“Honesty is going to be your best course,” Karen says. “Nobody can dispute you got screwed.”
“I know.” I hold my head between my hands. “But it also makes me look like an idiot for not realizing sooner.”
“She was very close to you.” Her tone is patient. Kind, even. “Sometimes we’re blind to our friends’ and family’s flaws. We have expectations, hopes and dreams about them, and we only see them the way we’d like them to be.”
“But all this time?”
“She’s been with you since you were a child. Of course you didn’t see it. Blame her for betraying your trust. Actually, the entire company’s trust. And remember, no one else suspected anything either.”
That’s true.“Do you think Grandfather suspected something?” He was never particularly warm to Bianca.
“I doubt it. If he’d suspected she was interfering with the company’s goals, he would’ve fired her on the spot. But what she did to sabotage the projects you spearheaded probably contributed to his reluctance to put you fully in charge of the company.”
I straighten, my eyes on hers. “I thought it was because I was a girl.” He often lamented that I was too much like my mom. Or that I was too soft.
She shrugs. “I’m a woman, and he appointed me as his COO.”
I blink slowly. I never considered that.
“He had some really old-fashioned ideas, but he also loved growing this company. He wasn’t going to give up on a talented employee because of gender. Trust me, your performance mattered more. The fiasco with the Milan project three years ago was the last straw.”
I wince. That one didn’t even get started. “But he kept me on as the CEO. Why?”
“Because you had good instincts and ideas. You had good plans. You just couldn’t seem to execute them. He thought I’d be able to assist and get them going. Just remember, it’s best to work with people whoaren’tyour friends. That way, personal feelings don’t get in the way.”
Chapter 36
Sebastian
When I return from my one o’clock meeting, a document with the revised timeline and budget for the collaboration from Luce is waiting in my inbox. I open it to see what she’s done. The new timeline is aggressive, but not unreasonable. Besides, why do a project at all if you’re going to be lackadaisical about it?
The only thing I don’t like about all this is the pain Luce had to suffer. Her tears just about killed me. I’ve witnessed a lot of women crying. Mom will wail at the drop of a hat, and Grandma likes to shed just enough tears that she can dab at her eyes without ruining her makeup. Some of my ex-girlfriends preferred to make a lot of sound without shedding tears—and some simply liked to scream.
But Luce just sits with her jaw tight, her eyes glazed with pain. The tears fall silently and endlessly. Her breathing is even too. It’s like she knows nobody’s going to comfort her—she’s alone in her grief.
I wish she hadn’t cried like that after the confrontation with Bianca. Some people in my office apparently heard about the scene through friends at Peery Diamonds, and Christoph brought me the gossip.
I immediately sent flowers because my showing up to comfort her in person could have undermined her. She needs to look stronger than ever before in front of her people, and that means standing on her own. When we’re alone tonight, I can hold her and give her whatever she needs.
While I plot my revenge.
Luce sounded reluctant to sue the shit out of Bianca. But I’m going to destroy that bitch. I have the standing to sue. Her interference in the collaboration cost Sebastian Jewelry money too. But more importantly, I hate her for hurting Luce. And if a lawsuit turns out to be insufficient, there are other means. There are a million ways to destroy someone.
“By the way, are you attending the shareholders’ meeting for Peery Diamonds tomorrow?” Christoph asks.
I check my calendar. “Isn’t that next month?”
“Normally, yes, but they changed it this year.”
What the hell? “Why?”
“Not sure.” He fidgets. “Do you need me to find out?”
“No.” Shit. The damn proxy votes!
The initial meeting agenda had something about Luce’s performance. Given the colossal clusterfuck with the Sebastian Peery collaboration at the moment, the discussion won’t be pro forma. But she deserves a chance to prove herself without Bianca getting in the way. She shouldn’t lose what she’s worked so hard for—
I stop as an abrupt realization punches me in the heart, sending a shock wave reverberating through my entire body.I don’t want her to get kicked out of the company.
