She sat, as I’d imagined, on the couch, a manila folder in hand, her brow furrowed. Her hair was up, as usual, and her nose was bandaged. Black and blue bruises extended underneath the tape.
I couldn’t help but smile at her injury.
Her eyes widened and her head shot up to look at Hudson whose back was to me. I sat down quickly, not wanting to be seen.
“How did you…?” she asked.
“Very sneakily.” He was proud; I could hear it in the edges of his even tone. “I’ll admit, it wasn’t easy. I had to convince another company to purchase a portion of the stock, and then I bought out that company—you don’t really want the details, do you?”
The deal he’d been working on. It had to do with Celia?
“The contracts are signed now,” he continued. “That’s all that matters. I’m officially the majority owner of Werner Media Corporation.”
I gasped, then slapped my hand over my mouth too late. Fuck! Had they heard my gasp? Had they heard my slap? And now my heart was beating louder than it had the whole time I’d been trapped in his bedroom—surely they could hear that?
But if they did, they gave no indication.
“And you said you’d quit playing the game.” Celia’s words were low and heavy.
“I had one final move to make,” he said.
And what a move it was. Werner Media Corporation—Celia’s family’s business—Hudson had bought it? This was…this was big.
She let out a long, slow hiss of air—or I guessed it was her, I couldn’t see for sure. “It’s checkmate, is it then?” she asked.
“You tell me.” Triumph hung in the texture of his words.
“What are your plans for Werner Media?” She fought to the end. Some people might be impressed with her dedication.
I imagined, once upon a time, that Hudson had been one of those people.
For me, it was Hudson that impressed me.
“At the moment, I have no plans. The company’s doing well as it is. Warren Werner is definitely the right man to be in charge. However, if there were any reason that I felt his presence was no longer needed…” He let his threat trail off.
“He’d be devastated,” Celia said softly.
“I imagine he’d be devastated just to learn he no longer holds controlling interest. For now, the fact is still hidden. He has no idea that he’s no longer in charge. Would you like that to change?”
“No,” she said.
“Do you plan on doing anything that might cause me to alter my current business plan?”
Defeat clung to her simple one-word answer. “No.”
“Then yes, it’s checkmate.”
We sat silently, all of us, for several minutes after the game was declared finished. My skin tingled as Hudson’s victory settled in the air. A smile graced my lips and a mixture of many, many emotions swept up and over me, very few of them sinking in with enough clarity to cling on to for long. Some, I could name—surprise, gratitude, relief, triumph. Others were more difficult to discern through the blanket of heartache that still covered me from head to toe. Was there some forgiveness toward Hudson in there? A touch of hopefulness, perhaps?
Love, there was love. There was always love.
“I guess it’s time for me to go,” Celia said eventually.
“It is. I’ll walk you out.”
They weren’t going back through the office. The realization sent another stab of panic through me—was Hudson not leaving? And my duffel—it was at the door.
Once again, I held my breath as they crossed the floor. I heard the door open. If they were at the entrance, their backs would be toward me. I had to see what was going on.
I moved up to my knees again and peered around the frame. Hudson was holding the door open as Celia walked past. He started to shut it behind her—dammit, he was staying—then his gaze fell on my bag.
He paused there for half a second. Then his eyes rose to scan the room.
I didn’t move—did I want him to find me?
He did.
Our eyes locked, and the intensity of his expression—it was all-consuming. Maybe I couldn’t read all of my own emotions, but in his gaze I saw three with clarity. Surprise, elation. And, clear as day, I saw love.
If he came to me at that moment, I was certain I’d fall back into him.
But he didn’t.
“Hold the elevator,” he said to Celia without looking away. His lip ticked ever so slightly, delivering me a half-smile. Then he left, shutting the door behind him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nine in the morning came awfully early after working until three a.m. I peeked from under my lids at the sun that suddenly filled the room.