Chapter 4Marrying The Boss Who Bankrupted You

We had barely stepped out of the glass lobby when Jared’s furious, desperate roar echoed from behind us.

"Lola! If you walk out that door today, don't you dare come crawling back begging me to take you back!"

I didn't even turn around. It was nothing but background noise.

Sliding into the plush leather seat of Nicholas’s Rolls-Royce, I let out a long, slow breath. The suffocating weight I had carried for three years finally evaporated.

The virtual panel was still flashing erratically:

[Holy shit, she’s incredible! That was the most satisfying shutdown ever!]

[But she really gave up her company! Three years of her life!]

[Are you kidding? She has a ten-billion-dollar contract and Nicholas Miles. She can start an empire on her own!]

[Am I the only one who thinks those four guys are brain-dead? They traded a ten-billion-dollar deal for an intern who doesn't even know how to use a copier.]

I smiled at the text floating in the air.

Nicholas leaned over, pulling the seatbelt across me, taking the opportunity to steal a soft kiss from my cheek.

"Happy? No regrets about leaving that circus?"

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Why would I regret cutting my losses? If you spend too much time around idiots, stupidity becomes contagious."

Nicholas let out a low rumble of laughter, his chest vibrating against my shoulder.

"Lola, I swear I love you most when you're this ruthless."

He caught my chin, his gaze darkening with intensity. "But tell me... did you mean what you said back there? About me being your fiancé?"

"What? Does the title offend you?" I teased.

"Offend me? I’ve been begging for it," Nicholas sighed, burying his face into the crook of my neck like a giant, affectionate dog. "Lola, you have no idea how hard those three years in London were for me. You did nothing but work. You barely even looked at me. Now that we're back, isn't it time to make me official?"

Tickled by his hair against my neck, I pushed him away with a laugh.

"Mr. Miles, decorum. You have a reputation as a terrifying tyrant. Don't act like a neglected puppy."

"I don't care about my reputation when I'm with you," he said, completely shameless.

Over the next week, I worked with absolute efficiency, setting up my new firm and relocating the core team I had built during my time in Europe.

Managing the launch of a ten-billion-dollar project was exhausting, and I was on my feet constantly.

Nicholas, however, suddenly seemed to have an abundance of free time. He showed up at my temporary office every single day, bringing gourmet lunches and home-cooked soups, looking for all the world like a devoted house-husband.

Meanwhile, things at my old company were deteriorating rapidly.

The virtual screen kept me updated on their slow-motion train wreck:

[This is pure gold. Victor went to beg an old client to renew their contract today, and they threw him out. The client literally said, 'No Lola, no deal.']

[Garrett's big project just went up in flames because Daisy put a typo in the bid—she missed a zero, undercutting their own costs!]

[Those four idiots are still stubborn, convinced Lola is just playing hard to get and will come begging for her job back once she fails.]

I chuckled as I read the updates.

Hard to get? They really thought highly of themselves.

The afternoon before my new company’s grand launch party, my phone rang. It was Jared.

His voice was still dripping with that same unearned superiority.

"Lola, have you had your little tantrum yet? If you've cooled down, get back here."

"Daisy is miserable over a pricing mistake she made. She's been crying for days. Come back, clean up her mess, and we'll agree to let bygones be bygones."

I was genuinely stunned by his sheer audacity.

"Jared, is your head filled with water, or is it just Daisy's tears?"

"Your company’s survival has nothing to do with me. You want me to come back and play nanny to Daisy? You must be dreaming."

"Lola! Don't push your luck!" Jared snapped, his anger boiling over.

"You think you can scare us with a fake contract and some hired actor pretending to be a billionaire? Let me tell you something: your little launch party is tomorrow, and I’ve made sure nobody is going to show up."

"We've blacklisted you. Anyone who does business with you is an enemy of ours."

I sneered and hung up the phone.

Blacklisted?

By four men on the brink of bankruptcy?

Tomorrow, I’d show them what actual power looked like.