Take Me: The Complete Series (Power Play #1-4) (31 page)

“We’re all professionals here, so I’m going to come straight to the point. My clients are interested in buying BMG, but their interest is contingent on a couple critical points…”

Declan gives a frustrated shake of his head.

“What critical points? This is the first I’m hearing anything about this.”

“It wasn’t brought up before because it wasn’t important until you contacted us this weekend, wishing to expedite the sale.”

“Well… what is it?”

Annabelle holds the soft little smile she’s giving him for another moment before she turns to face me. Her green eyes are kind, but penetrating at the same time. Nervous cold washes over me when she starts talking.

“Ms. Barnes, your father started this company, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You probably don’t know this about me, yet, but I represent the people that are interested in purchasing BMG. They’ve heard your story, and they like it. Frankly, they think it would make for some good publicity…”

I give her a soft smile, not exactly sure what else she might be looking for.

“Thanks.”

Declan’s face is beet red. He makes an annoyed gesture with his hands when he speaks.

“Yes, yes, it’s a sweet story and all, but what does this have to do with anything?”

Annabelle’s soft eyes instantly harden as she shoots him a dangerous look. Declan is caught off guard by the strong display from the slight woman, and he immediately settles back into his seat as though he’s just been reprimanded. She holds the glare for a moment longer before turning to face me, again.

“I’ll cut to the point.” Her smile widens a bit. “My clients are interested in purchasing your father’s company, but only if you’re going to be there to head it up. They see a future in the business you have here, driven by the story of the girl who lost her father, and came back to pick up where he left off.”

The world stills around me when I realize what she’s saying. My heart and head go into overdrive as they race to piece everything together. But I don’t get to think about it for long before my thoughts are interrupted.

“She doesn’t even work here, anymore! She tendered her resignation this morning!”

Declan’s outburst comes as a surprise to us both. Annabelle and I both look at him, shocked. The outrage is plain on his face.

“I don’t know what this is all about, but it’s irrelevant since Hannah no longer works at BMG.”

He gives Annabelle a hard stare. He’s not used to surprises, and he doesn’t take very well to them. It’s obvious that what Annabelle just shared caught him by surprise.

Annabelle gives me a confused look.

“Is that true?”

“Yes,” I say, nodding. “It’s like he said, I tendered my resignation just this morning.”

“Why would you do that?”

I hesitate for a second. Declan spins his chair to face me head-on, giving me a hard look as he does. My back stiffens a little, but I won’t let him intimidate me.

I consider telling the whole truth, about how he’s been hiding things from me, about how he’s used me, about how he’s done secret dealings to gain control of the company behind my back… but I don’t. While all of those things are true, they aren’t really all that important, anymore. Those aren’t the real reasons I decided to leave BMG.

“I just… I realized that this isn’t the place for me. I realized that I started working here for the wrong reasons, and that I need to find something in this world that I can make my own.”

Annabelle’s outlook brightens after I finish.

“Then I guess this is the perfect opportunity for you…”

I frown.

“What do you mean?”

“Ms. Barnes… Hannah… my clients want to put you in control of the company. They want you to head up the day-to-day operations here. They see a bright future for BMG, despite everything going on in the economy. Isn’t that exactly what you said you want? Something of your own?”

I open my mouth to speak, but Declan is quick to cut me off.

“This is fucking insane. You can’t seriously tell me that they’re planning on putting
Hannah
in charge of this place… She doesn’t have
any
experience!”

For the first time, annoyance flashes across Annabelle’s face.

“I assure you,
Mr. Cross
, that is exactly what they intend. They are very successful, and know exactly what they’re doing.”

“It doesn’t matter, anyways. She’s already made up her mind—she’s left the company and she’s moving on to something else.”

“I’m sure Ms. Barnes is quite capable of speaking for herself…”

My heart skips a beat when they both direct their still-heated stares at me.

“You want me to make a decision right now?” I say, feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the whole situation.

“You see what I mean? She can’t even compose herself!”

Anger flares inside of me, pushing all of the overwhelmed feelings away. I give Declan a hard glare, a million different things to say racing through my mind at the same time.

“I’ll speak for myself, thank you very much,” I spit at him. The words come out tight and harsh. “I’m done letting you be any part of my life. You don’t get to be a part of anything I do from now on. I’ll make whatever decision I want to make…”

I hold the glare for a long moment. His mouth is agape, furious, but he remains silent. A little thrill of satisfaction goes through me. When I turn back to Annabelle, she’s looking at me in a new, appreciative way. She gives me an approving nod.

“Unfortunately, I do need to leave here with some kind of answer,” she says. “If you’ve decided to leave the company then I’ll need to inform my clients right away.”

“And what happens if I walk away?”

She gives a tiny shrug of her shoulders.

“I can’t speak for them, but I have a feeling that if you’re not attached, they won’t be interested.”

Declan looks like he’s about to burst out with something else, again. Annabelle and I both shoot him hard looks, silencing him before he can say anything.

I swallow hard.

If I walk away, the company won’t be sold and it will still remain BMG. And if I stay, Declan will choose to sell it off anyways so he can cash out. But then I’ll be running the company… even if someone else owns it.

Isn’t that what I always wanted? To run BMG? Isn’t that everything that I’ve been working towards since Daddy died? It’s being offered to me on a silver platter, all I have to do is agree to the terms.

Another thought crosses my mind.
 

“I can’t do it.”

Annabelle frowns.

“You can’t do it? We’re offering to put you in charge of your father’s company and you’re going to walk away from it?” I hesitate for a second, but then give her an assured nod. Her frown deepens into curiosity. “Can I ask why?”

A tiny smile creeps across my face as I think about Isaac.

“There are some other things in my life that are more important, right now.”

She studies me for a second, then her brow rises as she understands exactly what I’m talking about. The corners of her lips tug up in the slightest way.

“Well, whatever it is must be pretty important…”

“It is,” I confirm.

With a loud sigh, Declan shoots out of his chair. He glares down at both of us while buttoning his jacket.

“Well, this was a big fucking waste of my time,” he says. “I’ll be contacting your clients directly tomorrow to let them know everything that has gone on here… This isn’t over.”

Annabelle fixes him with a curt smile.

“Be my guest.”

He glares at her one more time before sweeping out of the room. After the door shuts behind him, Annabelle turns back to me. She seems to sink back into her chair, as though releasing the professional facade she was wearing in front of Declan.

“I have to say, I’m surprised by your decision…”

I give her a confused look.

“Why’s that?”

“When I spoke to Drake, he seemed to be under the impression that you’d never let anything come between you and this place.”

My stomach twists in on itself when she mentions Isaac. Did he know that Annabelle was going to be here? Was this another thing that he was keeping from me all this time?

“Did he know about this?” I ask.

Annabelle gives a quick shake of her head.

“My clients value their privacy. He has no idea that I’m in town to handle the BMG acquisition.”

I let out a long breath as a flood of relief washes over me.

“So you two were talking about me?”

Her face spreads into a big smile.

“He’s quite taken with you. It’s hard to get him to talk about anything else…”

“What all did he say?” The question comes out before I can stop it.

“Trust me, you don’t have anything to worry about. He thinks the world of you.” Her eyes narrow a little as she gives me a curious look. “Did Drake tell you about me?”

My stomach twists even harder on itself.

“Yes. He told me everything.”

“Oh, good. Then you know you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Things between he and I have been over and done with for a long time. He’s more like a big brother to me now, than anything else.”

“That’s good to hear.”

And it really is. Isaac had already told me the same things, but it was nice to hear them from the other side, too.

“Look, I know it’s probably none of my business, but I’ve known Drake for a long time…” She pauses for a moment, considering her words. “I’ve never seen him as happy as he was the other night. I’ve never seen him light up the way he does when he’s talking about you.”

A wide smile spreads across my face.

“Thank you, that’s good to hear. I think the world of him, too.”

“I sure hope so. You’re walking away from a lot…”

I give a tiny shake of my head.

“I might be walking away from a lot, but I’m walking toward so much more.”

“So, I had a little run in with your friend Annabelle, today…”

I flash Isaac a cocky grin. I have to bite back a laugh as his eyes widen in shock.

“You didn’t do something to her, did you?” he asks, his voice concerned. “Bloody hell, Hannah, I told you there’s nothing going on there!”

Finally, I’m unable to keep it in, anymore. I belt out a laugh, throwing my arms around his neck. The confused look on his face is priceless.

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything like that.”

“Bollocks, you know how to make a man sweat. What happened?”

“She was at the office. Talking with Declan.”

If he looked surprised earlier, now he’s completely beside himself. I give him another teasing smile, but this time he doesn’t fall for it. His brow creases, suspiciously, as his eyes narrow.

“You’re just having a laugh, aren’t you? Poking fun at my expense?”

“No, I really did see her. Apparently she’s the one that was handling the BMG acquisition.”

“What are you on about?” he asks.

I tell him about everything that happened in the boardroom. I tell him about how Annabelle said her clients were only interested in the company if I was a part of the deal, and I told him how Declan completely flipped his shit when he found out.

“So, if they said the deal was only on if you were a part of it, does that mean…”

He gives me a concerned look.
 

I pinch my lips in a nervous, excited smile. But instead of giving him a direct answer, I pull him into a kiss.

My lips buzz when they feel him press against me. Warmth spreads down through my body. Every part of me is excited about whatever is going to come next for us. Not just tonight, but also whatever will happen tomorrow. And the day after that…

“We’re really doing this then?” Isaac asks.

“We’re really doing this.”

The lurch I feel in his tight jeans is all I need to know just how excited that news makes him.

“Hannah, I love you. You’re not going to regret this. The world is so much bigger than this little city. We’re going to experience all of it, together...”

I let out another laugh.

“I’m not sure that anyone has ever called New York City
little
.”

“Just wait, you’ll see. It’s little in so many ways. There’s so much you have to see.”

“I can’t wait.”

He leans down and presses another deep kiss against my lips. That same buzzing sensation runs all the way down to my toes, and another wave of heat follows closely behind it. This kiss lasts longer than the one before it, and before long I find myself crawling into his arms, I feel the bulge of his crotch as it presses into my jeans.

Isaac scoops me into his arms and carries me back to the master bedroom in his suite. For the first time ever there aren’t fifty things plaguing my thoughts as he lays me on the bed. For the first time, I’m able to really give him all of me.

Tonight, it’s just the two of us.

“You’re leaving
tomorrow
?”

Tawny’s eyes bulge out of her head. She looks between me and the half-packed luggage sitting next to her on the bed.

“Yep! And I can’t wait!”

I hold up two different summer dresses for her to compare. She scrunches her nose at me, but points at the one in my left hand. I give a decidedly approving nod and lay it on the bed next to the luggage.

“I’m so happy for you. It’s all happening so fast!”

“Tell me about it. I can hardly believe it, myself.”

“So you two are just going to jump in a plane and take off for London?”

“That’s where the ticket says we’re going.”

“And then what?”

I give her a shrug.

“Who knows...”

“Doesn’t it drive you crazy not knowing what you’re going to be doing? That is so unlike you.”

“Tell me about it. But I’m tired of knowing everything that is going on in my life. I’m tired of having everything planned out. It’s time that I cut loose a little and just fly by the seat of my pants.”

The grin on her face gets even wider.

“I’m so happy for you... And so jealous.”

I give her a look.

“Well thanks, but you don’t have to be jealous. Don’t you have something going with Calvin, still?”

She scowls and waves her hand, dismissively.