Chapter 78 - OUT IN THE OPEN

AIDEN.

As the day wore on, we continued to delve into the financials. It was tedious work, but necessary. Every now and then, Ron would crack a joke or make a sarcastic comment to lighten the mood.

“You know,” he said at one point, “I think you’re turning into a workaholic.”

“Maybe,” I admitted. “But it’s worth it if I can make a difference.”

“Just don’t forget to live a little,” Ron advised. “You’ve got a lot going for you. Don’t let it slip away because you’re too busy crunching numbers.”

“I hear you,” I said, though I wasn’t entirely convinced I could follow his advice.

Later in the evening, after we’d made some significant progress, Susan returned with a fresh pot of coffee.

“Thought you might need a refill,” she said with a smile.

“Thanks, Susan,” I said, gratefully accepting the cup. “You’ve been a tremendous help today.”

“Just doing my job,” she replied modestly and left the office.

“You’ve probably noticed how quiet your house is lately,” Ron said, but I wasn’t in the mood for his teasing.

I ignored him and refocused on the laptop screen.

“Look at this, Ron,” I said, swiveling the laptop in his direction. “This business is a cash cow. It’s always made money, never lost any.”

“Until you stepped into the picture,” Ron added with a mischievous grin.

I rolled my eyes.

“If I initially wanted to drive this jewel chain into the ground, now I’ve changed my mind. This company is a money-making machine!”

“Yeah, and you got both the business and the daughter in one go. You’ve really hit the jackpot, my friend.”

I glared at him. Did he really need to drag Sienna into this? Or was he trying to push me to admit something I wasn’t ready to face?

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” I muttered, shaking my head. “Always have to bring her up.”

Ron smirked.

“Hey, I’m just stating the obvious. You can’t deny she’s part of the complete package deal.”

“Let’s focus on the business, Ron,” I said, steering the conversation back to safer territory. “There’s a lot we need to go through here.”

“Sure, sure,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “But seriously, you need to find that middle ground I was telling you about. You can’t let this place consume you.”

“I know,” I admitted, though I wasn’t entirely sure I believed it. “But there’s so much at stake.”

Ron nodded, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah, but burning out won’t help anyone. Besides, you’ve got a good team here. Trust them to carry some of the load.”

“I hear you,” I replied, though my mind was already wandering back to the endless spreadsheets and financial reports. “But this is Moore’s team. I have a lot of work to do to make it mine. "

“What’s with you and Sienna? Seriously, why do you keep talking about her?” I asked, clearly pissed off.

Ron leaned back in his chair, a sly grin spreading across his face. “Come on, man, everyone else knows what’s up except you. You just walk out of the house like it’s no big deal. You’re cool with her parents showing up out of the blue, and you don’t seem to mind that mother and daughter are totally into wedding stuff. Heck, you’re even helping with the preparations! What comes next? Are you gonna taste the cake or give the son-in-lawsuit a shot?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

“I’m just trying to keep things smooth, Ron. There’s a lot at stake here, and it’s not just about the business.”

Ron chuckled, shaking his head.

“You’re fooling yourself if you think it’s just about the business. Admit it, you’re in it deeper than you ever planned to be.”

“Let’s get back to work,” I said. “There are still a ton of reports to go through.”

“Sure, let’s pretend the elephant isn’t in the room,” Ron retorted, still smirking. “But don’t think you can avoid this conversation forever.”

I focused on the laptop, pulling up the next set of financial statements.

“Look at this, Ron. The profitability margins are insane. This place has never dipped into the red.”

“Well, judging by what Moore did here, you will live and die rich as fuck! And maybe even though Moore has been an asshole in the past, you and his daughter will have a peaceful life precisely because of his bullying. Not that you need the bastard’s money.”

“Can we drop the Sienna talk?” I snapped. “Focus on the task at hand.”

Ron held up his hands in mock surrender.

“Alright, alright,”

“Good…”

“You know,” Ron said at one point, “Moore might have been a greedy bastard, but he knew how to run a business.”

“I’ll give him that,” I agreed. “But there’s always room for improvement.”

“True,” Ron said. “And with you at the helm, I’m sure this place will only get better.”

“Thanks,” I said, appreciating his support. “But it’s going to take a lot of work.”

“Well, you’re not alone,” Ron reminded me. “You’ve got an entire team here ready to help.”

“I know,” I said. “And I’m grateful for that.”

“Are you grateful for her too?” Ron pushed his luck to the limit.

I snapped.

“What do you want me to say?” I burst out, rising from my seat with my palms planted firmly on the desk. My outburst totally shocked Ron, who was blinking like crazy.

He leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable.

“Hey, calm down, man. I’m just trying to understand where you’re coming from.”

I scoffed, feeling the frustration bubbling up inside me.

“What’s there to understand? That I can’t live without her? That she’s all I think about every damn day? That I can’t stand being cooped up in the house because I’m too damn scared to face my own feelings?”

Ron nodded slowly, his gaze unwavering.

“Keep going…”

I took a deep breath, my emotions threatening to overwhelm me. “That I love her more than I ever thought possible? That this madness we’re in has only made me realize how much she means to me? Fine, Ron. I love her, okay? There, I said it. Are you happy now?”

Ron’s lips twitched into a wry smile.

“Well, well, well, looks like the truth finally came out. Took you long enough, didn’t it?”

I scowled, feeling a mix of embarrassment and relief washing over me.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Ron.”

He chuckled, leaning forward.

“Hey, I’m just glad you finally admitted it. Now we can figure out what to do next.”

I sank back into my chair, feeling drained.

“Yeah, because that’s the simple part, right? Figuring out what to do about it.”

Ron shrugged.

“Hey, nobody said it was going to be easy. But at least now you’ve taken the first step.”

I nodded, grateful for his support.

“Thanks, Ron. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime, buddy,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder. “Now, let’s get back to work. We’ve still got a lot to do.”

Once we focused on the task again, I couldn’t shake the uncertainty. Admitting my feelings for Sienna had been a weight off my shoulders, but now came the hard part—figuring out what to do about it. I had a plan, Goddammit! I swore revenge, and what did I do? Fell in love with my enemy’s daughter?

Ron glanced over at me, his brow furrowed in concern.

“You okay?”

I forced a smile, pushing aside my doubts for the time being.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s just focus on getting through these reports.”

But even as we delved back into the data, my mind kept drifting back to Sienna. What would she say when she found out how I felt? Would she even feel the same way? And more importantly, what did this mean for my future?

Ron must have noticed my distraction, because he nudged me with his elbow.

“Hey, snap out of it. We’ve got work to do.”

I shook my head, trying to clear away the doubts crowding my mind. “Yeah, sorry. Let’s get back to it.”

But no matter how hard I tried to concentrate, I couldn’t shake the feeling that

everything had changed now that the truth was out in the open.