38. Grayson
38
GRAYSON
M argot and I haven’t spoken since the elevator. Not really, anyway. We’ve exchanged the bare minimum, short, clipped sentences, business-related only. No personal digs. No lingering eye contact. No acknowledgment of the way my chest tightens every time I look at her. But now we have to strategize together. Cassian and Isabella are seated across from us in one of Perfectly Matched’s sleek conference rooms, both of them looking completely unbothered while Margot and I sit on opposite ends of the same table.
Cassian leans back in his chair, arms folded, looking every bit like a man enjoying a show. “So, let me get this straight. Eleanor is trying to boot Grayson, manipulate Margot, and take over the company, while you two are too busy brooding at each other to do anything about it?”
I clench my jaw. “We’re notbrooding.”
Margot crosses her arms. “And wearedoing something about it.”
Isabella, who has been inspecting her nails with mild boredom, finally lifts her head. “Are you, though? Because from where I’m sitting, this is lesspower coupleand moreexes awkwardly forced to work together after a nasty breakup.”
Margot exhales sharply. “We didn’t break up.”
Isabella tilts her head. “Didn’t you?” The room goes silent.
Cassian smirks. “Damn. That was good.”
Margot glares at him. “Would you like to contribute somethinguseful?”
Cassian stretches, looking far too relaxed. “Fine. You need to hit Eleanor fast and hard. She’s already making moves, so unless you want to be playing defense forever, you need to put her on the ropes before she solidifies her position.”
I nod. “Agreed. But we can’t just react to her. We need to anticipate her next step.”
Margot meets my gaze, and for the first time today, we’re actually aligned. She leans forward. “Eleanor thrives on control. She’s calculated. She wouldn’t offer me the CEO position if she didn’t already have a plan in place to phase me out once I served my purpose.”
I nod. “Which means she’s already lining up her real replacement.”
Cassian hums. “So find out who it is and ruin her plan before she can execute it.”
Margot glances at me again. “We need Olivia.”
I grab my phone and call her.
She picks up instantly. “Tell me you have a plan.”
“We’re working on it,” I say. “We need intel. Find out who Eleanor is backing for CEO and where she’s getting her board support from.”
Olivia sighs. “I already havesomenames, but I’ll dig deeper. In the meantime, you should be prepared for another media hit. Eleanor isn’t done yet.”
Margot exhales. “Of course she isn’t.”
Isabella perks up. “Oh! Ilovea good media scandal. Can I leak something?”
Margot and I saynoat the same time.
She pouts. “You two are no fun.”
Cassian chuckles, then turns serious. “What’s the immediate plan?”
Margot straightens. “First, we find out who Eleanor is really backing. Second, we cut her off before she can secure the board’s votes. And third, we control the media narrative before she can.”
Cassian nods. “Good. I’ll call a few people and see what I can shake loose on the business side.”
Isabella sighs dramatically. “Fine. I guess I’ll stay out of trouble. For now.”
I push up from my chair. “Then let’s get to work.”
Margot follows my lead, and as we step into the hallway together, something shifts.
For the first time in days, we’re not justGrayson and Margot, the couple who might not survive this. We’reGrayson and Margot, the team that doesn’t lose, and Eleanor is about to find out exactly what that means.
Later in my office, Margot and I haven’t had a moment alone since the meeting with Cassian and Isabella. Now, we’re standing in my office, surrounded by financial reports and legal documents, but all I can focus on isher. The way she’s biting her lip, deep in thought. The way she keeps tapping her pen against the edge of my desk. The way her hair falls over her shoulder when she leans down to scan the papers in front of her. I should be thinking about strategy. About the company. About Eleanor. But all I can think about isus.
Margot finally exhales, looking up at me. “This is going to get messy.”
I nod. “It already is.”
She hesitates. “You know I didn’t want to keep the truth from you, right?”
I grip the edge of my desk, inhaling slowly. “I know.”
She studies me. “But you’re still mad.”
I meet her gaze. “Yeah.”
She swallows. “Will you ever forgive me?”
I exhale, running a hand through my hair. “I don’t know, Margot.”
She lets out a quiet breath, but I see the hurt in her eyes. And damn it, itkillsme. She nods once, like she’s accepting my answer, even though I know it’s not what she wanted to hear. “Then let’s focus on winning.”
I could leave it at that. I should. But I don’t. I step closer, lowering my voice. “Do you regret it?”
Her breath catches. “Regret what?”
“Not telling me sooner.”
Her fingers tighten around the edge of the desk. “Every second.” That answer shouldn’t affect me the way it does. It shouldn’t make my chest ache. It shouldn’t make me want to pull her against me and erase the space between us. But it does. I reach out, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She stills at my touch, her eyes searching mine, waiting. I want to kiss her. I want to forget, even for just a moment, that everything between us is broken. But I can’t. Not yet. I drop my hand, stepping back. “Then let’s make sure it wasn’t for nothing.”
Margot blinks, like she was expecting something else, maybe something softer, maybe something more, but she just nods.
“Yeah,” she whispers. “Let’s.” And just like that, we go back to pretending. Pretending that Perfectly Matched is the only thing we need to fix. Pretending that we don’t both want something more. Pretending that we aren’t still in love.