“Okay, guys,” Trace said while checking his watch. “It’s time. Cora, are you coming on the helicopter with us?”
“No, I’ll take cross-town traffic today, thank you.” My smile dropped a notch, remembering what awaited me. “I think it might make things worse if I show up at Margulis in a Fairchild helicopter.”
“You’re probably right.” Axel’s hand settled in the small of my back, drawing me closer to him. “Let me at least send you in my car, though.”
I smiled up at him, much closer to his lips thanks to my heels. I gave him a quick peck. “Thank you.”
Once the brothers had said their goodbyes and headed up to the helipad to leave for their meeting in the Hamptons, I took the private elevator to the ground floor. The Escalade awaited me outside, blinkers flashing.
“Hi, Harry,” I said as I slipped into the backseat. He sent me a warm smile. He was dressed as always in his black hat and coat with the silver buttons.
“Good to see you again, Cora.”
“I feel the same way,” I told him, allowing myself to dream about what it might feel like if this were my actual, regular reality instead of a one-off that had the potential to detonate my life.
It was time to decide what I wanted. I wanted out of my marriage—that much was certain—but I wasn’t sure beyond that. The future I pined for—freedom from the Margulis machine—seemed unattainable. I could envision life away from Margulis, but no maps showed how to get there. The only path forward seemed to be to throw the road map away and just jump headfirst into the abyss.
Was I ready for that?
I couldn’t answer that question yet. But I trusted I would be able to soon. I drew a deep breath as Harry pulled up in front of the Margulis building and I returned to that world of anxiety and roses. I was barely ten steps into the executive office suite when my phone buzzed with a message.
ALLAN: See me in my office. Urgent.
My stomach pitched to the floor, and I looked around guiltily, as though everyone might somehow know what was going on. Only a few pairs of eyes flitted my way. I assumed that the employees of our business at least suspected how little I cared for Eli, even though we’d put on a decent show over the years. But there was no way they could know what had happened at the hotel room. Most of them probably had no idea I’d even moved out from the brownstone on the Upper West Side, even though I felt like the truth was visible to the world, like a bright shawl over my outfit.
I counted the steps to my father’s office, trying to rally my neutrality, my stoniness. The immediate summons wasn’t good. But I was ready to confront whatever came my way. Because finally, I had ammunition.
For however doubtful I felt about my path, I knew that staying with Eli was impossible. Nobody in their right mind could expect me to stay.
“Hey, Brooke,” I called out to my father’s receptionist as I breezed past her desk. “I’m going in for a last-minute meeting.”
I didn’t hear her reply as I pushed open the door to my father’s office. His expansive suite greeted me, the immense wall of windows the first thing to catch my attention. But I didn’t spare the Manhattan morning a second glance as I focused my attention on my father.
He sat behind his desk, looking somber, already facing me as though I’d entered the room minutes ago.
He’d been waiting.
“Morning,” I said, not bothering to inject any enthusiasm into my voice. “What’s on the agenda?”
“Sit down.”
I ignored the slow thump of my heart that served as a warning signal. He’d always been good at unbalancing the competition, the enemy, whoever it was on the other end of the negotiations. And with him, everything was a negotiation.
I suppressed a sigh as I settled into the leather armchair facing his desk. He cleared his throat, the flecks of gray hair at his temples moving as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. Even as he prepared to step down from his position as CEO, he was formidable.
“I’ve caught wind that you spent the weekend on Fairchild property,” he said in a low, threatening voice.
I swallowed hard, making sure to keep my gaze steady. “I did.”
“In fact, I’ve heard a lot of worrying information regarding you from Eli lately.”
I hefted with a humorless laugh. “Have you?”
My father dipped his chin. “What is going on?”
I knew better than to think he was asking about my wellbeing. No, this was a business meeting, pure and simple. Emotions weren’t to be considered. This was all about strategy.
“I’m preparing to exit my marriage,” I told him, hoping the words came out as steel-edged as I intended.