Chapter 22 22

Chapter 22 22

Aiden's POV

As Thomas read the final vote, there was silence in the conference room. Seven of the board members agreed to accept TechDyne’s bid. Three against. It was over.

Fifteen years of making Cole Tech something out of nothing. Fifteen years of giving everything to this company. And now it was gone.

“The board has voted to accept TechDyne's purchase offer,'' Thomas said, his voice weighted. "I'm sorry, Aiden. We fought as hard as we could.”

I stood there, numb. And the board members, around me, were already collecting their belongings and turning away to look anywhere but at me. Others I had been in the trenches of activism with for years suddenly could not make eye contact. They already were contemplating their places in the new company, how to endear themselves to the news owners.

“The transition team is gonna be here Monday,” one of them said. “They are going to want to meet with the department heads.”

"What about Aiden?" Sarah Chen asked.
Uncomfortable silence.

“TechDyne has advised me that they are not going to keep Mr. Cole around in any way,” Thomas added softly. "They want a clean break."

After that, the room cleared out pretty quickly. It was minutes before I was alone with Thomas and Sarah.

“We can still battle this,” Thomas said, but that no longer rang true in his voice. "There might be legal avenues—"

"It's over," I said. "We both know it."

"I'm sorry, Aiden. I really am." He packed his briefcase. “For what it’s worth, you built something great. It is something no one can take away from you.”

Except they had. They'd taken everything.

I sat alone in the conference room after they left, the one in which I had made so many decisions, closed so many deals, built an empire. And I felt nothing. Just emptiness.

I took out my phone and called Lily. It went straight to voicemail. I tried again. Same thing.

Of course. She was flying to New York. Living her life. Moving on while mine fell apart.
I had pushed her away when I needed her most. Chosen the company over her. And now I had neither.

I walked in to my office, and poured myself a drink. The city lay out below my windows. I'd conquered this city once. “Became a tech empire out of nothing. And I had thrown it all away because I’d been too proud, too stubborn, too damn sure that I could manipulate my way out of anything.”

Lily had been right. I had become all that I had feared. The unfeeling C.E.O. who valued work above all else. Who sacrificed relationships for success. Who believed he could have everything without sacrifice.

My phone rang. Unknown number. Probably press wanting a statement. I ignored it.

It rang again.

"What?" I answered harshly.

"Mr. Cole, this is building security. There is a woman come here to see you. Lily Monroe. Should I send her up?"

My heart stopped. "She's here?"

"Yes, sir."

"Send her up. Immediately."

I stood, my mind racing. She was here. She hadn't left. Why hadn't she left?

The elevator dinged and Lily exited. She looked tired, as if she had been crying. She had the same clothes on as she had worn this morning. Her hair was pulled into a messy updo. She'd never looked more beautiful.

"You're here," I said stupidly.

"Of course I'm here." She walked toward me. “You really thought I was going to get on that plane?”

"Your residency—"

"Can wait. Or I can turn it down. I don't care." She stopped in front of me. "I saw the news. About the company. About the takeover. And I knew you'd need me."

Something inside me broke. All the barriers I’d placed, all the self-control I’d imposed onto myself, everything was broken. I hugged her and held on as though she were the only solid item in a world that was turning to jelly all around me.

“I lost,” I whispered into her hair. "I lost everything."

"No, you didn't. You lost a company. That's not everything."

"Fifteen years. Everything I built. Gone."

"But you're still here. I'm still here. That's what matters." She pulled away to gaze at me. "Aiden, you are not just Cole Tech. You’re more than either of your wealth or empire. You're the man I love. The guy who jumps in front of the broken glass for me. They are the man who buys me an apartment because he believes in my dream. That's who you are."

Tears were running down my cheeks and I didn’t care. "I was so focused on winning. On keeping what I built. I forgot what really mattered."

"I know. But you remember now." She cupped my face. “And we’re going to solve the problem. Together."

"I pushed you away. Forgot about you. Missed our dinner."
"Yeah, you did. And it hurt. But I understand why. This company was your legacy.” She smiled sadly. “But Aiden, maybe losing it is exactly what needed to happen.”
"How?"

And now you can do something new.” Something better. Like you, only without the baggage and compromises of the first time.” She took my hands. "You could start fresh. Founder: Build a company you believe in, values wise. Work/life balance. Ethical practices. All the stuff you couldn’t do because you were too busy fighting to survive.”

I stared at her. She was right. The company I’d created had been born out of desperation, proving myself after my father abused us. I had made some decisions I was not proud of. Hurt people. Sacrificed my humanity for success.

But I might do it differently today.

"Start over," I said slowly. "Build something new."

"Exactly. You did it once from nothing. You can do it again. But this time, I’ll be there. And you’ll have the satisfaction of being able to tell what’s truly important.”

A laugh escaped me. My company just collapsed and all you can think of is starting another one.

"Because I believe in you. Not the billionaire CEO. Just you. Aiden Cole. The man with the unerring touch."

I kissed her then, deep and desperate. She kissed me back as passionately. When we finally parted, both of us panting hard from the sudden separation, I said, "I love you. God, I love you so much."

"I love you too."

I pushed her backwards across to the desk, even as my hands were working at her clothes. "I need you. Right now."

"Here?"

"Here. Now. I need to feel alive. How forgotten you can be. Need to feel something other than loss.”

She said yes, and helped me take her clothes off. Once she was naked in front of me, I spun her around so she was facing the windows. The city unfurled beneath us, its lights just flickering on in the early evening.

“Place your hands upon the glass,” I ordered.

She did, palms pressed flat against the window. I pressed up against her back, my hands exploring her body. She arched into my touch.

"Someone could see," she gasped.

"I don't care. Let them see. Let the whole city see that you’re mine.”

I pushed all the way underneath her in one stroke. We both groaned. This angle allowed me to thrust deep, and Lily's breath fogged the glass as I moved in and out.
"Aiden," she moaned. "Oh God."

I was grabbing her hips and pulling her back to meet me with every stroke. The windows groaned a little under it. Outside, Chicago glittered, unknowing of what was taking place forty stories above.

“This is the only thing that matters,” I snarled. "Not the company. Not the money. This. Us."

"Yes," she gasped. "Yes."

I worked my hand around until I found her sweet spot and rubbed it to the same rhythm as my thrusting. She yelled, her hands slipping on the glass.

"Come for me," I demanded. "Let go."

She broke with a scream, her body clenching me. I felt ill, and it pushed me off the edge. I grunted her name and followed.

We stood there for a moment, panting. Then I rushed her away from the window and lay her on my desk, bombs landing and papers and pens flying. I needed more. Had to take her back, take me back.

I slid back into her, both more gently and slowly. She cross her legs behind me, forcing me into her even more.

“I was wrong,” I said between kisses. "So wrong about everything."

"Shh. We both were." She touched my face. "But we're learning."

We made love much slower this time, and more tender. Reconnecting. Remembering what we had. It was a promise, you and me crossing paths. A new beginning.

Then we were there on my desk, wrapped up. The office was dark now, the only illumination came from the city lights filtering through the windows.
"What do we do now?" I asked.

"Now we go home. We rest. And then starting tomorrow, we’ll begin working out the future.” She kissed my chest. "Together."

"Together," I agreed.

My phone rang. Thomas.

“I’ve got to take this,” I grumbled.

"Go ahead."

I answered. "Thomas."

"Aiden, something's happened. Something big. An unknown investor has just bought into a controlling share in Cole Tech. They're stopping the TechDyne acquisition."

I sat up. "What?"

"I don't know who it is. But they control enough shares to thwart the takeover. They want to meet with you. Tomorrow morning. Nine AM."

"Did they say anything else?"

“Only in that they are very anxious to see Cole Tech remain independent. And keeping you as CEO."

I hung up, my mind racing.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"Someone just saved my company. An anonymous investor."

"Who?"

"I have no idea. But I'm about to find out."

The next morning I showed up at the office and was ushered off to a conference room where my lawyer was sitting with an entire table of people I had never met. Except one.
My mother was perched at the head of the table, perfectly composed, and flanked by her own team of lawyers.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

"Saving your company, apparently." She motioned to the seat next to hers. "Sit down, Aiden. We have a lot to discuss."

I sat, completely baffled. Eleanor sounded healthier than I’d heard her in months. Stronger. "So, basically" I say more and more like the woman she used to be before my father broke her.
"I don't understand," I said.

"Your dad had quite an estate. It’s something most people don’t know about because he hid his assets very well.” Offshore accounts, shell companies, real estate in the name of others.” Eleanor smiled grimly. “But I’ve spent the past two years finding it all. With the assistance of some very talented investigators.”

"You've been liquidating his estate."

"Every penny. And I’ve been watching your company. Watching TechDyne circle like vultures." She leaned forward. “You honestly didn’t think I’d let anyone destroy what my son built?”

"But why didn't you tell me?"

“Because you needed to be taught something, Aiden. You had to learn that you’re not the controller of everything. That sometimes, you need to accept some help. That being vulnerable isn't weakness." She looked over toward the door where Lily was standing. “And you had to learn that what is truly important, was all-important — before it’s too late.”

“So you let me believe I was losing everything?”

I made you have to face the And then maybe. There's a difference." Eleanor pulled out documents. “I bought forty-two per cent of Cole Tech “It is now mine. Enough that any would-be buyer was stopped. ‘But I’m not giving the company back to you. Not entirely."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm making you a partner. Not the sole owner. You’ll have authority to deal with day-to-day issues, but big decisions come through me. You'll have to collaborate. Compromise. "Put your baby on someone else.”

I should have been angry. Insulted. But instead, I felt relief. “You’re making me share command.”

"I'm forcing you to be human. We kill here, die there Remember that no empire is worth your death.” She looked at Lily again. “That girl loves you so much she’d give up her dreams for you. And never give her reason to regret what she has given."

"I won't," I promised.

Eleanor stood. "Good. Now get out of here. You have a company to run. Properly this time."