Stolen: Business or Pleasure (Contemporary Billionaire Romance) by Holly Rayner Read Free Book Online

his gorgeous smiles would make things all better.
     
    I turned around that day and went back to my office without talking to him. The rest of the week seemed to follow suit with Monday; nothing went right. I was running from one department to the next, putting out fires that my department managers should have been able to handle. I was beginning to become slightly paranoid. I started wondering if they were all against me and they were all doing their best to ruin my company. The few times I came face to face with Seth, he seemed to be in the same predicament as I was, but he still hadn’t apologized which to me meant that he really believed all of those things that he said. But on the other side of the coin, I still didn’t know if I wanted to apologize for what I said, or if I could trust him…
     
    We made it to Thursday somehow and the follow-up meeting on my proposal to buy the record production company. I got myself out of bed that morning by thinking positive. They might not like me, but they had to see the merits of this investment… right?
     
    At the meeting, Seth and I sat next to each other and although we’d barely spoke in almost a week, being that close to him made me remember the pull I felt towards him. Listening to him talk in the meeting made me remember how much professional respect I had for him and when Bob began to mouth off again about how I was wasting their time, Seth came to my rescue by just flat out telling him if he couldn’t be professional, he could leave. It made me remember how much I loved him. Ultimately, the shareholders refused to vote for the buy-out. I was crushed because it felt like I had wasted so much time preparing it, because I knew it was a great deal, and because I knew deep down that they hadn’t approved it because they hated me. As I was walking out of the room that day, I felt Seth’s hand on my arm. I turned around and looked into his sad blue eyes and he said, “I’m sorry, Adele. You worked so hard on this…”
     
    I forced a smile and said, “So did you. Thanks for having my back in there.”
     
    “It doesn’t matter if I’m angry with you or not,” he said. “I will always have your back. You’re my partner.” He smiled at me then and walked away. I realized I had been holding my breath. I was waiting for him to add, “And I love you.” He hadn’t said it though and I went home that night wondering if what was unsaid meant more than what was said. Were we only “partners?” I simpered and wallowed in it all day Friday and left work early because I couldn’t stand another minute of it.

When I got home, Grant was there. I’d barely seen him all week. He’d been working on a massive contract for his firm and with my hectic week we had only caught glimpses of each other. As soon as he saw my face he said, “Get the wine out of the fridge and come talk to me.”
     
    I got the bottle we had been chilling for over a month and two glasses. I sat down next to him on the couch and without warning, the tears that I’d been holding back all week began to flow. I felt Grant put his arm around me and he pulled me into his chest. He pat my back and held me as I sobbed and cried and soaked the front of his shirt. When I finally pulled it together enough I sat back up and said, “Oh God, I’m so sorry. Look at your shirt.”
     
    He grinned and looked down at his shirt. It had my tears and make-up all over it. “It’s a shirt. You know I don’t like them anyways, so it’s fine. The question is, are you fine?”
     
    I shook my head. “I’m a mess,” I told him.
     
    “I can see that,” he said with a laugh. “What happened?”
     
    I told him what happened Monday morning and about Seth thinking something was going on between me and him. I told him about my horrible week and about the shareholders voting down my proposal. I told him about Seth sticking by me and even sticking up for me. While I talked and cried, he poured us a glass of wine