Fuck that.
I pull out a sheet of paper and slide it across the table. I came prepared.
“That’s my formal resignation. Effective immediately. You’ll need to buy me out. I’ll accept the current valuation. If not, I’ll sell my shares on the open market.”
Murmurs ripple around the room.
“And since half of those shares are now legally going to my ex-wife, you’ll be dealing with her.”
Dad slams a hand on the table. “This is extortion!”
“No,” I reply evenly. “It’s business.”
Tristan chuckles, the little shit. “Oh, big bad Aiden finally grew some balls. Too bad he waited until we kicked him out.”
I walk over to him, lean in slightly. “You’re welcome for the years I carried your ass. You won’t last six months without me.”
He blanches. As much as he wants to play “whose dick is bigger,” mine is monstrous when it comes to Winter Financial, and he knows it.
I head out of the room before anyone else can say another word.
I feel many things.
Angry.
Humiliated.
Helpless.
And…for the first time in my life, I feel free.
Diana stops me in the hallway outside the CEO’s suite. I don’t have anything in my office to pack. I already did that last week, knowing what wascoming.
“They’re naming me interim CEO,” she tells me. “Just so you know.”
I look at her and try to be objective. I can’t see how I could find her attractive. She’s blonde, polished,andboring as fuck. She’s plain. There’s no joy inside her. It’s all about getting ahead, about money, about power.
Mia is warm, human, and loving. She’s all about welcoming you. Hugging you. Holding you. Makingyoufeel special.
“Knock yourself out.”
She comes closer, heels clicking. “You’re really just walking away from everything?”
“I’m walking toward something better.”
She glares at me, confused and angry. “This isn’t you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You don’t know me, Diana, you only think you do.”
“No! I know you and?—”
“Diana, I don’t give a shit about Winter Financial or being CEO.” And as soon as the words are out, I know they’re true. My face breaks into a smile.
She narrows her eyes. “I know you love me.”
I laugh. It’s real and honest. “Not in a million years. I have only loved one woman my whole life and that’s Mia.”
“I don’t believe you.”
