Page 80 of Touched By a Traitor
“I’ll do what I want with what I built with my own two hands if I please, and when I please.” Andrew’s eyes flashed dangerously as he turned to face the irate man. “Sit down, Rogers, before I forget myself and do something we’ll both regret.”
Chastened by the barely leashed violence in Andrew’s tone, Rogers sank back into his chair, his mouth set in a grim line.
Andrew’s gaze swept over the assembled men, his expression hard and unyielding. “I will return your investments for the expansion with interest and buy back your shares at a fair price, then proceed to give away every brick and mortar of this company to the charitable organization. I will walk away from it all, and you’ll receive your payment once everything is finalized, provided you keep this matter strictly between yourselves. No one, and I mean no one, must know of this, especially Wilson.”
“Why not Wilson?” Murphy asked, his brow furrowed.
“Because,” Andrew said, his voice low and menacing, “he is the cause of this decision, and I plan to destroy him.”
“Surely you jest, Carlisle,” Rogers scoffed. “You would burn everything to the ground, all to avenge yourself upon one man?”
“What could Wilson possibly have done to warrant such drastic action?” Collins inquired, his tone somber.
Andrew’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenching with barely contained rage. “That is between me and Wilson. Suffice it to say, gentlemen, he committed an unforgivable act against my family. He will not receive a single penny from this company from now on. His fortune will evaporate overnight.”
“He will be ruined,” Murphy said, understanding dawning in his voice. “He could sell his secondary and tertiary homes, but he has nothing else.”
“I’ll allow him to keep those for the sake of his family. But I strongly advise you to withdraw all dealings with the man, be they business or personal, unless you’re prepared for my wrath. And do not think to deceive me in this matter, for I did not rise to my current position by playing the fool. Now,” he gestured to the stack of documents on his desk, “sign the papers and take your leave. I have nothing further to say on the matter.”
As the men filed out of the room, their faces expressing shock, anger, and unease, Andrew remained motionless for several long minutes, staring at the closed door. The magnitudeof what he had just done—dismantling the empire he had spent decades building—should have devastated him. Instead, he felt only a hollow emptiness where his ambition had once burned.
An hour later, Andrew made his way to the parlor, where his dear friend, the Marquess of Hereford, awaited him. Without a word, he poured himself a generous measure of brandy and sank into the chair beside his companion, his eyes fixed unseeing on the flickering flames of the hearth.
“You look positively dreadful, old chap,” Hereford remarked, his tone gentle despite the bluntness of his words. “And I must say, you could do with a good scrubbing. The scent of wretchedness clings to you like a second skin.”
Andrew remained silent, his gaze never wavering from the dancing flames.
“Do you know where she is?” Hereford asked.
Andrew nodded, his throat working as he swallowed back the lump that had taken up permanent residence there. “With Madam,” he said hoarsely.
Hereford nodded, unsurprised by Charlotte’s chosen refuge. They sat in companionable silence for a time, the only sound the crackling of the fire and the distant ticking of the grandfather clock in the hall.
“Will you go to her?” Hereford asked at length, his eyes searching Andrew’s haggard face.
At this, Andrew’s composure crumbled, his eyes filling with torment. “I can’t,” he whispered. “I have no right to lay my eyes on her, not after what I’ve done.” With a shuddering sigh, he dropped his head into his hands, his fingers twisting in his hair as he pulled until the pain brought tears to his eyes.
Hereford placed a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder, his grip firm and steadying. “You love her, do you not?”
Andrew nodded, unable to speak past the tightness in his throat.
“Then that, my friend, is more than she believes she has at this moment. Love her in the best way you know how, in the way that she deserves. From what you’ve told me, I believe you’ve already begun to do just that.”
Andrew nodded once more, a flicker of light sparking to life in his haunted eyes. “They signed the papers without further protest. Wilson will rue the day he dared to cause her even a moment’s pain.”
Hereford regarded his friend with sympathy. “Are you certain you wouldn’t rather continue operating the company?”
Andrew shook his head. “That company was everything I had, everything I knew. It turns out it taught me nothing and gave me nothing. I lost the only woman I truly loved because I thought my business meant something. But there’s no meaning to any of it without her.”
His friend quirked his brows, then nodded approvingly. “I am honored to take over the operation on your behalf. Does the madam know?”
Andrew shook his head. “I shall visit Madam Tansley this afternoon.”
Hereford stood and offered his hand. “You have work to do. Whatever you need, you only need to ask.”
Andrew clasped his friend’s hand and inclined his head in acknowledgement before rushing out of the parlor shouting, “David!”
*
