Burning Through Gravity

  The campus is barren today. Gone are the bikini-clad volleyball players kicking up sand and serving up smiles. The tented weight room, the outdoor Pilates class have all been canceled. Jinx has become a ghost town overnight.

  We step into the building as a united front. The coffee shop is open, and a few stragglers sit staring despondently into their laptops. We head into the open mouth of the elevator, and the doors close with a pronounced finality. It ingests us just as my father devoured this company. Here it is, my moment. I’ll have to draw upon my father’s granite-like strength, my mother’s mad brilliance just to push myself through the next hour or so. My knees beg to buckle. I feel lightheaded enough to pass out, but I need to do this for Ford—for me.

  We get out and head into the boardroom—the hive is buzzing. Anxiety fills the air. My father had set the hornet’s nest on fire, and here they all are, displaced, searching for answers, looking for a new queen. People offer consoling hugs in the hall. The entire company seems crammed into the boardroom, tight as sardines. Every last one of them came out in number to witness the event.

  Ford and his brothers stand in a huddle near the front of the impossibly long table. I remember walking in and seeing him the first day of my internship and how horribly deceived I felt—how angry I was. I wonder what he’ll be feeling in just a few minutes? Most likely regret. I tried to warn him that I was trouble. Ironic since I didn’t know then how much trouble I would be.

  Carter and Carson flank him on either side, and there’s yet another doppelganger on his left, same dark hair, same broad shoulders, and I don’t need a roadmap to tell me that’s Cash. I’ve worn his clothes, stayed at his beach house—I would’ve liked to have met him under different circumstances.

  Evelyn tips her chin up at me as she stands in alignment with her Crawford. That satisfied smirk on her face says it all. It says I was hungrier than you—he’s still mine.

  “Attention everyone.” Lincoln calls out, and bodies fall hard in their seats.

  Ford gives a bleak smile my way. He thinks I’m here for the meeting, nothing more.

  “I’ll do this.” I lead my brother and sister to the head of the table, opposite where Ford and his brothers stand.

  Ford catches my gaze, and I hold it, precious as a newborn. Here it is, the final moment of who we thought we were.

  “My name is Stephanie Eaton Lionheart”—I don’t take my gaze off Ford as his eyes round out in horror—“and I am the new owner of Jinx Enterprises.”

  The room stops up with a heartbeat of silence, only to be replaced with gasps sharp enough to cut through steel.

  I’m still trained on his beautiful face, on those beautiful eyes that make the Pacific Ocean look cheap in comparison. His mouth falls open. His skin bleaches out. Ford leans back as if he’s just had the wind knocked out of him. But we don’t break our gaze, just soak in the trauma, the destruction he thinks I’ve caused on such a grand scale. And all I can wonder is if we’ll ever push through this.

  “My brother and sisters stand united with you.” I swallow hard, trying to convince him that I mean it. “We see great potential in Jinx Enterprises.”

  “You mean Alchemy Enterprises,” someone shouts from the corner. “Alchemy—magic, it might as well be Merlin!”

  Magic? Those texts I saw of Evelyn’s come to mind. She was making deals with someone named Magic. I’d bet my left tit it was Evelyn who sold out Gravity and the Jeneration app to my father.

  “The name stays.” I never take my eyes off Ford. “I have no intention of tearing down this company.”

  The muscles in his jaw clench because technically I just did.

  “That’s because there’s nothing left to tear down.” Jener snaps, and my face floods with heat. Here it comes, the shouting, the stoning of the Lionheart name as a whole.

  “I won’t take up too much of your time. I’ll make a few brief introductions, lay down our terms, and the rest is up to you.” I glance away from Ford, but I can still feel him bearing down on me with his stare, his shock quickly replaced with hatred. My body lights up like a flame from his searing gaze. “To my right is my brother, Lincoln Lionheart. He’ll be working alongside of the chief financial officer. This is my sister Kinsley, she’ll work in coordination with human resources to make sure the transition happens as smooth as possible.” Even that was a generous title, but she was happy to help in any way. “This is my sister, Aspen.” I nod to Carter who hasn’t taken his eyes off her once. “She’ll be replacing the creative director.”

  Evelyn snaps her neck back. “You can’t boot me out. I helped build this place from the ground up!”

  The words she said to me when I started here come crashing back, and I’m quick to remind her of their unique cruelty.

  “Sometimes the greatest fault in life is believing you’re worth something.” I let a slow spreading smile take over as I pour all of my hatred into her. I glance around at their matching shocked faces, and a pinch of grief wafts through me. “I’m keeping the rest of the company intact—the beehive stays. Profit sharing begins today for those that choose to remain in their current positions.” A small round of cheers break out, and I glance to Ford as he takes it in. It must feel like mutiny to hear their glee. “Jener, I’d like you to develop a program that ensures the safety and wellbeing of any students that choose to intern at Jinx. I want a safe place for students to come in case they feel they’re being abused in any manner.” I look to Carter. Of all the people here, he’s the least shaken. On some level, he must have suspected it. “Carter please consider staying on. I’ll need someone to guide me, to aid me in not only making the transition as smooth as possible but to continue with the success of the company.” I don’t have the balls to ask Ford. Him I’ll talk to in private if he doesn’t push me out the window first. I look across at him and meet up with his hard gaze. Nope. I don’t have the nerve to ask him a thing. “That’s all for now. Please send an email to human resources if you plan to stay on. If we don’t hear from you by Monday, your positions will be immediately replaced. I look forward to working with each of you.”

  The room explodes with people talking over one another. Bodies slowly drain into the hall as Carter makes a beeline for Aspen.

  She grabs ahold of my hand. “What should I say?” She digs her fingernails into the flesh of my hand.

  “Tell him anything you like.” I watch as they head out of the boardroom together, and my heart breaks. They belong together. I glance over at Ford as Evelyn rails into him. And Jinx belongs with Ford.

  Lincoln leans in and garners my attention. “We’ll meet you downstairs. I’m taking Kinsley to HR to get the ball rolling.”

  The room empties out, and soon it’s just Evelyn, Ford and me—an unholy trinity, a trifecta of heartache at every turn.

  “Well, you lying little bitch.” Evelyn stalks her way over. “I knew you were capable of breaking Crawford’s heart, but I never saw this bloodbath coming.”

  “The only one that lost their job was you. That hardly qualifies as a bloodbath—more of an internal cleanse.”

  She slaps me so hard and fast, my head snaps, my ears ring in time with the sting.

  “I’ll catch you later, Crawford.” She says with her wicked gaze still fixed on mine. “I suppose there are words to be exchanged between the two of you. Make them hurt like hell.” Evelyn whisks out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

  Ford doesn’t move. His hands are buried in his pockets, his eyes full of misery and pain. He looks as if his balls were just repossessed, and they were. He has every right to feel miserable—every right to hate me.

  I walk over to him, and he loosens, taking a few steps in my direction. The sadness, the grief-coated disappointment oozes from his every pore.

  There are a lot of things I can say to him right now. A lot of things I’d love to explain, to whitewash, to make right in this upside down universe I’ve landed us in, but there are only three words that demand to come out.

/>   I take a bold step into him until the heat from his body warms mine and bear hard into his ocean-eyes right through to the deepest end. And the words bubble out like they’ve wanted to since that first night at the beach house.

  “I love you.”

  Ford

  I love you. Her words echo through me as I try to take them in. Stevie—Stephanie Eaton Lionheart has had many opportunities to share that sweet sentiment, and of all the random moments she chose this one.

  I’m numb.

  I take in her beautiful face, those warm honey eyes, that mouth I long to cover with mine, and I can’t breathe. Here I am, eaten alive in every sense by the woman who stole my heart. It wasn’t Hans Lionheart I had to fear after all, it was his daughter—Stevie.

  My thoughts race a million miles an hour, each one a shooting star evaporating to smoke before I can comprehend it. My heart does its best to kick its way out and shake her down for answers. I’m so flooded with emotion for this girl, so taken, so fucking infuriated, so desperately in love I’ve never felt so ripped apart.

  I open my mouth to say something, and she lands a cool finger over my lips.

  “I didn’t push Evelyn down those stairs.” Her eyes water as she burns her gaze into me. “She stacked lies to the throne of God trying to keep you—and the biggest was that baby. The pregnancy test you saw? It was mine.”

  My chest explodes with heat.

  “I lost our baby, Ford. But you were already so wrapped up in another one—I didn’t want to go there.”

  “Stevie—”

  She holds up a hand.

  “I am the CEO of your company, but I promise you it was because I knew my father would take it from you, with or without my permission. This is the only way I could think to save it for you. That’s why I’m here, standing in front of you—because I love you, Ford. I fell in love with you that first night at Shipwrecks.” Her voice breaks.

  Every part of me wants to believe her, but I’ve been thrown into a den of darkness, and I can’t remember to breathe let alone articulate the right words to speak.

  Her finger slips down my chest before falling to her side. Her eyes fill with tears. Her perfect lips tremble as she waits for my response.

  I pull her into my arms a moment and kiss the top of her head before taking a step back.

  “Don’t let them see you cry.” I walk out of the boardroom and head for my office one last time.

  Evelyn pounces on me as soon as I enter the stairwell.

  “Shouldn’t you be home resting?” I try to keep my voice in check. I want to shake her until she tells me the truth. I want someone for shit’s sake to tell me the truth right this fucking minute.

  “I’m more than fine,” she chirps, and I can’t help but notice the slight uptick of elation in her voice.

  I pick up my pace, and Evelyn doesn’t so much as whimper, staying shoulder to shoulder with me the entire time.

  “So what are we going to do?” She’s hardly winded after climbing up a flight and racing down the hall.

  “I’m going to sit and think.” I open the door to the office and block the entrance with my body. “You’re going to head downstairs and pack your things. I’ll talk to you later.” I shut the door and lock it without thinking twice.

  “Shit!” I kick the wastebasket, and a cloud of trash blooms across the room like confetti. I stare at the bullshit debris covering my office and shake my head at how carefree I was just yesterday when I still believed I’d own this place forever.

  I sink down in my leather seat and wonder who’ll be in it in a week. Stevie? One of her siblings? Her father, maybe? For him I’d come back with a shotgun.

  I swipe all the crap off my desk, and my monitor wakes from its slumber. I’ve got the security system on, and every public room in the building blinks to life in rotation. The café, the boardroom with Stevie standing there speaking with Carter—fucking traitor. I bet he knew. He had it hot for her sister. No wonder she offered him a bonus position right off the bat.

  The beehive comes alive on the screen with a small army of downtrodden faces, the stairwell slips by. I slap my hand over the mouse and freeze it right there.

  A dull rumble groans from my chest. When Lionheart ate Jeneration Jinx—and I had no doubt they owned Satellite Net—I had the security system beefed up to include every damn nook and cranny—and then I made the upgrade to audio.

  An abrupt knock comes from the door, and my phone buzzes at the same time. It’s a text from Carson.

  It’s me.

  I head over and find all three of my brothers staring me in the face.

  “Don’t say a fucking word.” I retreat back to my chair and start messing with the security system.

  “You never listen to me anyway.” Cash says as they line up behind me. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Stevie says she never pushed Evelyn.”

  Carson sits at the edge of my desk. “And you believe a word that comes out of that woman’s mouth? I’m about to give you some damn valuable advice, big bro, and if you’re as wise as you think you are you’ll take it. If it flies, floats, or fucks—rent it. Stay the hell out of commitments because this is where they get you—royally screwed. That woman is a liar.”

  “If she is, we’re about to find out.” Carter flanks me on the other side and points to the monitor where the audio button is.

  I input the date of the incident, hit stairwell, 3rd floor, and fast-forward. A few nameless faces traipse up and down the stairs. At 10:50 Evelyn and Pepper make an appearance. I turn the volume all the way up.

  “I’ll get her to the stairwell,” Evelyn doesn’t bother to whisper.

  “What if she hurts the baby?” Pepper looks horrified as they make they decent.

  “Nothing can possibly happen to this baby,” Evelyn assures.

  I fast forward.

  “You could follow them down, listen to the rest of the conversation,” Carter points out.

  “I want to see what happened with Stevie.”

  11:58 Evelyn walks up alone with a black bag in her hand, the picture of a white mask imprinted on the front, and the letters CM above it.

  12:15 Stevie and Evelyn appear, and I turn the volume up so loud the static eats through the room.

  “So you’re really going to do this?” Stevie’s voice rings out dense enough to touch.

  My stomach cinches. Come on, Evelyn, say something that will either incriminate you or send me to hell because I know I can’t find the shutoff valve for loving Stevie.

  Evelyn shoves her hand against Stevie’s chest. “No, you’re going to do this. You’re the reason Crawford and I aren’t together. I was so close to getting him back and out you came from thin air. You’re like a demon trying to steal away all the good things in my life. I will have Crawford in the end. I want this day to be a lesson to you,” Evelyn continues. “Nobody messes with Evelyn Prescott, you dirty little bitch.”

  “You and your fake baby can go to hell.” Stevie barks it out before trying to head into the building, but Evelyn pulls her back, and they topple down the first step. “Let go! You can fake all the pregnancies you want—he still would never choose you!”

  Evelyn delivers a quick slap to Stevie’s face.

  Here it is, the ball of retribution is in Stevie’s lap, and I want to cover my eyes. The last thing I want to witness is her pushing Evelyn down the stairs, taking my baby’s life. I liked Stevie’s truths better. I’d fight all day for her to be right. I’d gift her my company a thousand times over just to have a child with Stevie—for Stevie’s love to be real.

  Interns clog the stairwell with Pepper at the helm.

  Evelyn looks up at them and gives a wicked blink of a smile to Stevie before screaming, “Don’t hurt me!” She bounces down the stairs, landing twisted at the bottom.

  I hit rewind and don’t take my eyes off Stevie’s hands. One hand is steady by her side, the other on the railing.

  “She didn’t even touch her.??
? Cash clasps my shoulder and gives me a squeeze.

  “She didn’t.” I close my eyes for a moment as relief floods through me. I rewind it just enough and watch the incident unfold again. Evelyn lies at the base of the stairs screaming at the top of her lungs, her hand over her stomach.

  “Evelyn!” Pepper makes her way through the crowd. I bet she had Pepper bring in her crew just to frame Stevie.

  “My baby!” The words rattle from Evelyn like an inferno. Then something appears between her legs, a dark liquid staining her khakis. The security camera only records in black and white, but I know what it’s supposed to be—blood.

  “I didn’t do this.” Stevie cries, still standing at the top.

  “She pushed me!” Evelyn chants over and over. It takes a few minutes, but Stevie disappears back into the building. The crowd grows, and Evelyn writhes in pain.

  Carson shakes his head. “Maybe she thinks she was pushed. She did lose the baby. You could see the blood yourself.”

  I press my finger to my lips and cringe at the thought of this still being true.

  I guess there’s only one way to find out, but first I run a little Internet search and type in CM, mask, black bag—bingo.