Chapter Twenty-One – Cullen
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CULLEN
H ow did everything turn to shit in the span of twelve hours?
I run a hand down my face and stare out the windows in my corner office. The city bustles below me, but all I can think about is one woman.
“Mr. Ross?”
There’s a knock on my door, and I spin around as my assistant slips in and hands me a stack of papers.
“Here are the files you asked for.”
I flip through the first few pages before placing them to the side.
I am conducting some extra research on Clifton Bank after my meeting this morning only brought me more maybes from the man himself.
He is holding out for some reason, and I need to figure out what it is before I can secure the listing.
“Thank you, Amy.”
“Of course. Also, Mr. Hughes is here to see you.”
Great.
“Tell him I’m not here.”
“Too late.” The man in question sidesteps my assistant and waltzes into the room, dropping onto the chair in front of my desk. “You’ve been ignoring my calls all day.”
“I thought you would get the hint.”
“You should be grateful I dragged myself downtown to deal with this mess. You know she had a no contact clause in that agreement.”
I give Amy a nod as she leaves the room and shuts the door behind her. Then I cross my arms and level with Halston.
“I didn’t contact her. She showed up at the same event I was at. I didn’t even initiate the conversation.”
“She’s saying you went there on purpose and caused her severe emotional distress.”
“I have the invitation to prove I was invited.”
“An invitation that shows her company would be there.”
“Why do I pay you if you can’t even fight such a baseless claim?”
“I never said it wasn’t already dealt with.” Halston nonchalantly leans back in the chair.
Ass.
“Then why are you here?”
“To remind you that her contract terms still have four days until they hit the requirement. It’s clear that she is going to look for any possible violation until the very last second.”
“We already knew she would do that.”
“But now it’s worse because you got into a public fighting match with her.”
“Which is, again, why I pay you a lot of money.”
H only seemed fitting if I did the same.”
She plops down into the same chair Halston had been in not even twenty minutes ago, her hair in one of those messy buns she always wears when baking.
“Did you bring me something?”
I spot the logo on the white paper bag she carried in along with her tote.
“No, I brought Verity something.”
Fuck.
Chloe’s eyes narrow, and she gets that suspicious look that makes her a mirror of our mother.
“What did you do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your face did that thing.”
“What thing?”
“That thing it does when something’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
“Really? You just forgot to tell me that Verity worked for Celine?”
“I only just found out—which you should know since I’m guessing Bridget told you and she was with me.”
Her lips press together, confirming my guess.
I’m surprised she didn’t show up sooner. I figured Bridget would’ve texted her the moment we left the event. But Chloe does have her own life now, and a thriving business alongside it. She’s busier than me these days, with her shop blowing up on social media.
“I’m not letting this go. Something’s off. You were all smiley the other day when I met her.”
Unfortunately, she’s still my nosy little sister at heart, even with her hectic schedule.
“Everything’s fine. Just a small hiccup.”
“Cullen, please don’t tell me she dumped you already.”
“A hiccup.”
“Oh my God. I was joking. Are you serious?”
Maybe her showing up is a good thing. Chloe might have some ideas. It’s not like I’m going to call up Rafe and ask for his advice.
“Yes, she broke up with me after Jace’s event.”
“Why? What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything. It was Celine.”
Chloe’s hackles raise, her mood souring.
Funnily enough, Chloe is the only person who never liked Celine. Even Rafe had liked her at the start. But Chloe? She’d always stuck her ground. Even in the beginning, when things were good, she’d given Celine the cold shoulder.
“Why does that woman ruin everything she touches?”
“Her profile piece in The Alternate says otherwise.”
The article went live this morning with images from Saturday’s event, applauding Celine yet again for the upward trajectory of her business and the innovation she instills in the design space.
“Seriously, what happened?”
“Verity found out that Celine and I were married, and she freaked out. She called it off right there; said if Celine found out, she’d be fired.”
“That’d be wrongful termination.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Although, I wouldn’t put it past Celine to fabricate something to create a legitimate reason to fire her. She’s vindictive as all hell.”
And that right there is what had scared Verity so much.
She said she’d worked at Delute Designs for three years. Celine has a small company and runs a tight ship. Verity would have a pretty solid grasp at this point on what makes Celine tick.
“Which is precisely the issue.”
Chloe lets out a deep sigh, giving the donuts she brought a mournful look. “So, what? That’s it. Celine wins again?”
“Celine hasn’t won. I’m not letting Verity go.”
“You’re not?”
“No.”
“Good, because I like her.” Chloe smiles, clasping her hands together. “I had this feeling she could be the one.”
“You met her for five seconds.”
“And I’m a very good judge of character. It’s like my sixth sense, you know this. I can tell if the energy is off the moment I meet a person. There was nothing negative coming from her.”
“You’re right, you’re right.”
“So, what’s the game plan. How are you going to woo her?”
“I don’t really have a plan.”
“Cullen, you need a plan. You can’t just wing something this important.”
“I wasn’t going to wing it.” I give her a saccharine smile. “I was going to have you help me, darling sister.”
“Oh really, were you?” Her brow raises. “And when did you decide that?”
“The second you walked in.” I reach my arm across the desk and hold my hand out to Chloe. “What do you say? Want to help me win back my girlfriend?”
She slips her hand into mine.
“You bet.”