Silver and Chrome: A Bad Boy MC Romance (25 page)

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX

SEBASTIAN

Dear Sebastian,

I’m
so sorry. I just can’t do it. I can’t be the cause of you losing everything. Edward
is my fault. I brought him into your life, and only I can get him out. There’s
no other way to be sure. I’m so sorry. I hate leaving this way, but I now
you’ll try to talk me out of it, and I’m afraid you’d succeed. But we both know
this is the only decision that makes sense.

Love,

Eve

I
watch as my hand crushes the paper in my fist, obscuring the words that I’ve
read so many times I’ve committed them to memory. My rage is no less feverish
than the first time I read it five minutes ago, the only difference is the
shock of Evelyn’s decision has finally sunk in. What the fuck is she thinking?

I’m
still standing in her office, almost as if I’m lost, which is actually how I
feel for probably the first time in my life. I had only come to find her after
she had taken so long in returning from going to the bathroom. I just wanted to
see if she was all right. I never expected this.

The
first thing I do when I finally regain my ability to think is try calling her
cell to talk some sense to her. As soon as I hear the ringing start on the
other end of the phone, I also hear it coming from her desk. Her phone is
inside her drawer, put there intentionally, I’m sure. She is serious about not
wanting me to try and talk her out of it. My knees feel weak as I sink down
onto her chair, a pit of cold dread beginning to grow in the center of my
stomach.

It
can’t end like this. A few weeks ago, I would have thought that I could go on
alone forever, but now the mere thought of it makes me dizzy. Somehow, this
woman has weaved her way into my life so tightly that I can’t even imagine
doing anything without her. Things that seemed like they were my whole world
last month now look hollow and empty if I have to continue doing them without
Eve by my side.

But
she’s right; we’re out of options. I don’t know whether I’ll have enough votes
to stop Edward’s takeover, and there’s more than just my position at Piston at
stake. A man like Edward will tear the heart out of the company and thousands
will be out of work before the year is out. Even if I’m willing to let that
happen to me, how can I let it happen to all of them?

I
pick up my phone again and dial Hans’ office. Beverly answers, but I cut her
off before she can say two word. “I need Hans now, Beverly. You need to find
him immediately.”

“Oh,
actually, he just walked in two minutes go. I was—”

I’m
already headed for his office before I even hang up on her. He’s not getting
away from me this time. I need some answers.

“Mr.
Redding, I think we got cut off. I was—”

I
ignore her and yank open Hans’ door, walking in and slamming it shut again on
his secretary. This talk needs to be private, and I think that was a big enough
hint.

Hans
is sitting in his worn, red, leather chair and reading something on his
computer as I stride in. He looks up in surprise, his eyes widening at the
suddenness of my intrusion, but he knows better than to question me—especially
when I’m in a bad mood. And I know he can tell I’m in a bad mood.

“Sebastian?
What’s wrong?”

“Where
the fuck have you been?”

“Excuse
me?”

“I’ve
been trying to reach you all goddamn weekend, all fucking day, and you go
fucking AWOL on me now? When the entire company is at risk? You picked a
fucking hell of a time to take some personal days.” I throw his own words from
the other day back at him.

I
can see the anger rising as Hans’ cheeks redden. He stands, the backs of his
knees forcing the chair behind him to slide backwards on its wheels until it
bumps into the window behind him. “I don’t know what your issue is, Redding,
but I don’t see how my not being here makes a lick of difference. Unless you’ve
somehow come up with some miraculous plan-”

“I
just need your shares, Hans,” I say, struggling to keep a lid on my anger. Hans
knows that I own Piston, but it’s not like he’s simply a figurehead. He adds
value to the company, aside from being the public face and keeping the heat off
of me. But sometimes he needs a reminder of who is really in charge, and if I
have to listen to him make excuses he’s likely to get more than a reminder
about that.

“Excuse
me?”

“Your
shares. I don’t know what the hell you’ve been doing this weekend, but I was
working on saving this place.”

“What
makes you think it needs saving?”

Now
it’s my turn to be surprised. “Excuse me?”

“The
offer being made for the shares is a strong one. Shareholders see value in it,
and that’s why they’re selling. We’ve missed a key deal, Sebastian. We’re going
to miss the quarter. Maybe it’s time to let someone else run this ship.”

“What
the fuck are you talking about? You have no idea who is trying to take this
place over, do you? Well, I’ll tell you. Edward Stonewall.” The shocked look on
Hans’ face assures me that he knows who I’m talking about. “That’s right. And
I’m sure you know as well as I do that Edward doesn’t buy companies like this
one so that he can run a new business and send out fat Christmas bonuses. He’ll
gut this place, sell it for parts, and you, me, and everyone else will be out
of a job before the year is done.”

“How
do you know this?” Hans looks angry now, which surprises me. Perhaps the idea
of Edward tearing this place apart has finally struck a nerve with him. Good.

“I
spoke with Stonewall himself. The man is a twisted fuck, obsessed with my
assistant, Evelyn. She was his assistant before, and they were involved. When
she left, he went crazy and has been trying to get her back ever since. He
called us into his office last week and basically told us that he’ll call the
whole buyout off if Evelyn goes back to him. Obviously, that’s ridiculous. The man
is a psychopath and she wants nothing to do with him. But he said that if she
didn’t go back to him, and not just as an assistant, then he’d buy this place
out and sell it off for parts.”

“That
can’t be…” Hans looks more shocked and upset than I thought he would. Perhaps I
misjudged him after all. Maybe he’s interested in more than just money and how
much his shares could fetch from the buyout. I’m starting to feel optimistic
now. With Hans’ shares, the only thing we have to deal with is the potential
fallout from the exposure of my involvement with the MC, but surely there’s a
way out of that. I left it out of what I told Hans on purpose, but if I have to
bring him in on that in order to figure out how to save the company, I will.
He’ll find out soon enough anyway, when it goes public.

“It
is. And I just got a note from Evelyn saying that she didn’t want to be the
reason that this company is destroyed, so she’s going back to him. But we can’t
let that happen. I spent the weekend talking to some of our biggest investors,
getting their support, but I didn’t get enough. But if we add your shares to
block, we should have enough to stop this takeover.”

“No!
That isn’t right!” Hans’ shock seems to have turned to anger now, which seems a
bit delayed given that I just explained that we can block Evelyn from having to
go over to him after all.

“I
know, he’s a complete asshole, and trust me, he’s going to fucking get what’s
coming to him if I have anything to say about it. But that can wait until all
this is done. For now, I can—”

“This
isn’t how this was supposed to go down at all!” Hans is beet red now, his fist
clenched around an empty mug that he picked up from his desk, and before I know
it, he’s thrown it violently across the room, where it shatters with an echoing
crash.

“What
the fuck, Hans?”

“That
fucking lying, two-faced son of a bitch!”

“Who?”

“Edward,
you fucking fool.”

I
stare at Hans as the man looks as though he’s about to have an aneurysm, I
don’t even react to the name calling. “Yes, he is all of those things. But
don’t you get it? We can shut this down, with your shares and—”

“Edward
already has my shares, you idiot!” Hans is livid now, pacing the office as he
rants. “He’s a lying sack of shit. This was never the plan. He was supposed to
take over the company and then hand it to me to turn around. This was supposed
to be my time…”

The
realization of what Hans is saying hits me like a ton of bricks, and it totally
makes sense. He’s been in on it the whole time. That’s where Edward got his
information. Hans wasn’t happy having to run his decisions through me, having
me veto or argue with him over things I didn’t agree with. He wanted to cut me
out entirely. Who knows how long he’s been feeling this way? Hell, maybe the
whole issue with Velocity was his fault. I sure as hell don’t think he did
anything to fix it when he went to Germany. I stare at the man as he continues
to pace, still seemingly oblivious in his anger about what he’s admitting to,
or past the point of caring. My own anger is instantaneous, though.

“I
thought he was a brilliant businessman. What fucking sense does it make to give
up this whole deal and the millions he’d earn from it for just a stupid secretary?
I don’t care how good of a cock she can suck, there’s no—”

His
mouth finally stops as my fist connects with it, sending him toppling over his
desk and onto the floor. Hans rolls onto his back to stare up at me. I can’t
tell if the shock on his face is because I just hit him, or because he is
finally realizing just what he was saying and to who. His lip is bleeding, but
he doesn’t seem to notice. I want to make a lot more of him bleed.

“This
was your plan?” The words are hard to push out through my clenched jaw.

Finally,
it seems as though Hans has realized he’s said far too much already. His mouth
opens, and then closes quickly.

“What?
Done talking?” I’m practically spitting the words out as I approach to stand
over the man—the man I once thought of as a decent fucking guy. Maybe not a
friend, but not someone who’d ever backstab me. Not like this. It only
satisfies me slightly to see him visibly wince and shrink back. I have no idea
if Edward told him about my involvement in the MC, but he’s afraid of me now regardless,
and that’s the way I want it.

“That’s
okay, I think I can fill in the blanks. Get up, you piece of shit.”

Hans
scrambles to his feet, but keeps his distance as I glare at him. “So, Edward
approached you with an offer to make you CEO in exchange for your help and your
shares, but he double-crossed you. He never had any intention of giving you the
company. His whole plan was always to try and get Evelyn back, and if that
failed, he was going to destroy Piston in retaliation. He played you for a
fucking fool.” My words are quiet now, the rage inside of me is simmering but I
have to keep a lid on it. I’m mad at Hans’ betrayal, but the truth is that
Edward would have found a way to do what he’s done with or without Hans. All he
did was show me my CEO’s true colors.

“You’re
fired.”

Former
CEO.

“Be
out of here in five minutes, or security will haul your ass out. Whatever
happens to this company, you’re not part of it anymore.” Technically, I need
the board to back my decision on this, but we both know that would come as soon
as I let them know what he’s been up to behind our backs.

The
older man just stares at me. The blood on his lip is dripping down his chin now,
but he still seems not to even notice. Behind his eyes I can almost see the
wheels turning as he contemplates how colossally he’s fucked everything up. He’s
likely considering how, regardless what happens with Piston, when this is all
over the whole industry will hear about his betrayal and there won’t be a
company worth a dime that will take a chance on hiring a fucking turncoat like
him. He’s right. I’ll make sure it happens.

Without
another word, I pull open the door. Beverley is standing there, and probably
has been since I went in. As soon as I walk by she looks past me and gasps at
the sight of her boss. “Oh my goodness, Hans, your face! Let me get the First
Aid kit. What happened in there? I heard a crash, but…”