~Riccardo's POV~
"That son of a bitch—"
I stopped myself when I realized I hadn't been lamenting in my head. Turning towards the few who had seen me, I offered a calm smile before walking straight for my office. I should have known that Thomas Brown would be this petty. Buying out my company sponsors and sabotaging my business deals. Vance holdings had called off the agreement we had earlier, claiming that they had found a better dealership with Skye Industries.
The news had definitely left me stunned, but I couldn't exactly say I was surprised. I expected Thomas to retaliate in some way after last night's fiesta, but I didn't expect he'd be making a move so soon.
By the time I reached my office, my pulse was pounding in my ears. I slammed the door shut, the sound echoing through the empty room, and dragged a hand through my hair before collapsing into the chair behind my desk.
That son of a bitch! I cursed once more before letting out a deep breath.
My eyes drifted to the drawer on my right. It was right there, all I needed to make Skye industries tumble. All it would take was one click, upload it to the press, send it to a journalist, leak it anonymously. The world would see the real Thomas Brown. His empire would crumble, his name dragged through the mud, every sponsor he stole from me would come crawling back.
I reached for the drawer, my pulse still ringing loud in my ear. My hatred for that man was a lot more than I had imagined, and the thought of destroying everything he stood for was slowly consuming me. But what of Anne?
I stopped, the rage in my guts slowly simmering away. I could blur her face out, but it wouldn't take long for the public to put two and two together and drag into all of this madness. But then again why did I care so much? This wouldn't be the worst thing I'd done for my business, so why did it bother me so much that one person's life would be destroyed for the sake of hundreds? If I lost my business because of Thomas's actions, hundreds of people would lose their jobs, was that worth risking for just one person?
I let out a harsh breath and pushed back from the desk, gripping the edge until my knuckles whitened. "Damn it," I muttered under my breath.
"Is something the matter, sir?"
I was jolted back to reality by Anne's voice. How long had she been standing there? Watching me act out of character…
I turned towards her and forced a smile, unsure if I wanted to tell her the truth or not. I wanted to keep her ex husband out of our conversations as much as possible, but it seemed that wasn't going to be possible anymore. The man was clearly trying to ruin my life and business, and as an employee I owed her the truth.
"Thomas Brown clearly wants me out of the map. He's making a move on our sponsors, and he's taking them away faster than I had realized."
I watched her stiffen for a second, her eyes doing everything it could to avoid mine. I couldn't read what was on her mind, but it was clear to me that she felt guilt, and wasn't comfortable.
"I don't know why I told you any of this, it has nothing to do with you, so don't you bother about anything."
But Anne knew I was lying. She was smart enough to recognize that I was just trying to comfort her, and she was also smart enough to figure out that this had probably happened because of everything that went down at the party last night.
Anne's lips parted like she wanted to speak but couldn't quite find the words. She stared at the floor for a long second before finally finding the words she wanted. "Maybe… maybe it would be better if I transferred to another company."
My brows shot up immediately. What on earth was she trying to say?!
She wouldn't even look at me. "I don't want to be the reason your business falls apart, Riccardo. If Thomas is targeting you because of me, then it's better I leave. It's the least I can do—"
"Stop." My voice came out sharper than I intended, cutting through her words. I stood before I even realized it, palms pressed to the desk. "You're not going anywhere, Anne."
Her head snapped up, my desperation had probably seeped out more than I had intended, and that had surprised her.
"Even if you transferred, do you honestly think Thomas would stop?" I asked, stepping around the desk. "My company is a threat to him. Whether you're here or not, Thomas will always have his sight set on me. You leaving won't change that."
"But—"
"No." I closed the distance between us, one step at a time, until she had to tilt her head up to meet my gaze. "He's already made his move, and I'm not about to lose more because of him. I want you here."
Her breath hitched, and the tension in the room immediately skyrocketed. The air felt charged as I inched even closer to her. She opened her mouth to protest again, but I lifted my hand before she could. My fingers brushed against her cheek, tracing the delicate outline of her face. Her skin was soft—too soft for someone who'd endured what she had.
"Riccardo…" she breathed anxiously. Her hands raised, resting on my chest while she battled if she wanted this or not.
I leaned in slowly, close enough to feel the warmth of her breath ghosting against my lips. For the first time in hours, the anger that had been twisting in my chest eased, now replaced by a hunger that I hadn't felt in a long while.
And then, before our lips could connect, the door swung open with a loud thud.
"Riccardo!"