Next to Always: Shattered Innocence Trilogy Book Two (18 page)

“I made a deal with Spectrum they couldn’t refuse. I spent the last year trying everything I could to buy them out, but they wouldn’t budge. When I heard about them wanting to forfeit controlling shares to BlackStone, I just couldn’t let that happen.” Rade watched as Dylan took in the information he was giving her. He could see the defenseless look she was sheltering. It pained him to see her this way. “Say something, Dylan?” Rade pleaded.

“I need to go,” Dylan said, pushing from Rade’s hold.

“Wait, Dylan! Don’t leave. Let me explain,” Rade exclaimed.

“I think you’ve said enough, Rade. I need time to think.” Dylan stood instantly, grabbing her purse and exiting the penthouse. She couldn’t believe what she just heard. Two blows in one day were way beyond what a person should be subjected to.

*****

When Dylan finally got to her apartment after trying to get a cab at the late hour, she sank down on her sofa trying to detangle her brain of the information that was overloading it. First, was learning that Rade had a brother. Second, was learning that the man she was beginning to trust again confessed to obtaining the company she put all her efforts into, knowing full and well that she worked for the company that all but secured the deal themselves.

Exhausted from all her thinking, which lead to her changing her mind about talking to Rade or not talking to him at least a thousand times, Dylan decided to go to bed. Pushing herself up from the sofa, she headed to her bathroom to rid her face of the stresses of the day. As she washed her face, she still had a hard time believing Rade would intentionally deceive her. The more she thought about it, the more she felt maybe she should just let him explain. Applying toothpaste to her toothbrush, she continually weighed her options as she brushed. He knew where she worked. He may not have known that she was specifically assigned to the Spectrum account, but the fact that he knew she worked for BlackStone and that she was their financial analyst should have been a hint. At the very least, he should have asked.

Looking at herself in the mirror closely, Dylan saw a very tired, confused woman in her reflection. She knew no more now than she did a few hours ago as to what she was going to do. “Urrrr…” she muttered as she turned and flipped the light switch off and crawled into the comfort of her bed. She stared at the ceiling until exhaustion ultimately took over.

Waking up the next morning, Dylan stumbled into the bathroom, taking a look at her appearance. Her eyes were bloodshot and she had dark circles under them. She wasn’t surprised by her appearance, considering she only managed to get four hours of sleep. Turning the water on in her shower, she knew she had a short time to get ready for work. Standing under the lukewarm spray, hoping it would help her to wake up, she began washing her hair and then her body. She would have loved to take her normal twenty minute steaming hot shower, but she knew a quick shower was all she had time for. She was thankful that she remembered to set her coffee maker the night before, because a hot cup of Java was what her body needed. Dressed and ready to go, Dylan poured coffee into her favorite to-go cup making sure to add her favorite creamer.

On the way out, her cell began to ring. Even though she didn’t recognize the number, she decided to go ahead and answer it.

“Hello,” Dylan said hesitantly.

“Hey, girlfriend. Long time no talk,” Lilly said in a spunky voice

“Lilly,” Dylan said, excited to hear her friend’s voice. “Where are you?”

“We just landed. You’re the first person I called,” Lilly confirmed.

“Listen, I’m on my way to work. Can I call you later?” Dylan asked.

“Yeah, but call me on this number. I had to get a new phone. Mine was stolen,” Lilly stated.

“Stolen, what do you mean stolen?” Dylan said with concern.

“Long story. I’ll tell you about it later,” Lilly said.

Hearing from Lilly brightened Dylan’s day. It seemed like Lilly had been on vacation with her family forever, even though it was only for two weeks. They had a lot of catching up to do. This conversation was going to take a lot longer than the time it took her to get to work. Before depositing her phone back into her purse, another call came in on her phone. It was from another unknown number. The same number from a couple of days ago. Swiping her finger across the screen. Dylan laid into the caller.

“Look, I don’t know what your game is, but I’m over it. Quit calling this number,” Dylan yelled, waiting once again for a reply and getting nothing.

Frustrated, and the day hadn’t even started yet, Dylan made a mental note to herself to refrain from answering calls that came in as “unknown.” Problem solved. Instead of taking the elevator down, Dylan thought it would be faster to walk the five flights of stairs down to the entrance. Opening the door to the lobby from the stairwell, Dylan saw a familiar car parked in front of her apartment building. It amazed her how Rade knew everything about her, even where she lived, especially since she just moved there.

Hesitantly, she walked up to the SUV and knocked lightly on the window. Richard rolled down the window and said. “Ms. Adams… Mr. Matheson requested that I give you a ride to work.”

“Well, you can tell Mr. Matheson that I am perfectly capable of finding my own transportation,” Dylan shot back.

Before Richard could say another word, Dylan was making her way in a cab that had pulled up behind him. He had to admit she was quick. If he had known she would be refusing his services, he would have been standing outside the car waiting for her instead of sitting behind the wheel.

*****

Rade was at his office when he got wind that Dylan refused the ride from Richard. Even though he wasn’t happy, he couldn’t blame her for still being upset with him. He did have to admit that she was definitely a redhead. Her fiery temperament was unmistakable. Smiling to himself, he remembered the same spunk when they first met. He needed to figure out a way to talk to her and explain that he didn’t purposely hurt her by acquiring Spectrum. Thinking more about it, there was no reason they all couldn’t reap the benefits of the transaction.

“Gwen, set me up meeting with BlackStone Industries for this afternoon,” Rade demanded.

“Yes, sir. Anything else?” Gwen asked.

“Yeah, make sure they include Dylan Adams in the meeting,” Rade requested.

One way or another he was going to make things right with Dylan. He hoped that his plan would be acceptable to everyone.

Richard pulled up to BlackStone Industries five minutes before two. The only time Keeve Black and Mason Stone had available on short notice was a two o’clock meeting. Climbing out of the car, Rade walked up to the glass doors. Just as he was entering, an Asian or maybe Hispanic man was leaving. Looking up at him, Rade took in his features. Giving him a good once-over, Rade knew he’d seen this guy before, but couldn’t remember where. “Excuse me,” Alex said as he held the door open for Rade. The minute the man spoke, Rade felt that he may have been mistaken. Rade knew he would have remembered that voice. It wasn’t too often he came in contact with someone who by his account sounded and looked to be gay. Nodding his head, he walked past Alex. Half way inside the building, it dawned on him why he looked so familiar. He remembered seeing him at
The Castle
the same night he took Dylan. Turning to face the glass doors, he saw Alex talking with someone on the street. Watching Alex, Rade thought he had to be losing his mind. There was no way someone of his caliber would be accepted as a member.

There was no reception area, so Rade walked to the set of elevators, where he noticed a directory positioned between the elevators. Finding the office of BlackStone Industries, he pushed the up button and waited for the elevator. Rade thought it was odd that as reputable company as BlackStone wouldn’t have a better location for their company. It also concerned him that Dylan was working in a less than secure building. Reaching the fifteenth floor, Rade walked through the already open glass doors. He was quickly greeted by two young girls sitting behind the reception desk.

In unison they said, “Welcome to BlackStone Industries.” They both began to giggle as the young woman on the right continued with her greeting, “How can we help you?”

Smiling at them, Rade said, “I have a two o’clock with Mr. Black and Mr. Stone.”

“Have a seat and I’ll let them know you’re here. My name is Jessica. Is there anything I can get for you while you wait?” she said with a big smile.

“No, thank you. I’ll just wait,” Rade replied politely, knowing the effect he was having on the two girls.

Rade took a seat in the small reception area as he waited patiently. He couldn’t help but notice how the two girls kept staring at him when they thought he wasn’t looking. He had to admit he was amused by their behavior as they whispered to each other, trying to hide what they were saying. By the look on their faces, Rade could read their expressions perfectly. He knew exactly what they were conversing about. They were definitely not exchanging recipes.

Rade was thankful when Keeve and Mason appeared. His time in the reception area was turning from amusement to annoyance due to the way the two girls were carrying on. Standing, Rade greeted the two men, with Keeve holding his hand out first.

“Keeve, it’s good to see you again,” Rade said.

“You too, Rade. How long has it been?” Keeve questioned.

“Too long, my friend,” Rade said as he turned to Mason, holding out his hand. “Mason, nice to see you’re still here. I thought for sure you would be overseas working for Apex,” Rade probed.

“Well, you know what they say… things are never as good as they seem,” Mason replied.

“I know that better than anyone,” Rade replied.

Wrapping up their pleasantries, the men headed down the short hallway to the conference room. Once they were all seated, Dylan walked in, surprised to see Rade sitting at the head of the conference table. Taking her own seat, she tried to avoid his staring eyes on her.

“Dylan, I’m not sure if you have met Rade Matheson?” Keeve asked.

“ I know Mr. Matheson very well,” Dylan stated, looking right at Rade. “What is this meeting about, Rade?”

Leaning to his side, Rade reached down and pulled a folder from his briefcase. Opening the file, he began passing them each a document with Spectrum’s logo displayed on the top. Taking in their confused expressions, he began his proposal.

“It has come to my attention that I may have been a little hasty in my purchase of Spectrum,” Rade began. “It has also come to my attention that a lot of work and effort was put into determining the financial status of Spectrum. So it is for these reasons that I have come up with a plan that will make RIM Global and BlackStone Industries very happy.”

“What are you trying to say, Rade?” Keeve intervened.

“What I’m trying to say is that I would be willing to share the company, fifty-fifty, at a cost agreeable to both companies. There is, however, one condition,” Rade said, looking between the two men.

“What’s the condition, Rade?” Mason ordered.

“That Ms. Adams be included in the split. Fifteen percent from RIM Global and fifteen percent from BlackStone. She will have the final say in any decisions that would affect the profit or loss of the company. In other words, she would be the financial advisor and every decision would need to go through her first,” Rade smiled as he laid it out for them.

“Wait…? What…?” Dylan stuttered barely able to get her words out.

“The condition of this venture is laid out in front of you. I know this is a shock, but I assure you, once you have read the terms, you will see that this is a win-win situation for all of us.” Smiling, Rade stood and grabbed his briefcase. “I hope you will have an answer for me by the end of the week.”

The men shook hands, while Dylan still sat at the conference desk reviewing the documents. She didn’t know how she felt about the whole thing. On one hand, she was happy that BlackStone was going to be a part of something that would be very profitable for them, but on another, she was angry that Rade made such a ridiculous provision in order for the deal to happen.

Dylan sat for more than two hours looking over the documents in front of her. She tried to find anything she could that would cause BlackStone not to agree to the terms of the contract. There was nothing. Everything in the contract benefited BlackStone more than RIM Global. What Dylan had a hard time understanding was why Rade would do this. There had to be a reason. You just don’t hand over sixty-five percent of a company for no reason. Feeling mentally drained, Dylan decided to call it a day. She wasn’t going to be able to get anything else done anyway.

Keeve and Mason had already left for the day when Dylan got back to her office. Gathering her things, she decided to head out herself. Saying a quick goodbye to Jessica and Lucy, she entered the elevator. It was no surprise that Richard was waiting for her outside her office building. This time he was perched up against the side of the SUV with his arms crossed at his chest. The minute he saw her, he walked to the back passenger door and pulled it open for her. Dylan had no choice but to get in.

Climbing inside and buckling herself in she decide it was time to talk to Rade. “Richard, can you take me to Rade’s instead of my apartment?” she requested.

“Sure thing, Ms. Adams,” Richard acknowledged. Little did she know that he would have taken her there anyway, per Rade’s request.