The CEO and Her Driver

Chapter 53

I snorted. "Nope. Was just trying to make friends with your secretary. It may take her a while to warm up to me."

Laurence stood up, pushing a large stack of papers to the side, revealing his wrinkled suit jacket and an untucked button-down shirt. "I appreciate your optimism, but I don't think Royal Fashion will be here for the long haul." He walked around the desk, sitting down on the edge, running his hands down his face. "Things have been messy."

I dropped into one of his guest leather chairs, taking in the bags under his eyes. Royal Fashion had become a disaster. I had tried to keep the fact that Carter Royal and the others had stolen my designs from the press, but Carter took one last shot at cruelty, assuring that everything his brother worked for would go down with him.

Now Laurence Royal had been branded a fashion stealer and when the integrity of a creative was questioned, it was far easier for people to assume the worst than to take five minutes, read an actual article, and conclude that he just had a crappy brother.

I had watched Laurence struggle to right the sinking ship of his company for the last month, to no avail. Not even when I had agreed to do a clothing line in partnership with Royal Fashion. A rival line, to go against the soft, yet sexy couple outfits I had released with Tate as the model. But it wasn't going to be finished fast enough. By the time the new clothes were done, there would be no Royal Fashion to partner with.

Winters on the other hand, was booming, thriving to terrifying heights. And the amount of paperwork it involved threatened to bury me. There were so many things to consider. So many opportunities to look into, that the entire idea of growing Winters was exhausting. I wasn't liked online and was constantly told that Tate deserved someone better. But I no longer cared what was said. Their opinion didn't matter. Where I was loathed, my clothes were adored, proving once again that the internet was a weird place.

The entire ordeal made it hard to look at Laurence. When this all began, I had promised to bury him and his company into the ground. But that was before I knew who he was, and now I just wanted my friend to survive.

"I'm sorry, Royal."

He sighed, looking defeated. "It's fine... well, it's not. Not in the slightest, but... I'll have to learn to live with that."

I leaned back, crossing my arms. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you like your job?"

Laurence blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You don't strike me as someone who... enjoys this line of work."

He gave a hollow laugh. "Is it the lack of detail I give to clothes or the fact that my business is dying that gives you that impression?"

"The detail part. But that wasn't an answer."

"Why are you asking me this? What point are you trying to make?" he asked, voice taking on an irritated edge. He was too tired to play nice today.

"My point is that I would like to hire you," I said, causing his head to jerk up in surprise.

"What?" He searched my face. "You're serious?"

I adjusted my shirt sleeve. "Not hire actually. I would like to purchase Royal Fashion, you working here would be included in that deal."

He started laughing. "Okay, now I know you are joking. Why would you want to buy a sinking ship? Or work with me?" His eyes looked slightly wild, a man near the edge of his sanity. His world had been tilted, sent out of control, and the look on his face was one I recognized too well. I had been there several times myself. And leaving him alone to his own devices would only make things worse.