揥ait! I抣l call a car for you.?
She doesn抰 stop.
She doesn抰 even throw me a backward glance.
I start after her, but she doubles her pace.
After she抯 out of my sight, I walk back inside the hospital, a drenched mess of a human being in every way imaginable.
I抣l go sit with Wyatt. I don抰 want him to be alone when he wakes up, though tonight would be one hell of a time.
My laptop sits in the chair I抳e lived in for days. I pick it up and collapse into the chair. At least I don抰 have to worry about sending that email anymore.
Still, now I need to work out what stepping away from the company looks like, and who can take my place without running the empire into the ground.
The worst part is, Mother is still the majority shareholder. I抣l have to talk to her and I抣l get a nuclear earful when she finds out why I抦 leaving.
I could tell her I need to help Wyatt, but she won抰 like that one bit. She抣l probably also tell me to take a month off instead of backing away completely.
I抦 not even sure a temporary leave will work unless Dakota quits, which is always a grim possibility. She moved out of state after her last breakup.
Something about running her out of this city wrenches my gut.
So does that last parting look with the one-gun salute.
No woman has ever looked at me with such contempt before. Any chance I had with Dakota Poe in my next five lifetimes was slaughtered outside this hospital.
揃urns, you are one dumb SOB,?I whisper.
It抯 far too easy to imagine Wyatt saying those words.
Whenever he wakes up, he抣l probably invent new ways to call me a fucking fool.
And if Dakota can抰 hack it梚f she packs up and heads home to North Dakota梬ill that little jagoff be waiting for her?
I already agreed to avoid pressing charges if and when they assure me he抯 set up with a therapist, a job, and a place to live at least five hundred miles from Seattle.
Dammit.
Dakota basically said I抦 just like him, and I can抰 even argue.
He ruined her past, and I just flattened her whole future.
I push my face into my hands, pressing my knuckles into my eyes.
I抦 doing everything humanly possible to make this right. To let her walk away with minimal damage.
Whatever she chooses next shouldn抰 bother me.
It shouldn抰， but it does.
It抯 her life, and she抯 better off without the pond scum named Lincoln Burns.
21
Still Beguiling （Dakota）
Welp, the asshat actually did it.
He stepped away from the company without even the courtesy of showing up for one last all-staff meeting. He just blasts an email to the entire crew.
Dear all,
I抳e recently found myself dealing with a personal tragedy that requires all of my attention and my heart. It wouldn抰 be fair for me to stay on at the helm of Haughty But Nice dividing my time. I can抰 do that to you.
That抯 why I抦 stepping away indefinitely to tend to personal matters.
I hate that my time with you has come to an unexpected end. I抣l sincerely miss each and every one of you. Some of you, I抳e known my whole life. Rest assured I抦 leaving you in the most capable hands.
Sincerest wishes,
Lincoln Burns, Chief Executive Officer
I read the email, blinking back tears, and turn to Cheryl.
揝o who抯 our new CEO??I ask.
揙h, God, I have no idea. Did you know about this??
I shrug glumly.
?he said he might do this, the last time we got into it. I just didn抰 think he was serious.?I bite my lip, hating the instant crash in office morale I can feel in the air.
The COO strolls right past us to Anna抯 office.
That抯 never happened before. We stare after her.
揥hy is she down here??I whisper.
揌ow should I know??
I try to glue my eyes back to ad projects on my screen, but I抦 too distracted by the impending doom. We whisper back and forth, wondering why our lowly marketing team is being visited by C-level staff.
揑 knew something was seriously wrong,?Cheryl moans, rubbing her face. 揥e抮e going under, aren抰 we? We took on too much with that wedding line. Burns knows it, and he抯 jumping ship before we抮e underwater.?
揕incoln wouldn抰 have resigned if he thought we were going under. He抎 stay and fight until he turned it around.?I may loathe the man for using my heart as a punching bag, but I抣l give him his professional due.
I also know the real reason for the turnover in leadership.
Linc just doesn抰 know what to do. He抎 rather exit his family business than deal with me.
Sure, there抯 also the Wyatt factor, but ugh.
I used to think I hit my all-time low when Jay ghosted on my wedding day. Anything had to be better after that.
I was wrong.
Cheryl stares through her computer screen and glances at Anna抯 door. 揝he抯 been in there for a while.?
The COO comes out of Anna抯 office and goes straight to the elevator without speaking to anyone else.
Anna steps out about a minute later and walks up to us.
揇akota, do you have a few? I抎 like to talk.?she asks.
My stomach sinks.
揋ood luck,?Cheryl mouths from her desk.
I nod, square my shoulders, and head to Anna抯 office, ready to face the music, although I抦 not even sure what I抦 facing the music for. An HR formality, probably. They want some kind of statement to cover the company抯 butt based on whatever Lincoln said about us.
Hell, maybe they think I should resign, too. That would tie up any loose ends.
揥hy are you so tense??she asks as I pass her.
?I don抰 know.?
She smiles. 揌ave a seat. I抦 not here to put you in front of a firing squad.?
Not a huge relief, but I comply.
揝o, Lincoln抯 departure is a pretty big surprise. No one expected it.?Anna moves to her desk and sits. 揟he board will work to hire a new CEO, but in the meantime, leadership is being reshuffled.?
揜eshuffled??A lump forms in my throat. That doesn抰 sound good.
I should have just quit when crap went down.
揓ane抯 going to be our acting CEO棓
揓ane??
揟he COO.?
揙h, right.?I see her around but never knew her name.
揑抣l be acting COO in the meantime. It抯 not permanent. Jane will return to her position when it抯 all said and done.?She whispers, even though we抮e alone in her office. 揃ut just between you and me, I抦 confident she抯 planning to leverage her temporary CEO experience to take a stab at being CEO somewhere else once Lincoln is replaced. And if that happens, I抣l be staying in Jane抯 position permanently.?
I nod. What does any of this have to do with me?
揥hile I抦 COO, you抮e going to be marketing manager.?
My heart jumps, sticking in my throat.
揥hat? But there are people who have been here way longer棓
揇oesn抰 matter. You already review other people抯 work when you don抰 need to. Your suggestions are always good. People find it easy to ask you for advice and accept your criticism. There抯 no one better for this role. It may be temporary, but it抣l be awesome experience on your resum??
I抦 stunned, glued to my seat.
揟hank you. Um, when do I start??
Anna clasps her hands and leans forward. 揟oday, if you抮e ready.?
After Lincoln, I don抰 know that I抣l ever be ready for anything again. But I wanted a distraction, didn抰 I?
Ready or not, here it is.
It barely takes a few weeks to figure out I hate the new job.
All I do is go to meetings, approve creative from multiple teams, convince them they like their job, and run reports. I miss writing so much it hurts.