Chapter Ten
COLTON
I’d always been aware of my strengths and weaknesses.
I dedicated myself to things that relied solely upon my strengths, and that was one of the reasons I was so successful at everything I did.
While working with Zoey, I started to realize that my team had always been left to pick up the pieces when it came to my biggest weakness: organization.
I already had a much clearer overview of my inbox.
Zoey insisted that the most efficient way to deal with the emails was to open and read a message and immediately decide what to do with it versus letting them pile up.
That had been my modus operandi for years, and the truth was, I never circled back.
Emails remained at the bottom of my inbox, and someone else picked up the slack.
Today I managed my inbox in the morning.
The one area where I wasn’t making headway with delegating was with lab work. My team of scientists had been begging me for years to delegate more to them, but I just couldn’t.
After yet another meeting, I looked at Maddox’s email again. I hadn’t read Dad’s actual message.
Hey, guys, I'm forwarding this email I got from Dad. I haven't spoken to him in years, so I'm not sure why he’s contacting me at all. As is obvious from the text, he needs financial help. I haven't replied yet, and I think we should decide together how to react to this.
I minimized the message, intending to completely ignore the situation and just go about my work. My brothers would figure out what to do about it. The less I saw or heard, the better. I couldn't care less what they decided.
Ten minutes later, I could no longer ignore it. Damn it, I wanted to know what this was about. How the hell did he even dare to write to any of us, asking for help? And why didn’t Maddox simply delete his email?
I knew I was being unreasonable. Maddox had actually handled this well. It was a mark of loyalty to the family that he hadn't dealt with this behind our backs. Instead, he wanted us all to know about it and decide together.
So Maddox hadn't spoken to him in years. That was good to know. I'd always wondered if my half brothers were still in touch with him. I scrolled to see what he wanted.
Hi, Maddox.
This is Dad. I know I haven't reached out in a long time. I wasn't sure if any of you wanted to hear from me at all. You all knew more or less where I was. My business profile is online. I assume that since no one contacted me, you all didn't want anything to do with me.
How the fuck did he dare give Maddox shit to make him feel guilty for not keeping in contact? He’d ruined both our families.
Recently, I've attempted a business venture of my own.
Unfortunately, it failed, and I've gone into quite a bit of debt.
Now, I know all of you are doing well, and it pains me to ask for help.
I've exhausted all other options, and this is my last resort. Here is my phone number in case you would like to hear more about this. I’ll be waiting for your call.
Father
I immediately deleted the email. Why the fuck hadn't I done that in the first place? Rage built inside me, thrumming through my chest and in my veins. My airways felt obstructed, making it difficult to take a deep breath.
The nerve of him!
I pushed my chair back, getting up and turning to look out the window at the city. The view usually grounded me. It was the quickest way for me to get out of my head, out of my thoughts. Not right now, though.
He'd attempted to build a business again.
Had he really not learned anything from the mess he made at Whitley Industries?
We were doing well now, but no thanks to him.
In fact, we were doing well despite him.
He'd left these companies in shambles, and it had taken a lot of effort over the years to bring them back on track and turning a healthy profit.
He'd all but destroyed our legacy, and now he wanted money? This was the most insane thing I’d ever heard. I'd never help him, not in a million years, and my brothers had better not either. We didn't want to open that door for him to be in our lives.
I turned my back to the window, glancing at my desk.
There were a ton of things I wanted to get through today.
I wanted to get back to my finance team, and I had to pull myself together.
I sat down, staring at my computer screen, and immediately realized it was no use.
I needed to get my mind off this and get in the ring.
Heading out of the office, I stopped by Darla’s desk.
"Hey, Colton, we need to change your calendar a bit," she started.
"We'll talk about it later," I said. “I’m heading out.”
"Oh. Oh, right." She frowned, looking at the calendar. "But you’ve still got a few meetings today.”
"Cancel tem. I'm going to the boxing ring."
She just nodded. Everyone knew if I canceled a meeting to go to the ring, then shit had hit the fan. They also knew I wasn't to be bothered with phone calls when I was boxing. Darla was a champ for keeping everyone at bay. "All right, consider everything canceled."
"Great. I appreciate that."
ZOEY
It was six o’clock by the time I finalized everything for the electronic signature. If I got Colton’s actual signature before seven o'clock, I could even wrap it up today. Grabbing my iPad, I hurried to his office, but he wasn't there.
Strange. I checked his calendar. He didn't have any meetings scheduled.
I texted him quickly.
Zoey: Hey, where are you? I just need two minutes to get your signature, and then I can finalize the digital signature process.
I waited for a few minutes before checking the phone again. Not only hadn't he answered, but he hadn't even seen it.
Damn it. I really wanted to make this happen today.
I decided to ask his assistant where he was. She had her own office right next to his, and I knocked at the open door. Darla was in her fifties with a straight bob. Her hair was jet-black, and the style looked great on her.
"Hey, Darla."
She looked up and smiled. "Zoey, how can I help you?"
"Do you know where Colton is? I desperately need his signature."
"He's gone training. He won’t be back today. Can I help you? I was about to leave as well."
Crap. I bit the inside of my cheek, and Darla went back to her laptop.
I moved closer to her desk. "Any chance you can tell me where he's training?"
She glanced up at me. "Trust me, you don’t want to get on his bad side. That's the only place where he completely disconnects from work.”
“I want to finalize it today, but I can’t do that without his signature.
” I was finally making headway with Colton.
I didn’t want to risk him closing up completely and not giving me the time of day.
“So, you know, what comes first, the chicken or the egg?
Why don't we do this? You tell me where to go, and I promise I won't tell him that you gave me the address. "
"Girl, I'm not worried about myself. Everyone knows where he's training. He just doesn't like to be bothered there."
"I'll take my chances," I said.
"All right. This is the address.” She wrote it on a yellow Post-it.
I snapped a picture of it with my phone so I had a backup in case I lost it. "Thanks. You're a lifesaver." I sent her an air kiss before I hurried out of her office.
I took an Uber there. I tried to limit my use of the service because it wasn't great for my pocketbook, but I could put this one on the company's bill.
I hadn't bothered to Google the address, assuming it was a fancy fitness club or something, so I was shocked when I arrived in front of a building that looked a bit decrepit. If I hadn’t known this was the address, I would have walked right past it.
It wasn't very inviting. There was a sign with the name above the door, but it was small enough that you could easily miss it if you didn't know what was here.
I stepped inside and blinked, double-checking the address. Surely I was in the wrong place. This wasn't a fitness center. This was a boxing club or something.
I was about to call Darla when I spotted Colton at the far end of the room and nearly dropped my iPad. He was in the ring, wearing boxing gloves and punching his opponent with precision.
My feet carried me forward. I needed to get closer. Part of my brain still thought this wasn't Colton but simply someone who looked like him. It was impossible for this CEO and scientist to also be boxing. Somehow all those things couldn't be used to describe the same person.
I looked at him, transfixed, keeping my iPad close to my chest. There was no one else in the room except the two of them. They didn't even notice me come in.
Holy shit, Colton's body was insanely hot and fit. There was a tattoo over his torso, he had a six-pack, and his shoulders, arms, and thighs were perfectly sculpted. Even his back was sexy.
I had no idea how much time passed until his opponent took three steps back and said, "Colton, you always give me a run for my money." Then he noticed me. "Oh, hello. I'm Theo. How may I help you?"
Colton's head snapped in my direction. "Zoey." His voice was even rougher than usual, probably from all the exertion.
"I work with Colton," I told Theo, proud that I'd found my voice.
Colton walked toward me, and I swallowed hard. How could he be so damn hot? The ink on his chest was amazing. Sweat trickled down his skin, and somehow that made him seem even sexier.
"I'm going to change," Theo announced. "Colton, you're good?"
"Sure." He looked at me.
"You know how to lock up in case you stay here longer than I do," Theo said.
Colton nodded at him but didn't take his eyes off me.
"Um," I fumbled, turning the iPad around. I needed to stay professional. "I've got everything ready for the digital signature, but I need your actual signature to finalize it today."