Page 33 of Lie to Me

Chapter Fifteen

The day started out pretty ordinarily for Adam Rothberger.

He stepped out of the elevator on the top floor of the Rothberger Building to the familiar hum of activity from his PA’s. He took a second to glance smugly at the other side of the room – the desk was still there but that was just a courtesy until the board made things official later today. Soon the whole top floor would be his. He would knock through the walls to make the two offices into one big one – maybe he could have a private gym or something. Maybe a bedroom so he never had to leave the office.

He continued on into his office to the accompaniment of a staccato chorus of ‘Good morning Mr. Rothberger’ from his staff.

A memo was waiting for him on his desk and he snatched it up to scan it. He blanched. He clutched the side of his desk and made a choking sound. He punched the intercom and yelped into it.

“Get in here!”

Moments later the severest of his severe personal assistants entered.

“Sir?”

“When did this come in?”

“Late last night sir.”

“How did it happen?!”

“We assumed that you had authorized it, sir,” said the assistant, a little taken aback.

“Why,” Adam managed to moderate his tone but his whole manner was increasingly apoplectic, “would I sell a multi-million dollar wines and spirits division, that I had just consolidated, for a single dollar!”

The assistant attempted to shrug but the casual gesture did not suit her. “We didn’t like to question, sir. But… no one else has the authority.”

“Then who…!” Adam broke off as a cold and hideous realization passed though him.

There was one other person who, for a few more hours, had the authority. But surely Nick did not have the intelligence, certainly not the business awareness, to make something like this happen!

Adam returned to the memo, now scrutinizing the details over which he had previously glanced. His eyes lighted on the name of the company to which his entire liquor division had been sold out from under his nose: RothChard.

The phone rang and Adam snatched it up.

“What?!”

“Goooooood morning, brother.” Nick’s happy voice echoed down the line. “I’m just ringing to let you know that I won’t make the board meeting later. So much to do here. You know how it is setting up a new company.”

“You bastard!” Adam roared.

“That hardly seems fair,” Nick chided. “It’s not like you’re going to be going hungry. You’ve lost a few million – maybe even a couple hundred million -- but that’s a drop in the ocean to you. And Zoe tells me that I could have plundered the whole company if I’d wanted to! I had no idea I had this much power, but she knew. Smart girl you see, as I tried to tell you. But we decided to settle for just the liquor division. That couples well with our other business.”

“Other business?”

“The bar,” said Nick, chiding his brother once more. “You must remember. I’m stepping down as manager to someone more qualified, but I’ll still work behind the bar, along with Eddie of course, so if you ever feel like a drink, you know where to find me.”

“That… woman,” Adam rejected the other words he had been thinking for the sake of keeping his brother on the line, “is running your bar?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Nick laughed. “I mean, she’ll give us advice, but she’ll be far too busy running RothChard. We’re one of the world’s largest liquor distribution companies now, haven’t you heard?”

“She’s running your company?!”

“Our company,” Nick stressed. “Hers and mine. And of course she is. You can hardly expect me to do it - I suck at this stuff!”

“But she’s…” Adam fought for words to describe what Zoe was. “It’s not like she’s Vanessa!”

“True,” said Nick. “She’s a hell of a lot better. By the way, at some point in the future I can more or less guarantee that a wedding invitation will be coming your way, even though you don’t deserve it. I hope you can put this bad attitude to one side, I will want all the family there, and as much as I love Eddie, I fear for the safety of the ring in his care. I’ll need someone to keep an eye on him during the festivities.”

For a few moments Adam Rothberger sputtered for words.

He had been cheated!

He had been robbed!

He had been… He had been bested by a brilliant business woman.

“I’d be honored to attend,” he ground out through gritted teeth into the phone. After all, he would now have to be negotiating with RothChard for any distribution deals he might want to make in the future. It was to his benefit to keep the peace.

“Glad to hear it, brother. Oh, and Adam?”

“What?”

“Just in case you get out of line at the wedding - you should know, her father is very good with a shotgun.”

Epilogue

“You’re not supposed to see me before the wedding.”

“That’s a dumb rule. ”

Zoe caught Nick’s eye in the mirror, the hint of a smile playing over her lips.

“It’s tradition!” She protested.

He ignored her protests as he approached her. “My God. Has anyone ever been as beautiful as you are in this moment?”

And she was stunning.

Dark curls framed her face and she wore a wreath of roses on her head. As she stood and the delicate silk mermaid style dress hugged every curve, making him groan. Her make-up was subtle, accenting her wide brown eyes and full lips. She had shed the persona of “Vanessa Reese” and fully come into her own once more. He could see her unspoiled beauty fully now, wondering how he could have ever been so blind.

Nick approached her, pulling her into his arms, and bending his head to claim her lips with his. His thumb lightly caressed her cheek as his hands cupped her face.

“Everyone will be waiting…” Zoe murmured, her heart full of happiness. In the garden of her family home half the town was gathered to see her wed Nick— her bartender. Her business partner. And now, her partner in life.

“Let them wait.” Nick brushed his mouth against hers, deepening the kiss. Zoe felt herself begin to melt against him.

“Zoe? Are you ready?” A knock at the door interrupted what surely would have been a long delay.

“Go!” She hissed and she pushed him toward the back door. He grabbed her and kissed her once more.

“Zoe?” The handle jiggled. “Are you okay?”

&n

bsp; “Coming! Coming!”

“Not quite yet… that’s for tonight…” Nick murmured in her ear.

Zoe grinned and shoved him out the door, watching him as he left.

She unlocked the door where her sister was waiting, wearing a pink satin dress with a wide green ribbon at the waist.

“Ready, honey?” Her father was at the door, offering her his arm.

“Ready.”

“Everything okay?” her sister asked curiously, handing Zoe a large bouquet of peonies.

Zoe glanced once more out the window to the back yard where she saw Nick taking his place at the front of the gathered crowd.

She turned to her sister and smiled wide. “Perfect. Everything is perfect.”

And it was.

THE END

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About the Author

Mia Caldwell has been fantasizing about stories of "Happily-Ever-After" since she was a little girl, and now that she's all grown up her "Happily-Ever-After" stories have taken a steamier turn! After graduating from college Mia still wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do with her life. Bored with her day job as an Administrative Assistant for a non-profit, she started writing stories on the side and sharing them with her friends. They gave her the push she needed to share them with you! She lives in New York with two rascally cats named Link and Zelda, eats too much chocolate and Chinese take-out, and goes on way too many blind dates. She's still waiting for Mr. Right, but in the meantime she'll keep dreaming up the perfect man!

Mia loves hearing from her fans and you can reach her at: [email protected] or on Facebook

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