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To make matters worse, Cain had placed his hand back on the small of my back as he led me through his domain. I was convinced he was doing it because it told everyone watching I was with him and was also a small way he could continue to humiliate me.

Unfortunately, it somewhat worked.

People saw Cain Ashcroft’s hand at my back and moved differently. Not dramatically, because his employees had to keep their cool, but I could feel the stares as we walked by.

I made sure not to show how I felt about the attention on my face, choosing to keep my expression neutral and my mind on the upcoming task in front of me. If I looked like a hostage, then Cain won once again, so I was determined to look like a woman walking into a room she intended to own.

The elevator ride started in silence and I was grateful for that. Cain’s hand left my back only when the doors closed, and the absence of it irritated me almost as much as the contact had.

I stared at the brushed steel doors and refused to look at our reflection because it would only be a distraction.

“You’ll have ten minutes with the team before Lyle joins,” Cain said, cutting into my thoughts.

“I’ll need fifteen.”

“You have ten.”

“Then they’ll need to listen faster.”

His head turned slightly. I could feel him look at me, but I didn’t acknowledge him, so he spoke instead. “You are enjoying this.”

“You’re damn right I am.”

Surprisingly, Cain said nothing after that and the elevator ride dove back into the silence I craved. By the time the doors opened onto the executive floor, I had put Sutton Prescott, whose reputation preceded her, back together.

Several people’s heads turned when we stepped out, but no one spoke to either of us. That was a blessing because if they had, I might have said something we would all regret. Cain’s hand returned to my back as he led me to the conference room we would be in. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was none of my team was in the room. I mentally made a note that would be fixed as soon as possible when I was put back at the helm of my company versus just sitting in his penthouse twiddling my thumbs.

Cain’s hand left my back only after the room had seen it there, but I didn’t react because there was no time. Heck, I even skipped introductions and just got right down to work because Harold Lyle would be on the phone in mere minutes.

I glanced at Cain out of the corner of my eye as he took the seat at the head of the table, but I remained standing. If he questioned what I was doing as I stepped in charge at this meeting, I knew I wouldn’t be able to remain in control of my emotions and all hell would break loose. I refused to go down that path; instead I took a deep breath before I addressed the others who were in the room.

“I’ve read the documentation, including the emails, and transcripts regarding Wiles and Co.,” I said. “All of them. I know what you said and I know why it didn’t work, so I’m not going to ask you to explain yourselves. What I am going to tell you is what happens in the next ten minutes.” I moved to the head of the table, which meant moving past Cain, and I did it without looking at him. “You don’t speak during this call unless I direct a question to you. If I direct a question to you, you answer it simply and you stop. No legal language. No transition provisions. If you hear yourself saying the word continuity, you stop. Harold Lyle has heard that word enough times to be physically ill at the sound of it.”

Someone at the table opened their mouth to say something and I shook my head.

“I’m not finished,” I said, not unkindly, but in a way that said now wasn’t the time. “When he asks about sensitive matters, and he will, you don’t react. You don’t shift in your chair, you don’t write anything down, and you don’t look at each other. This is a video call and he will be able to see all and we want to keep everything as contained as possible.” I set my palms flat on the table. “You defer to me on everything, got it?”

No one argued with me. Not even the woman at the far end of the table who looked like she wanted to toss out a rebuttal, but it seemed as if she smartly knew that wasn’t the wisest choice. I straightened my posture and checked the clock on the wall. We had seven minutes until the call.

“Good,” I said. “Let’s not waste the time we have left.”

I pulled out the chair nearest the conference phone and sat. I gave everyone a brief rundown of how I suspected the call would go and then the clock hit three. Before anyone could blink, Harold Lyle’s face appeared on the screen.

“Sutton.” His voice came through the speakers and I could hear the relief in it.

“Harold.” I kept my voice warm but measured. “I apologize for the delay in reaching you personally. That should not have taken as long as it did.”

“No,” he said. “It shouldn’t have.”

I let that small hit land without deflecting it because he was right. “I want to speak directly,” I said. “Because I think you deserve that more than you deserve another carefully worded assurance.” I felt rather than saw Cain go still at the head of the table, but I kept my eyes on the screen. “The transition created a gap. I know what that gap looked like from your side, and I know it looked like exactly the kind of thing you’ve spent years trying to avoid. Someone new, with a new language, telling you that nothing has changed while everything around the relationship looked different. That shouldn’t have happened, and I want to personally apologize for it. I think everyone at this table would agree, and it won’t happen again because I will be firmly in charge of your account.”

When I said the last couple of sentences, I wasn’t only talking to Harold. I stared Cain down at the end of the table, daring him to disagree with me. He gave me a short nod and I knew I won that round as well.

There were a couple of hiccups throughout the rest of the call, but for the disaster the transition had created, the call could be measured as smooth as could be expected. Harold thanked me just before he told me he felt more confident in where things were headed and hung up the phone. The screen went dark and the entire room let out the biggest exhale.

I kept my hands flat on the table for exactly two seconds before I pulled them back into my lap. No one spoke immediately, which was great because what was there to say right now? I’d somehow saved all of our asses and needed these few seconds of silence to loosen the tension in my body.

Cain broke the silence first. “Well done.” He didn’t look at his team when he said it. His gaze was trained on me.