out with one goal in mind: to make a fool out of her.
Sabrina trembled as she pushed to her feet and glared at each of them.
“Sabrina,” Conner cautioned.
“How could you?” Her voice was nothing more than an emotion-choked whisper. “I trusted you.” She directed the comment to all three of them, then with the last vestiges of strength she could muster, she hauled ass for the door, ignoring the shouting that broke out behind her.
Her father shouting at everyone to sit down, Mr. Hargreaves defending his stance, and his sons shouting after her in unison, but she wasn’t hearing anything they were saying. She had to get out of there before she passed out.
“Miss Colloway?”
Shawna’s worried voice reached her ears as Sabrina breezed by. She was on her way to the elevators. She couldn’t stay there another moment, not when her world had just been imploded.
“Miss Colloway? Are you all right?”
“Hold my calls. Cancel my appointments,” Sabrina called over her shoulder, punching the button on the wall to call the car up. She was aware as she spoke how her voice quaked. There was no helping it though. She was seconds away from losing her shit, and her only goal was to lessen the amount of witnesses.
She’d already lost enough for one morning. She didn’t need to add her reputation to the list. Everyone here knew her as a shrewd, pull-no-punches businesswoman, and by God, that was how it would remain.
She was in the car with the doors closing when she spotted Oliver running her way. His face was red from exertion and creased with fear and worry. “‘Brina! Wait a minute. Let us explain.”
There was nothing left to explain. They’d lied to her, manipulated her. Now they wanted one more go? Over her dead body.
He came to a stuttered halt as the doors slid closed in his face. Sabrina turned her cheek, hating that that look would be forever burned into her mind. She didn’t want to believe that he had any heart in there, especially one that beat for her.
Because it was all a lie.
And she was the fool inclined to believe it.
There was a reason Sabrina had kept her heart locked away all these years, dedicating her life to the job instead of settling down. Make that three reasons. And they were all upstairs, frantically searching for a way to smooth this over so they could hurt her again.
Never again.
Sabrina had been fooled once already. Shame on them. If she allowed them to do it again, the blame would rest squarely on her shoulders, and Sabrina was no fool. She learned from her mistakes, and today had shone a spotlight on her biggest one yet. She wouldn’t be making it twice.
Once the doors opened onto the lobby, she fled the building and caught a cab as if her life depended on it. And it did. She needed to get someplace safe and quiet and away from prying eyes. A place that she would be received well and without judgment. A place where she could lick her wounds and pull herself together, piece by shattered piece.
By the time she lifted her hand to knock on the garish purple slab door, Sabrina couldn’t recall how she’d gotten there. All she knew was it involved a cab, some traffic, and too long of a drive with too high a fare, but all that mattered was the person who answered.
“‘Brina? It’s the middle of the day. What are you doing here? What’s wrong?”
Janet’s eyes flared wide as Sabrina threw herself into her friend’s arms and began sobbing.
“They—they—they lied to me!” she wailed. “It was all lies!”
Patting her back, Janet hobbled backward into her apartment, dragging Sabrina with her, and then swung the door hard enough for it to shut on its own, saying, “There, there, my crazy little friend. Take a spot on the sofa while I put on the kettle and we’ll talk about it.�
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While it was the friend thing to do, it turned out that it was also the worst suggestion she could have made. Sabrina didn’t leave that couch for a solid week.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Her phone had been put on silent. All calls were ignored. Work had been informed that she was taking a leave of absence until further notice. Sabrina had, in effect, gone underground. Meanwhile, she had been holed up in her best friend’s loft-style apartment, slowly turning into a vegetable.
She hadn’t showered in a couple of days, her hair was a matted mess from lack of brushing, and she was wearing the same borrowed sweat pants and now-stained white tank top that she’d borrowed from Janet upon her arrival.
Sabrina was, in a word, disgusting.
If Conner, William, or Oliver happened to find her secret hideout, they would surely be so appalled by their findings that they would run screaming in the other direction. With that thought, she wondered if maybe she hadn’t been going about all of this the wrong way. Maybe she should let them know where she was. Then she could be rid of their lying asses that much faster.
But seeing their faces would throw her over the edge into the abyss, she could feel it. Her emotions were finally leveling off, but she still didn’t trust herself completely. She had to be sure before she returned to life and work that she was strong enough to handle it.
That time was now. She couldn’t continue lying around doing nothing. Not only did she have bills to pay, but she had a reputation to defend. There was no telling the kind of damage the Hargreaves men had reaped while she’d been away.
Hell, there was no telling what they had done while she’d been too busy lying in their bed in a pleasured stupor. If they thought when she returned it would be more of the same, they had another thing coming. Sabrina was going to do everything in her power to ensure that they were all on their next flight out of town, and if she had it her way, out of the country.
Indecent Proposal: A Reverse Harem Romance Page 18