‘Tell me this is nothing to do with yesterday.’
‘Pleasure to hear from you, Scarlett. It would be more pleasant if I knew what you’re talking about.’
‘You know exactly what I’m talking about. Jack Jones. You’ve had him fired, haven’t you? Christ, how hard did you hit him?’
‘He’s a sick fuck, Scarlett, and I won’t have him anywhere near you. He’s going to get what’s coming to him.’
My head jerks in shock at his venom first but the adrenalin coursing through my body has nothing to do with that.
‘He didn’t touch me, Gregory.’
‘I’m not taking any chances with your safety and that’s the end of it.’
‘I’m not your responsibility.’
There’s silence on the line and so many emotions are mixing in my head, my body doesn’t know which to react to first. Part of me really wants to be his responsibility. And the logical part of me remembers that I’m just his lawyer and that’s all I’m ever going to be. ‘I can’t do this without him, Gregory. I’m not qualified enough or good enough to finish this deal alone.’
‘You are good enough, Scarlett. I trust you and that’s not something I say lightly, believe me.’
With that, he hangs up, leaving me to wallow in my own panic.
So now I have two days to complete the Sale and Purchase Agreement and all the ancillary documents for the takeover. The hostile takeover. Alone.
My client thinks he can trust me but I can’t even trust myself. Thursday can’t come soon enough. I’ll go right back to ordinary Scarlett Heath and I’ll forget all about this man who’s sent my entire world spinning on a new orbit.
13
My palms are hot and damp as I lay out the completion documents for signature. I have thirty minutes before everyone arrives at Saunders to finalise the deal. Long enough for me to consider and get nervous about how the meeting will go.
It’s the first chance I’ve really had in the last few days to just stop and let my mind absorb what’s happening.
I’m about to do something unethical for the first time in my life. But as I lay pens beside each set of documents, I know that it isn’t just going through with the deal that’s got me on edge. I’m going to come face to face with the reason I feel compelled to go through with it. I’m going to meet Gregory’s father, and I can’t stand the thought that Gregory is going to be stuck in this room with the man who destroyed his childhood. He protected me with Jack, and it seemed absurd to me that he’d go to those lengths for a woman he hardly knows. Yet I’m standing here now trying to think of any way I can protect him, shield him from his past.
The digital phone in the middle of the conference table beeps, dragging me from my trance. A receptionist announces Williams and Lawrence have arrived.
My foot is bouncing as I unfold my arms to look at my watch for the third time in less than a minute.
Williams pours himself a glass of water and does the same for Lawrence, who’s red in the cheeks and perspiring. A reaction I don’t think is the result of him rushing to get here on time. He knows that the man who beat a woman, the man who ruined the life of his partner and stepson and forced them from their home, will be looking him in the eye in just minutes.
Williams’s usual easy manner is gone as we stand in the meeting room, waiting. We don’t move to sit and we don’t speak. Williams intermittently checks the time on his phone. Lawrence stares out of the window at the darkening sky. Tension coats the room like gloss, making us sticky and hot. I pull at each of my nails in turn and roughly rub my hand across the flesh of my throat.
My phone vibrates on the table, making us all jump.
To: Heath, Scarlett
From: Ryans, Gregory
Sent: Thursday 23 Oct 2025 14.58
Subject: Completion
I’m running late but I will be there. Get everything ready to go, I’ll be there to sign.
Gregory Ryans
CEO Eclectic Technologies
‘That’s it? That’s all he can say?’ Clearing my throat, I face the room. ‘Gregory’s running late; he said we should go on without him and he’ll be here to sign as soon as he can.’
