Then I opened my phone and realized I’d forgotten to turn off Do Not Disturb, because I rarely used it. However, I had last night after Aspen came home, and I wanted to lose myself in her without any distractions.
The moan grew to a sharp wail—warning, warning,warning.
I swiped past four missed calls from my right-hand man, Vic, and opened the slew of missed text messages, skimming to the final few.
Vic: We lost the bid for Brad & East Manufacturing. They said they didn’t feel that our company took theirs seriously or provided enough attention to enhance their business, unlike others.
Vic: And I hope you don’t think I’m stepping out of line here, but I’m your friend and partner. I need to be honest even when it’s hard. We almost lost the last contract for a similar reason.
Vic: I know you’ve got a lot going on with your godfather and getting engaged, but ever since you took on Quinn Music Group, your focus has seemed to shift. I know it’s your fiancée’s company, and they’re a strong asset, but not at the cost of tarnishing your company’s name.
Vic: I’m only saying this because I’ve seen how hard you’ve worked.
Vic: Hopefully, I’ll see you in the office today, and we can talk more.
Irregular thumps of my heart stole my breath, and my head swam.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d lost a bid for a company. And never because of my lack of devotion. I’d never had anyone question my commitment. Heat crept up my neck to my face in a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
My head throbbed from my pinched brow to my temples. I rubbed at the ache, trying to convince myself I hadn’t devotedany more time to Quinn Music Group than I had to other acquisitions. I tried to convince myself that Vic was wrong.
But I couldn’t.
I’d only blinded myself to it.
As I swiped to check the rest of my notifications, the wail reached an insistent peak.
Hank Quinn: I’ll be in your office this morning.
“It’s probably a simple question he needs answered,” I tried to reassure myself, ignoring that all his other business messages had come through their intranet, not my personal number. It fell on ears too consumed by the blaring alarm growing louder and louder, as if making up for every time I had ignored it.
Warning signs came in threes, and I’d already experienced two. When a knock struck my office door before Aspen’s father came in, I was pretty fucking sure I was about to be hit by three.
“Hey, Lucian,” Hank greeted. He smiled, but it was tight.
“Hank,” I greeted, heading to meet him at the seating area where Aspen and I had spent the past few months conducting interviews. “What can I do for you?”
He remained standing, and I followed his lead. “I won’t take up too much of your time. I just wanted to stop by and let you know I talked to Aspen yesterday.”
Oh, fuck.
I didn’t think Aspen would sabotage our plan at this point, but that didn’t mean something else couldn’t derail us. My mind worked overtime, imagining them all in the seconds it took to form a response. I cleared my throat. “Hopefully, a good one.”
At no point in our negotiations did Hank Quinn ever come across as intimidating. A good businessman? Yes. Someone to respect and not underestimate? Yes. But the way he watched menow—his green eyes locked on mine as if holding me hostage while he studied the depths of me…I was intimidated.
I pulled my shoulders back, but swallowed, ignoring the increasing beat of my heart.
“It was good. Very good, actually,” he finally acquiesced.
My lungs collapsed, and I struggled to control the relieved exhale to keep it from being too obvious. “That’s good to hear.”
“You make her happy.”
The tension, still banded around my chest, softened, and I couldn’t help the small smile even while the alarms continued to shriek. “I think we’ve both found something in one another that brings us what we need.”
“Good. Good.” He nodded and looked down.
Silence lingered like an eerie calm—a vacuum of sound that left me waiting for the siren’s cry to break.
