Page 91 of Rival to the Billionaire

I sigh. "Julian, I'm sorry." I hesitate. "I should have told you this earlier in the process, but…I no longer need a replacement for Ryder Anderson's position."

The line goes silent for a moment. "What? But it's all set up. I've secured the perfect replacement for you, someone who could last for a long time."

"I'm sorry," I say again. "I've decided to move on."

"But how? Ryder Anderson is an unreliable CTO. He's not performing for his position, okay? He's too ambitious with his new app, way over budget. And for goodness’ sake, the man didn't even show up to his own presentation at the Next-in-Tech conference. From what I hear, Derek Anderson the CEO is pissed. He said he wanted to put Ryder on probation, but he couldn't do it until I called and told him everything was taken care of."

"I'm sorry," I say for the third time. "If you'll let me, I'd like to reward you for your troubles. Soon. I'll take care of the details."

"I already gave you details," he says, his voice rising. "We had a deal! I get my guy in at CTO and have my company buy a ton of stocks when Hare & Holeton launches your IPO. Do you have any idea how much money we're talking about?"

"I understand, Julian. And I appreciate it." My head starts swimming and I purse my lips until they nearly bleed. "But I've changed my mind. I don't want a new CTO, anymore. Ryder Anderson is trustworthy and reliable. I want him to stay. And I want to work with him. I…I'm sorry."

Julian has started talking again. I can barely hear him, but suddenly he stops. "Jennifer," he says, and his voice is calm. "I'll have to call you back. I have another call to make at the moment. I'm sorry."

But then there's silence on the line and I know it's too late.

Julian Sabado isn't making any more calls. I've ruined everything. He won't go through with his end of the deal. He won't invest in Hare & Holeton, and I'm sure he'll tell Derek, which puts my rise to Chair of the Board status at risk as well.

By the time I return to H&H offices and try to talk my way out of this mess, Derek will be furious with me. And I won't blame him.

I lean my head back against the bench and wrap my arms around myself as the feeling of helplessness sweeps over me again. That feeling becomes more pronounced when I notice movement out of the corner of my eye and see Ryder watching me from the other end of the hall.

His eyes are dark, his mouth set in a hard line that just gets harder when I try to rise to stand.

"Ryder…" I start, before he holds up one hand.

He shakes his head. "So, let me get this straight. You told Julian Sabado that you wanted a new CTO. You told him you didn't want to work with me anymore. You told him you were already taking care of the details." His shoulders square. "So, you were trying to get me fired from my own company? The company I helped build with my family? Did I get that right, or not?"

I stand up, but just barely. "I was trying to make it all work. That's all. It was Julian's idea…" I recognize my complete lack of accountability and stop. "But I was the one who got the conversation going. Ryder. I didn't mean for it to go down like this."

I take a step toward him, and it's only then that he notices. He tenses up at the sight of me approaching.

I don't know what to say. He already knows how I feel about him; he doesn't need me saying it all over again.

But I can't stand by and watch him walk away.

"Don't go," I say. "Just…don't go. I made a mistake. I should have told you everything before. I'm so sorry."

"A mistake?" He steps closer, his blue eyes still dark with anger. "You were trying to get me fired, Jen. You were trying to ruin my life. And you did it all without talking to me first, without even giving me a second chance. You expect me to let that slide? To just say nothing happened and start again?"

"I… Ryder, I…"

"You know something, Jen? You're exactly the person I thought you were." He steps backwards. "We were better off hating each other. At least when we hated each other, we didn't play games with each other's lives. At least when we hated each other, there wasn't any confusion." He shakes his head. "You're not my friend. I don't know if you ever were."

My hands go up to my mouth and tears fall down my cheeks. "I'm sorry," I say, looking at the floor. "I'm so sorry."

"That's all you have to say?" He scoffs, placing his hands on his well-defined hips. "I see. I was an easy target. I guess I should have known that." He shakes his head, his face a mask of anger, but that mask quickly drops. "I'm sorry I made the mistake of forgetting who Jenny Forde is. I'm sorry I made the mistake of believing that you would operate in anyone else's interest but your own."

My gaze flies up to his and I see that he's backtracking, retreating.

And I can't stop my tears from falling down my cheeks.

"Please," I say, hanging on to the word as though it were a life raft. "Let me explain. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

He shakes his head, still looking down at the ground, but that anger is now gone. "Leave me alone, Jen. Just leave me alone." He stares at the ground for a moment longer and then finally looks up again. His eyes look tired and sad. "I hope you get everything you want. I hope you make it to the top of the fucking corporate ladder. I really do. I really hope that happens for you." He scoffs, his dark hair now somehow darker against his paled skin. "And I hope you end up there exactly the way you wanted to… Alone."

He turns and starts walking away.

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