Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23393 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23393 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
“Please, Kyra,” she says with an uneasy look. “Sit down. Let’s talk about this calmly.”
I didn’t even realize I was standing.
I pull my chair back in and sit with a huff.
The Hammerhead Group. The fucking Hammerhead Group! What is she thinking?!
My chest is heaving up and down, fierce angry breaths ripping in and out of me as I stare at her in shock. My heart is pounding.
Aunt Linda takes a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts and her courage. “They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
“You can refuse it!” I shriek. “Did they put a gun to your head? Did they shove a dead horse head into your bed? It’s a business conglomerate, not the Corleone family!”
“Kyra, I’m tired,” she says with a defeated slump of her shoulders.
I take a breath as I look at her. I really look at her. She does look exhausted. Despite having access to the best cosmetics in the world, she has bags under her eyes. Her skin is pale. Her hair a little disheveled. But it’s more than that. I’ve been noticing lately that there’s been a change in her demeanor. She no longer has the same pep that she used to have. The same fiery spirit. Five years ago, when there was a problem in the factory or with our marketing, she would attack it with an optimistic, passionate energy. I could tell she loved the challenge of it. She craved the action. She loved testing her abilities, probably because she always came out on top.
But the past few months… It’s been different. When problems come up, she sighs deeply. She reaches for the Advil container in her desk. She shuffles down the hall and rubs her temples. This place is no longer making her happy. It’s no longer filling her with joy.
“The past ten years have been a hell of a ride,” she says with a nostalgic smile. “But I want off now.”
My stomach drops when I see it on her face—Her mind is made up. No amount of arguing and trying to convince her to change it will work. She’s done.
“What it meant to me…” she says, tearing up. I feel tears flooding my eyes as well. “When David died, I thought my life was over. I had nothing left. Nothing to look forward to. I could never have kids. I was working as a secretary for one prick after another… And then…” Tears start flooding down her cheeks as she tilts her head while looking at me. “Building this company with you has meant the world to me. My whole life, I never thought it was possible… That I could do something like this.” She looks around her luxurious office at the floor-to-ceiling windows with the gorgeous view of the most amazing city in the world. “And building it with my favorite person in the world made it that much sweeter.”
I wipe my watery eyes as she gathers herself.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we built together,” she says after a deep breath. “But it’s time for me to move on. I want to travel. I want to see the world. I want to try Tagliatelle with ragù in Bologna, Italy, I want to spot a Cotinga in the jungles of Costa Rica, I want to ride a horse in the Outback. I want to… meet someone and fall in love.”
I sigh as I watch her. There’s the fire I know so well. There’s the optimistic passionate energy.
Wow. She really has moved on…
The non-business side of me wants to encourage her, to tell her to go and conquer the world. To see and do everything while having erotic and romantic adventures along the way.
But the business side of me wants her to stay. It wants her to continue growing She’s The Sun with me. To grow it tenfold and change the beauty industry forever.
I guess that’s why they say not to mix business with family.
“Did you accept the offer?” I ask, barely able to look at her. My heart feels like it’s breaking. It feels all twisted up like a rope.
“I did,” she says firmly. “They’re coming in tomorrow to start their due diligence.”
“Tomorrow?!”
She nods.
“Who’s coming?”
“The CEO. Brandon Raven.”
Yuck. Even his name sounds evil. I hate him already.
“Am I still going to have a job?” I ask with a quiver in my stomach. I already know the answer to this question. There’s only one high-ranking executive in the beauty industry who would be willing to have my acne-scarred skin as the face of their company. Only one, and she’s currently telling me she wants out.
“I don’t know,” Linda says with a sigh. “But I’ll put in a good word for you. I’ll talk you up.”
“Thanks,” I mutter.
“But Kyra,” she says, putting her palm on the desk. “Either way, you’re getting a portion of the sale.”