Abrelle's POV
I hold the article in my hand as I storm down the hallway.
Oh, are they going to hear it?! I cannot believe they thought they'd get away with this.
Don't automatically expect the worse, Noah would say.
"Hello," a dark-haired secretary smiles at me. "Do you have an appointment to see Mr.Stone?"
"I'm Abrelle Louise," I tell her. "He's expecting me."
"I will let him know you're here," she says and I nod as she picks up her office phone. "Good evening Mr. Stone. Abrelle Louise is here. . .of course, he says you can come in."
"Thank you," I say and make my way towards the office door.
"Ms. Louise," Kyle smiles smugly as I come into his office. "I'm glad to see you."
Stephan is already here, sitting directly across from Kyle Stone.
"Don't be," I say curtly. "You might want to call Elliot Stone. I think it's best if everyone is here."
"Already did," he says and he seems nervous by my cold demeanor. He should be.
"Would you like to take a seat," he gestures for a chair directly next to Stephan.
"I'd rather stand," I say as I look around his office.
No decorations or photographs anywhere. The only color in place is black making his office seem cold and empty.
"What was so urgent?" Elliot says as he walks in and immediately he looks directly at me. "Abrelle."
"Mr. Stone," I say breaking the eye contact.
"Ms. Louise," he says and I can tell he's annoyed at me. I know he hates that I don't call him Elliot and that's exactly why I do it. He takes a seat next to Stephan.
"I'm guessing you're here to finalize the contract," Stephan says with a bit of pride and arrogance in his voice.
"No," I shake my head and I can see he's surprised by my response. "L&F's Inc. will not be signing this contract."
"Wait," Elliot gives me a concerned look. "Why not? We'd be giving more people access to food Abrelle."
"Right," I scoff as I hand each of them the article I printed out. "From a company that doesn't care enough to check their food before handing it out."
"Ms. Louise," Kyle says as he puts the article down. "I've talked to Hans Inc. about this. An internal investigation was done and those responsible paid the consequences. They-"
"Of course, you knew about this," I scoff the anger visible in my voice. "This isn't a case of a few rotten apples. This company was negligent and people died."
"Abrelle," Stephan stands up and makes his way toward me. "You can't let this deter you from the contract. It's a good opportunity for everyone."
"No," I tell him and he's taken back from the sternness in my voice. "I will not be responsible for the death of anyone. This company was negligent and allowed people to die because they couldn't care to invest in proper packaging. L&F's Inc. will not sign any agreement with a company like that, ever."
I look over at Elliot, but he's busy reading through the article. I can see his brows furrow as he goes through the pages and he shakes his head.
He didn't know. I mean, he's acting as if he had no idea.
Maybe he doesn't know, Noah would suggest, but I push away my thoughts.
"Ms. Louise," Kyle stands up and I can tell there's desperation in his voice. "If you could-"
"Negotiations are done," I cut him off. "L&F's Inc is no longer interesting in any contract you bring Mr. Stone. Outside of the Fight for Hunger campaign, we will no longer be partnering with your company."
"Wait," Stephan takes a hold of my arm. "You can't make that kind of decision on your own."
"Do not touch me," I glare at him as I pull my arm free. "Mr. Ryder do not forget that you're simply the financial secretary and I allowed you to stay in the company out of pity. You have no say or control in the decisions I make".
I can tell Kyle Stone is surprised by my response and I'm not sure if it's my tone or the fact that he didn't know Stephan was simply a secretary.
"I do not like being manipulated Mr. Stone," I look over at Kyle and the anger he's feeling is visible all over his body. "You kept this information from me knowing that I would never sign a contract like this. This kind of oversight and complete disregard is intolerable."
"She's right," Elliot says placing the article papers on his dad's desk. "You didn't share this information with us. I would've never approved of this contract if I had known."
I look over at him and I can see the look of disappointment on his face. He didn't know.
But it's his company, his responsibility to know all of this. He should've done his research before he even considered the contract.
He's just as responsible as anyone else here.
"May I speak to Ms. Louise alone?" Kyle says and I try to hide my surprise.
Why would he want to speak alone?
Better question, should I speak to him alone?
"No," Elliot says giving me a concerned look.
But curiosity is getting to me and I want to hear what Kyle has to say.
"That's fine," I say. "Leave us alone please."
"Abrelle," Elliot walks toward me and I can see the concern in his eyes. "If you-"
"Mr. Stone," I tell him as I move away from him. "Your father wants to discuss some things with me that he deems best to do alone. If you don't mind giving us the room."
"Of course not," he answers with a look of anger across his face. I ignore him as I take a seat in the chair directly across from Kyle Stone's desk. Stephan simply nods before making his out of the office.
"Son," Kyle says looking directly at Elliot, I don't turn around to see him. After a few seconds, I hear the door slam behind me.
"So Mr. Stone," I cross my legs trying my best not to seem nervous. "What do you have to say?"
"Abrelle Louise," he says as he takes a seat. "You still manage to drive my son insane despite all the time you've spent apart."
Mhm, where is he going with this?
"What do you want Mr. Stone?" I ask annoyance clear in my voice.
"I have a lot of connections, Ms. Louise," he answers. "More than you can even fathom and making an enemy out of me isn't a wise choice for a new CEO like yourself."
Oh, a threat. He must be desperate.
"I'm assuming you're trying to threaten me," I smile, a bit of arrogance in my voice. "I don't scare easily Mr. Stone."
"I made sure you were in a cell once," he smirks and I feel myself go cold.
I always had my suspicions that he was involved in my sentencing. And after Macy told me about the deal, I knew I was right.
It makes sense, right? He needed his deal to work with Elliot and that meant he had to ensure I was sentenced. Me being in prison was his leverage.
But hearing the words makes it all real.
"Tell me something I don't know," I said regaining my composure and he's a bit surprised at my response.
"Then you know what I'm capable of," he says as he leans back on his chair. "Knowing that you should understand how big of a mistake making an enemy of me is."
"And you have no idea what I am capable of," I say as I lean forward towards him. "Underestimating me would be a big mistake."
"I would never underestimate you, Ms. Louise," he leans forward, anger and hatred visible in his eyes. "The minute you arrived in the city, I knew you were a problem I needed to take care of."
I feel myself holding my breath as I process his words.
A problem I needed to take care of.
Is he referring to the accident?
The accident was never meant for Noah, it was meant for me. To kill me.
Is he saying he was behind everything?
"It's why I began the contract negotiations," he leans back, a smirk on his face. "We needed to take care of you, make sure you were satisfied with the termination. I see now that you're not and it's sad to see what we took from you. It wasn't meant to go in that direction, but we all know accidents happen, right?"
"Excuse me?" I ask and I can feel my heart thumping loudly in my chest.
"Well you lost Stephan and Elizabeth's support in the company," he explains and I can tell he's enjoying himself. "It was an accident really, to push them away from you. We didn't think the Fight for hunger campaign would cause such commotion. You understand, don't you?"
I sit there feeling completely disoriented. He all but admitted to having caused the accident and yet somehow he said nothing at all.
I need to leave.
"Mhm," I stand up trying my best to hold myself together, my legs feel as if they're made of gelatin barely withstanding the weight of my body.
"I stand by my decision, L&F's Inc will never work with you again," I tell him as I make my way towards the door.
"I am so sorry to hear that," Kyle says, but before I can reach the door he's standing next to me with his hand on the door handle. "I am glad we had this chat, Ms. Louise. I feel like we understand each other much better."
With that, he lets go of the handle and I throw the door open.
I need to get out of this building, I feel like I can't breathe.
***
I try my best to not draw any attention to myself as I walk out of the building. The fresh air hits my face and I immediately feel a little bit better, but my heart is still pounding.
Where the hell is Jax? I told him to wait for me right at the front of the building. I look around desperately searching for him and I can't find the car.
God, I just need to leave this stupid building.
"I sent him home," a voice says and I turn around to see Elliot approaching me. "Are you okay?"
"No," I say trying my best to control my breathing. "I just need to leave and you sent my only ride away."
"I can take you," he says and I immediately shake my head.
I've had enough of the Stone family today.
"Fine," he shrugs and begins to walk away. "Stay here then."
"What?" I scoff. "You're the one who sent Jax home!"
"I'm also offering you a ride," he turns around. "You're the one who is refusing to accept it."
God, he's infuriating!
"Fine," I tell him and he smirks.
"My car is over here," he says and begins walking away.
I hate you Stone, you irritate me!
***
"Thank you, Will," I say as I hang up the phone.
"What did my dad tell you?" Elliot asks, his eyes looking directly at the road. I know he's trying to sound casual as if telling him is no big deal.
"Why do you want to know?" I ask as I look around trying to figure out where the hell we're going.
To be fair, I don't know how to get to Elliot's house. I haven't been allowed to drive since I moved in. Jax is in charge of driving and I mostly sit in the back of the car on my phone.
Now, I have no idea if Elliot's taking me home or not.
"You looked like you had seen a ghost when you left his office," he shrugs. "Pale and sweaty. Not your best look if I'm honest."
"Oh," I scoff. "Is the big bad Stone worried about little old me?"
"Yeah," he nods and he looks over at me, for a second I think I believe him. His kind brown eyes seem to signal that he's telling me the truth.
"Keep your eyes on the road Stone," I break eye contact and I turn away from him towards the window.
"Why do you hate me?" he asks and I sense some frustration in his voice. "I mean, Macy told you everything and yet you can't stand to look at me."
Why do you hate me?
Mhm, why do I hate Elliot Stone? Oh, I don't know maybe it's because he left me.
Or maybe it's because I loved him enough to choose to sit in a cell for a crime I didn't commit.
I think back to that moment with Aria.
"Admiring your appearance I see," Aria sits in front of me. "I can make all of this stop Abrelle. All you have to do is make a deal with me."
"What kind of deal?" I ask looking up at her.
"You leave Elliot alone forever," she smirks pleased with the desperation in my voice "and I'll arrange everything so that you get out today guilt-free."
I was going to make the deal, I remember every bone in my body asking me to say yes. To take the stupid deal and walk away from Elliot.
And then, I made the decision I've regretted since the day of my trial. Since the moment I realized Elliot was gone and everything I had endured was for nothing.
"No," I shake my head. "I'm not making this deal with you."
"Abrelle," she says through gritted teeth "you're not going to get a better offer than this. Make the deal."
"If I make the deal," I stand up "I don't have to get hit and tortured every single day."
"Exactly," she smiles. "You won't have to live through that anymore. "
"But," I begin walking towards the door I walked in from "I'd have to give up the love of my life and I think that'd be torture all on its own. I would be getting out of one painful torture just to walk into another excruciatingly more painful torture. I'm not doing that."
"You're just going to ignore me," Elliot scoffs and I turn over to look at him unsure of what to say. "We're in a car together, I can just keep asking."
"Sam use to tell me," I say turning back towards my window. "That love can stop someone from doing what they have to do. There was a point during my time as Lydia that I told myself he was full of crap. . .Now that I think about it, I feel like he might've been onto something."
I don't know why I'm telling him this. Maybe it's because I'm avoiding the question.
"What does that have to with anything?" he asks frustration clear in his voice and I roll my eyes.
"Why do you care?" I turn back towards him, but he's looking straight at the road. "What difference does it make?"
"You know what," he shrugs. "I don't even care anymore because whatever it is you are going to hold it against me forever."
"That's what girls do," I say sarcastically. "We hold grudges."
Isn't that right, Noah would laugh.
He rolls his eyes at my response but he doesn't say anything instead he continues driving. I look around trying my best to recognize where we are, but nothing seems familiar. Then I see San Cafe and a few stores down a familiar Chipotle store.
"Where are you taking me?" I ask as I begin to recognize the streets and buildings.
"I need to show you something," he says as he pulls into a familiar alleyway.
Mine and Sam's old alleyway.
***
A/N: New Update!!!!
Hope you all like it!
Best,
Pam