The Merger

Chapter 44

She'd usually start with anger. Angry at their circumstances. Angry that Lucas was the one to start the rumor. She could never look at him the same, and that made her slam things like doors, cupboards, and drawers wherever she was.

Then came bitterness. Bitterness towards the way he lived his life. As much as he tried to deny it, he truly did have everything handed to him on a silver platter.

And then there was sadness, Talia's current state. She just got her dream job, but the elation she'd had after hearing the news had already vanished like mist in the air. Her heart still ached as she thought about the distance between her and Lucas, physically and emotionally. And to think he gave it his all but didn't win. That was Talia's worst nightmare for herself. Her throat grew heavy.

And finally, throughout the past couple of weeks, sadness would often give way to guilt. Guilt for blaming Lucas for all of her problems. Guilt for telling him she loved him but finding it extremely hard to forgive him for what he did to her.

"I'm curious. What did you do to that boy, Talia?"

A hot tear escaped Talia's eye and she quickly wiped it. Yet, it wasn't fast enough as recognition lit over Cora's face. "Ah. I see. You love him, don't you?"

"It doesn't matter now. I need to focus on my new job."

Cora nodded slowly. "Listen, Talia. I've been in this business since before you were born. The stories I could tell you about my experiences with the men I've worked with will make your skin crawl. I thought I saw everything there was to see, the good, the bad, and the fucking disgusting. But, what I've seen from Lucas is nothing like anything I've seen before. He's the kind of man you only hear about in fucking fairytales. Now I'm not here to get involved in your personal life, but I do care about you. You're like the daughter I could never have." Cora's voice cracked and Talia's heart squeezed. "I'm not saying you need to do anything drastic but don't be too hard on the kid. He's figuring it out."

"Did he say anything to you?" Her voice grew shaky and she willed the tears to keep themselves back. She should be celebrating her win, not breaking down crying.

Cora slowly shook her head with a far-off look in her eyes, before she snapped back to herself. "Enjoy the win, Talia. I'm proud of you no matter what."

Talia smiled, despite the empty feeling growing inside of her. "Thanks, Cora. Thanks for everything."

As soon as Cora left and closed the door behind her, silence settled over the room. Talia let it all sink in. She won. But it wasn't long before her head grew heavy, and she set it down against her arms on the table, letting the tears roll.

***

"What do you mean he's going with another firm?" Even though the "he" referred to her ex, Gary, any client still helped rake in money for them. She sighed as she swiveled in her new office chair in the new building. While the office was a lot more spacious than her last one, the view behind her was blocked by a brick building. And the modern industrial feel of the space felt a lot colder than what she was used to.

Talia was now unofficially CEO. The paperwork that would make it official was coming to her desk in less than an hour, being hand-delivered by Bill and Charles. Despite her new role, she was working on the same thing she had been doing while being President - managing clients. She hadn't had time to take on hiring a new President as there were forty thousand other things that still needed her attention. The President position would've gone to Lucas' best friend Kyle, but he quit as soon as the news about Talia winning the position was announced. It made sense he would, but Talia's eyelids still grew hot and gummy when she'd heard the news. Her last connection to Lucas was gone. She wouldn't be able to run into Kyle and ask how Lucas was doing or what he was up to.