"What happened?"
Nobody answered.
Her gaze moved from face to face.
Riven Ashcroft, the company's chief financial officer, wouldn't meet her eyes.
Her aunt, Vespera Sterling, sat perfectly composed in a cream suit, her silver hair swept into an elegant knot. She looked less like a woman attending a financial crisis and more like someone waiting for a funeral to begin.
Elara Quinn stood near the windows, arms folded tightly across her chest.
And then there were the lawyers.
Three of them.
All wearing black.
Maya's stomach tightened.
"Why are there lawyers here?"
Riven cleared his throat.
"Maya, we need to discuss the financing situation."
"We discussed it Friday."
"It changed."
"Apparently."
She dropped her leather portfolio onto the table.
"I have the revised projections. If we secure the bridge financing, postpone the Paris launch, and renegotiate the Milan contract, we can survive until spring."
Vespera gave a small, humorless laugh.
"Darling."
Maya looked at her.
"What?"
"I don't think you understand."
"I understand perfectly."
"No." Vespera folded her hands. "You don't."
Maya's jaw tightened.
"I've spent the last six months keeping this company alive. I understand exactly where we stand."
"Do you?"
"I do."
"Then perhaps you should listen before making another emotional decision."
Maya's eyes hardened.
"Everything I have done has kept Sterling & Rowe alive."
"And everything you've done has cost money."
"Money can be replaced."
"Not when the banks have stopped believing in you."
The words cut deeper than Maya wanted to admit.
She looked toward Riven.
"You said the bridge financing was approved."
"It was."
"So what changed?"
Riven hesitated.
"The lender withdrew the offer this morning."
Maya stared at him.
"This morning?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"The risk assessment changed."
"Who changed it?"
Silence.
Maya slowly looked around the table.
Someone knew something.
Before she could demand an answer, a man at the far end of the table stood.
"Miss Sterling, I'm Ambrose Hale, counsel for Cross Dominion."
Maya frowned.
The name meant something.
Then it struck her.
Cross Dominion.
The investment empire that had swallowed failing companies across Europe.
The company whose billionaire founder was famous for buying distressed businesses and turning them into weapons.
Damien Cross.
Maya's fingers went cold.
"What does Cross Dominion have to do with Sterling & Rowe?"
Ambrose placed a black folder in front of her.
"You'll find the acquisition documents inside."
Maya stared at the folder.
"No."
Ambrose blinked.
"You haven't opened it."
"I don't need to."
Her eyes moved to Riven.
"You sold us."
"No."
"Then who did?"
Riven swallowed.
"The company defaulted on its emergency financing."
Maya felt the floor shift beneath her.
"That isn't possible."
"It happened Friday."
"I negotiated an extension."
"The extension was denied."
"By whom?"
Nobody answered.
Maya looked at Vespera.
"You knew."
Her aunt's expression didn't change.
"I knew negotiations were underway."
"You knew?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"You were emotional."
Maya laughed once.
"Emotional?"
"You've become too attached to the company."
"It is my company."
"Was," Vespera corrected.
The word landed like a slap.
Maya slowly opened the folder.
The first page was a purchase agreement.
The second showed the transfer of controlling interest.
Seventy-two percent.
Her eyes stopped on the number.
Seventy-two.
Her fingers tightened around the paper.
"Who bought it?"
Ambrose didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The door opened.
Maya looked up.
And the past walked into the room.
Damien Cross.
Ten years disappeared.
Not faded.
Not softened.
Disappeared.
The boy she remembered had been twenty-three, reckless and brilliant, with dark hair that always fell over his forehead and a smile that could make her forget every sensible thought she'd ever had.
This man was different.
Thirty-three.
Impossibly composed.
His black suit fit him like it had been made specifically to intimidate people.
His hair was neatly swept back.
His face was harder.
There was a thin scar cutting through his left eyebrow.
Maya remembered that scar.
She remembered exactly where it had come from.
A drunken university football player had thrown a bottle during a fight.
Damien had stepped in front of her.
He'd gotten cut.
She had spent the entire night pressing a damp cloth against his eyebrow while he teased her for crying.
She remembered the warmth of his hand over hers.
The way he'd smiled despite the blood.
The promise he'd whispered afterward.
I'll always protect you.
Apparently, promises had expiration dates.
"You're staring," Damien said.
His voice was deeper now.
Maya's heart gave one violent beat.
"You're here."
"Yes."
Her eyes moved to the papers.
"You bought my company."
"Yes."
"You."
"Yes."
"You bought seventy-two percent of Sterling & Rowe."
"Yes."
The simplicity of his answers infuriated her.
"How much?"
"Enough to settle the company's outstanding liabilities."
"How much?"
"Two hundred and ten million."
The room went silent.
Maya stared at him.
"You spent two hundred and ten million pounds on a company everyone said was worth almost nothing?"
"I did."
"Why?"
Damien held her gaze.
"Because it was worth saving."
Something inside her twisted.
"You don't get to save me."
"I know."
"You don't get to walk back into my life after ten years and pretend you have any right to decide what's good for me."
"I know."
"Then why are you here?"
His jaw tightened.
"Because someone is trying to destroy your company."
Maya froze.
"What?"
Damien looked around the table.
"Before we discuss that, we need to discuss the restructuring."
She stared at him.
"You're serious."
"I rarely joke."
"No." She shook her head. "You're not doing this."
"Maya."
"Don't."
His eyes sharpened.
"You need to listen."
"You disappeared."
The room became painfully still.
Damien's face changed.
Barely.
But she saw it.
"You disappeared for ten years."
"I know."
"You didn't call."
"I know."
"You didn't write."
His silence was answer enough.
Maya's eyes burned.
"You didn't even say goodbye."
Damien looked at her for a long moment.
Then quietly said,
"I couldn't."
Maya laughed.
"Of course."
She turned away.
She couldn't let him see how badly his presence was affecting her.
She had spent ten years rebuilding herself.
Ten years convincing herself that the boy she loved had simply decided she wasn't worth staying for.
And now he stood in front of her looking at her as if he remembered everything.
She hated him for it.
She hated herself for remembering too.
The late-night coffee.
The university library.
His hand tangled with hers beneath restaurant tables.
The cheap silver bracelet he'd given her.
The promise they'd made beneath the old clock tower.
One day, Maya. We'll build something together.
She had built Sterling & Rowe.
He had built an empire.
Apparently, neither had forgotten.
Damien took his seat.
"We have a six-week window."
Maya stared at him.
"For what?"
"To prove Sterling & Rowe can be profitable."
"And if I fail?"
His eyes met hers.
"I dismantle it."
The room went silent.
Maya slowly smiled.
"You haven't changed."
"No."
"You're still arrogant."
"Yes."
"You're still impossible."
"Yes."
She leaned forward.
"Then here's something you should know."
Damien waited.
"You may own seventy-two percent of my company."
She pointed at him.
"But you don't own me."
Something flickered in his eyes.
"No."
His voice dropped.
"I never did."
Maya's heart stumbled.
Before she could respond, her phone vibrated.
She glanced down.
Unknown number.
One message.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LET THE COMPANY DIE.
Her blood ran cold.
A second message appeared.
STAY AWAY FROM DAMIEN CROSS.
Maya slowly raised her eyes.
Damien was watching her.
His expression had gone completely still.
"Who sent that?"
She locked the phone.
"None of your business."
"Maya."
She stood.
"I'm going to work."
He rose too.
"You're not leaving the building alone."
She stared at him.
"You've owned my company for ten minutes."
"Eleven."
"And you're already giving me orders?"
"Yes."
She laughed.
"God, I hate you."
Something almost imperceptible moved through his eyes.
"I know."
Maya walked out.
Behind her, Damien watched the door close.
Lucien Vale, his lawyer and oldest friend, leaned toward him.
"You're going to have trouble."
Damien's gaze remained fixed on the door.
"I know."
"You still love her."
Damien said nothing.
Lucien sighed.
"Damien."
His expression hardened.
"I didn't spend ten years staying away from her just to watch someone kill her now."Damien said
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