22. Aiden

CHAPTER 22

AIDEN

I burst into our room to find Candice kneeling on the floor, surrounded by clothes that she's cramming back into her backpack. Somehow, she fit about a dozen outfits into a single backpack, and it's all exploded around her in flashes of color. Even like this, when I'm angry and she's furious, I still find her beautiful.

"Candice," I say, breathless. I think I'm still unhappy with her for being so cruel, but mostly I don't want her to leave. If I let her go now, I will never get her back. "Please, wait."

"You need to run more often," she says without looking up.

She's probably right, but the comment stops me in my tracks with how unexpected it is. "What?"

"You barely ran a hundred meters. How unfit are you, anyway?"

I shake my head, baffled. This isn't the kind of subject change I know how to deal with when there's so much left to be said. "Look, that's not the point. Why are you leaving?"

That makes her turn at last, a green top clenched firmly in both fists, her eyes blazing. "Why the hell do you think? This is stupid, pointless, and annoying, and I don't want to sit in a room getting patronized by a woman who looks like she owns rabbit bones!"

"Rabbit bones?" My whole face crumples in confusion. Candice has some really weird priorities here, and none of them seem to be the way she's running away from me. "Whatever. You promised you'd give this a real chance, for me."

She scoffs bitterly. "I gave this a go and I did it for my company, which you want."

Desperately, I fling my hands up. "Okay, stay for the sake of our companies, then. You have no idea how much I need you — and Mettie's too."

"What do you know about needing anything?" she snaps, jumping to her feet so she can yell at me from a better angle, tossing her shirt into a crumpled pile along with all the rest of her clothes. "You've never struggled a day in your life, have you? Look at you, in your brand clothes, sitting on top of all the billions your daddy gave you when you were three years old!"

"That's not fair," I start, but she cuts me off, putting her hands on her hips.

"Isn't it? What have you ever had to worry about, then? Other than getting Daddy's approval?"

My mouth wavers as I figure out what to say next. I could snap again, let the indignant fury take over and push her, but that has never been my goal. I'm not my father. I don't have to be a dictator to get what I want. And she's right; I have had it easy in some ways.

"Look," I say with a sigh, dropping down onto the bed, clasping my hands together, "I know you think I want to take Mettie's because it'll look good for me, and that's true."

She huffs victoriously, her hands still firmly on her hips like she's making a barrier to protect herself. I close my eyes and continue. "But it's also true that Fletcher Tech is fucked. I told you that we were in a bad way, but the truth is that we're way worse than that. Not only would we not be able to afford to buy you out, but we can barely afford to buy ourselves. We're in such debt as a company that saving it with my own funds would almost be enough to bankrupt me."

"Really?" she asks, her eyebrows knotting together as she turns over what I'm saying in her mind.

I nod. There's a tiny chink in her armor. If I can get in, maybe I can make her understand. "Cross my heart. Sure, we're big and we look good on the outside. But stocks are already down and we're going to plummet badly if it gets out how red our books are. I swear, I need this merger as much as you do."

She drops her hands and I stand back up, offering mine to her to take. She ignores them. "Think about it," I continue. "A merger means you get the funds and support you need, and we get the boost on the market as well as an influx of new custom. Not only that… I think you're brilliant."

"Shut up," she says, half-turning away from me like she wants to run again.

I stand my ground. Gently, I continue. "I really mean it, Candice. You're right to believe that I'd never be able to do what you've done. You've built yourself up from nothing, and I admire that more than I can say."

"Now you're just flattering me." Tears glisten in her eyes, and I have to clench my fists to stop myself from reaching out to touch her face. All I want to do is cup her cheek and wipe any tears away, to take her pain into my hands and make it all easier. Why won't she understand that?

"I am," I admit. "But I mean it. I could use a formidable mind like yours. If we go through with this deal, not only will you still have total control over Mettie's, but I'll put you on the Fletcher Tech board. I'll give you a voice in the company."

"How can I trust you?" she whispers, and suddenly I see it. Her anger at me all comes from the trust I broke all those years ago. It's not that she doesn't like me; it's that she doesn't want me to let her down again.

From this moment on, I'm making a vow to never betray her again.

I look around the room, and as my eyes land on a notepad on the desk, inspiration strikes me. I dash over to it and scribble down a note.

I, Aiden Fletcher, do so promise to instate Candice Fletcher to the board of Fletcher Tech and allow her full and complete control over Mettie's Marketplace without question.

Hastily, I sign it, tear the note off and thrust it towards Candice. She stares blankly at it. "What?"

"You have to sign too," I say, pressing it into her hand. "Or else you can't hold me to it."

She reads it, her eyes widening as she realizes what it means, then crosses to the desk and signs her name beneath mine. I smile to see both signatures on the page, sitting together as naturally as a handshake.

"Stay for today. Please," I say quietly. She frowns at me, and I really think she's going to say no again. "Let's run away from the hotel and go exploring. Let's go to the lake and skim stones and enjoy the sunshine. How often do either of us have a real, work-free holiday? Let's make the most of it.

"Okay," she sighs, and I blink. Did I hear that right? "Only if I don't have to do any more stupid games."

"Okay," I say, grinning in relief. "Okay!"

"Don't get too excited," she says, bending down to her bag to stash the contract note somewhere safe. Even without the paper, I would stand by it, though. I meant every word. "I still haven't made any decisions about you."

"Just you wait." I raise a cheeky eyebrow at her and she shakes her head, but for the first time in hours, her smile is genuine, even as she tries to hide it. This is the Candice I fell in love with eight years ago — strong and gorgeous and funny. This is the Candice I've never stopped loving.

She slips her shoes onto her feet and offers me her hand. I stare at it, confused. "Come on, then," she says, spreading her fingers insistently. "Before June comes to find us. Let's get out of here."

I don't need any more persuasion. I take her hand, and she drags me along the corridor — and to my delight she doesn't let go.