“Um… Miss? Sir?” A security guard appeared beside us, his voice echoing through the hall. “The CEO has asked that you both leave. You’re permanently banned from the premises.”
“Good to know.” Harrison took my hand, and I laughed as we walked toward the exit.
Outside, the cool air hit my flushed skin, and he kissed me again. “We have some serious catching up to do.”
“I agree.” I moaned as he bit my bottom lip. “Can we talk about it over dinner?”
“We can talk about whatever you want,” he murmured. “After we make up for all the nights you weren’t in my bed.”
My knees nearly buckled, and I blushed as he ran his fingers through my hair.
“Wait a minute,” I said, slowly pulling back. “What made you change your mind?”
“You,Andrea.”
“I mean, revenge- and business-wise,” I said. “How did you determine you’d run things as is and let Starbucks reign at the top for a lot longer?”
“I had a long conversation with Mr. Lewis,” he said. “Then I revisited my beliefs about crushing the competition.”
“So you’re okay being the number two coffee chain for a while?”
“Absolutely not.” He smiled. “I saidrevisited—not abandoned.”
“I’m not following, Harrison.”
“I did what I should’ve done from the beginning.” He opened my door. “I took over a company, fired everyone at the top, expelled the entire board, and sent out my usual ‘Welcome to the new business’ memo. It should be hitting the news within the next hour.”
“I’mstillnot following.” I crossed my arms. “What are you saying?”
“I bought Starbucks.”
The End
EPILOGUE
SIX MONTHS LATER
ANDREA
Harrison’s hand rested warm and steady at my back as engineers worked high above us, bolting his name into place on the freshly updated Starbucks sign.
Well, CROSSbucks…
“You really didn’t need to change the company’s name.”
“I know, but it’s the principle.” He smiled. “You should know that by now.”
“Are you going to tell me when you plan to merge it with Sweet Seasons, or keep acting like that’s not your ultimate plan?”
“It’s not at all.”
“Come on, Harrison.” I looked up at him. “It makes perfect sense, and it makes things a lot easier.”
“For who?”
“You.”
“Quite the contrary.” He pulled me closer, his arm firm around my waist. “My girlfriend is the CFO at Sweet Seasons, and I appointed someone else as CEO because I don’t want power to be the thing that complicates us.”
