Chapter 112 112
“We planned to get enough stock to take over the board of directors and oust Adam as CEO.”
“Oust Adam or oust the CEO?”
“Is there a difference?”
“In six months, there will be.”
He almost wanted to laugh at his own short-sightedness. Of course. The board of directors was probably already trying to oust Adam. He hadn’t thought about that. “Do they already have a successor picked?”
“You’re looking at her. You knew all this time that I wanted the job… And yet you —”
“Please let me try to find a way to fix this.”
“You just said you’ve been trying to fix it already. How are you going to magically make it happen now? And how am I supposed to trust you? We’ve been involved for weeks now, and the whole time you knew there were plans to dismantle my family’s company. The company my dad spent decades building. You were best friends with my brother, Justin. You stayed at our house. And now you want to destroy us?”
“I never wanted to destroy you. Never.”
“Yeah, well, whether it was your intention or not, that’s exactly what you’re doing. You’re destroying me and I can’t sit around and watch it happen. Which is exactly why I never want to see you again. Ever.”
Her lip quivered. Was it because she was so angry? Or did it kill her to say those words as much as it killed him to hear them?
“I love you, Sherry. I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone. Please don’t do this. I need you.”
A single tear leaked from the corner of her eye. “You love me? Why do you decide to tell me that now? When you have to save your own hide? Why couldn’t you tell me last night when I was making you dinner for your birthday or singing you a song or...” Her eyes clamped shut. “Or when I was telling you that stupid story about the ridiculous letters. Do you have any idea how betrayed I feel right now?”
Again he was overwhelmed by his need to touch her, but everything in her body language said she would absolutely kill him if he took another step closer. “You have the right to feel all of this. I made a huge mistake and I’m so sorry. I just want the chance to make it better.”
“I’m sorry, Justin. I can’t give you another chance at anything. Ever.”
“But what about my feelings for you? Does that mean nothing?”
She stood a little straighter and looked him square in the eye. “Actually, it would have meant everything to me if you hadn’t betrayed me. Because I love you too and now I have to figure out a way to fall out of love with you.”
She loves me. The full repercussions of his one vengeful act came at him with full force. He was about to lose the one thing, the one person, he truly cared about—Sherry. “Then don’t do it. Give me the chance to make it right.”
“I can’t. You took my love and threw it away. And that means we’re done.”
___________
Optimism. Sherry would’ve done nearly anything to cultivate a single optimistic thought as she stalked through the BenTel halls to her office. The satisfaction she’d once felt about working here was gone. BenTel was officially embroiled in a battle for survival, against a threat that was impossible to defeat because there was no real way to build a stronghold.
No one knew who the mysterious big investor was, and as much digging as Adam and Sherry did, they came up with virtually nothing.
The fact that Sherry had slept with the enemy only made her life more miserable. Luckily, Adam had remained discreet about that fact, but it had made Thanksgiving especially tense. For the moment, Sherry's days were spent jumping through hoops for the board of directors, which had gotten her exactly nowhere, as they were likewise all consumed with the threat of a takeover. It all added up to one thing—her dream job felt more out of reach than ever.
And then there was her personal life, which in many ways felt more like her personal death. Having gone from the high of being with Justin to the low of discovering what he’d been doing behind her back the entire time they were together had been far worse than jarring. It felt as if she’d been pushed off a cliff with no warning and most certainly nowhere soft to land.
Sherry's assistant, Carrie, filed into her office with a cup of coffee. “Is there anything else I can get you this morning, Ms. Bennet?”
“No, thank you.” Sherry settled in at her desk for the ten minutes of her day she actually looked forward to—reading the news. At this point, she clung to the little things that made her happy. There weren’t many.
“Oh, before I forget, Ms. Louis was looking for you this morning.”
Sherry glanced at her watch. “Can you buzz her and let her know that now is a good time?”
“Certainly.” Carrie closed the door quietly behind her.
Sherry scrolled to the business section and was immediately sickened by the headline beneath the fold. Sunny Side had sold. To a rival telecom, no less.
She quickly scanned the article, her heart pounding, half out of shock and the other half out of anger. Somewhere in there was sadness, but she hadn’t given in to that yet. It said that the sale was orchestrated by Justin. So much for the big delay on their patent application. Was that another of his lies?
Carefully crafted to lure her in? To what end, she did not know—seek revenge on Adam, get inside information on BenTel. Justin had everything to gain and she’d had everything to lose. She simply hadn’t known it because she’d trusted him—with business, with her heart and her body.
Bastard. Just when he couldn’t have possibly betrayed her in any worse a fashion, he had to go and twist the knife in her back. First he’d tried to destroy her family, then he yanked away her most promising business deal.
So that was it. Justin really had moved on, in every way imaginable. The thought made tears sting her eyes, but she had to face the truth. There hadn’t been so much as a peep from Justin since they’d broken up. Not a single word.